Let’s talk about updates. And in the updates we mean the latest Instagram feature that sweeps our story feed from skate to skate. Instagram has renewed its platform once again by making it easier to increase traffic to your site with a simple flick of a finger. We have seen countless businesses, marketers and influencers work overtime to make their content visible and shared across this growing platform. This latest feature, once reserved exclusively for profiles aged 10,000 and over now gives everyone the opportunity to let their products, content and websites stand at the center of the stage.
The source of the Swipe Up
As a social media marketer or manager we are all familiar with the feeling of working overtime to get impressions, visibility and traffic from our social media to our website. Before the last update of the Instagram feature, Instagram had a “slip up” feature that was limited to verified, influential and branded accounts with over 10,000 followers. This has made content sharing and gaining followers difficult for new businesses, developing accounts or companies that do not have the social power to increase their numbers. The slide-up feature was easily accessible and allowed viewers to interact with a person’s content simply by scrolling up or clicking the arrow where they would be taken to a landing page without exiting the app.
Starting from August 2021, Instagram has changed and adapted this feature so that it will be accessible to every user of the app regardless of the verification status or the count of his followers. This is proving to be a new and exciting opportunity for marketers, creators, influencers and business owners across the app who can use Instagram to grow and build their social media presence.
Instagram link sticker
The term “sweep up” has officially come out the door and the new feature has been dubbed the Instagram link sticker. The link sticker can be used directly within an Instagram story where users can add an external link to which they can strategically place access for users. Story stickers have become increasingly popular over the past year, as Instagram has partnered with various organizations for their series of generators, which curates different types of stickers based on a holiday, celebration or event. Story link stickers are quick, simple and easy to use, which means whether you are influencing with promotional sponsorships, writing content that shares blogs or a marketer looking to share a new product, they can be used to help boost your social networking strategy.
Instagram chose the sticker as opposed to just allowing the skating feature up to be accessible to the masses as it allows for more creative control over the aesthetics of the story in addition to allowing users to engage with the story through a comment or comment. Link stickers are proving to be just as valuable as the upward-sliding format, if not even more so, because of the ability to customize the sticker and make it fit seamlessly into any story in the post.
How to add a link to Instagram
The great thing about the link story feature is that it is very simple to use. Although the stories still have a limited 24 hour expiration date, it still provides ample opportunity for your link to get involved and help with conversions, impressions and traffic to a dedicated page. Just like your link in the biography or the skating feature above, you can still track and monitor your links to evaluate your overall performance.
Here are three simple steps to add your link sticker to your Instagram account.
Step 1: Click Select Instagram Stories stickers and select the link sticker within the app.
Step 2: Paste your link in the link field – make sure it is not a broken page.
![](https://s17233.pcdn.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Adding-links-to-Instagram-02.png)
Step 3: Be creative and replace the text and color by tapping the sticker.
![](https://s17233.pcdn.co/blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Adding-links-to-Instagram-03.png)
It’s that simple! Now that we all have access to this amazing feature, it’s time to be strategic about the types of links you share in your stories. If you are looking to maximize your social media experience and stand out in front of a sea of link stickers, it’s time to start branding your links with Bitly. Using Bitly branded links can help your content stand out from the competition, attract more clicks and inspire confidence in your audiences that you do not share spam links. Our links are built for social media and can turn your content into branded assets that can be identified by your audience.
Do not be the last in line to start branding your links and improve your social presence with our basic program. Get started with Bitly today!