Social media is great—but how do you get more of those social media users off of social media and onto places where they can actually turn into customers?
The thing is, the big social media platforms have a vested interest in keeping people on social media, because more views for longer means more ad revenue for them.
But you have a vested interest in something different: selling your product, growing your email list, or signing new clients. Some social platforms don’t allow external links in posts, and the ones that do will absolutely bury posts with external links.
What’s a brand to do?
Make the most of the link-in-bio feature. It’s the best linking opportunity on social media, with the potential to drive serious traffic and conversions.
What is a link-in-bio?
A link-in-bio is a clickable link that brands and individuals place in the bio section of their social media profiles to encourage audiences to further engage with the brand off-platform.
The link-in-bio became a vital piece of social media marketing, engagement, and analytics back in the early days of Instagram, which didn’t (and still doesn’t) allow users to include clickable links in regular posts. It was a way to drive traffic from a brand’s Instagram profile page to some other destination, like an online store.
Many brands used their link-in-bio as a way to sell on Instagram back before Instagram Shops came along in 2020 (a good practice since 44% of users shop on Instagram at least weekly).
Now most major social media networks have created a link-in-bio feature, whether they allow other external links or not. You’ll find brands implementing a TikTok link-in-bio as well as on Pinterest, Twitter/X, and even LinkedIn.Over time, the link-in-bio has evolved. What was once just a simple Instagram bio link to a destination (like a homepage or eCommerce storefront) is now a dynamic centralized point that can route followers to numerous destinations using a dedicated link-in-bio page.
Where do you add link-in-bios?
If you’re new to using link-in-bios, it can be a little confusing exactly how to use one to get your Instagram followers (as well as those on other platforms) to the right destination. Here are some basic instructions for the most popular platforms:
- Instagram: Tap your profile picture, then Edit profile, then Links. You should see Add external link—that’s where the link-in-bio link should go.
- TikTok: To add your website to your TikTok bio, tap Edit profile on your profile and then Add Your Website.
- Twitter/X: Similarly, under Edit profile you’ll see a URL field.
- Linkedin: Much less straightforward and only available to Premium customers and creators. Here’s how LinkedIn explains it: Select Me, then Edit (the pencil next to your name/brand), then Custom button, Edit intro, and finally Edit custom button. Select Link and add your link.
If you want to dive deeper, our Instagram link-in-bio guide is a great next step.
What to include in a link-in-bio to drive conversions
Now let’s take a look at what elements your brand should include in your link-in-bio—or more specifically, on your link-in-bio page.
We should clear this one up before we go any further: The term “link-in-bio” can refer to both the custom link itself (the actual URL that goes in the bio) and a separate mobile-optimized landing page (the website users land on when they click the link).
So as you keep reading, remember that you can update your link-in-bio URL periodically to individual important links like those listed below—or you can create a link-in-bio page that’s easy to customize whenever you need.
Promotional links
You want your link-in-bio to be enticing and engagement-worthy, and nothing entices quite like a sale! If your current promotion has its own landing page, you can drop that link into your link-in-bio. Just remember to explain in an adjacent space what the link is for and why users should click or tap through!
Make sure to think through what your link looks like, too: yoursite.com/fall-blowout-sale/ tells users what to expect. /3mdk3j34m/search?q=keyword_fall%20sale%20 doesn’t exactly have the same appeal.
Bonus pro tip: What’s better than a sale? A giveaway! Giving away a specific product can be a great part of your social media strategy, helping turn Instagram users into influencers and recurring customers.
Latest content
If your brand includes regular blog posts as a part of its content marketing strategy, consider dropping an evergreen link to your latest content, like “Keep up with company news,” or something similar.
Similarly, if you’ve just published a major announcement (like a merger or a change to operations or hours) you can highlight that post in a similar way:
“BIG NEWS: We’re expanding! Check out the details.”
One more idea: If you offer a relatively small number of products or launch something new that’s big and buzzworthy, you could use this approach to push users to a specific product page.
Subscription or sign-up links
Social media can be a great place to grow your email list—but you have to get your users to a place where they can give you that information first. This approach can work well for brands that deal in knowledge, insight, or expertise, like consultancies and marketing agencies. Your day-to-day social media posts should offer nuggets of wisdom and actionable advice, and they should also direct users wanting more to sign up at your link-in-bio.
Contact information
Most social media networks include some method of direct contact, like Messenger for Facebook and Instagram. But if you want to provide your audience with different ways to contact you that can’t just be listed in your bio, then your link-in-bio could be the solution. Send people to a landing page with the more complex contact information you need them to see (such as a fillable intake form).
Best practices for optimizing your link-in-bio
Now that you understand how link-in-bios work and what kinds of information you can point people toward with them, it’s time to optimize! Use these best practices to fine-tune the way you’re using your link-in-bios so you can improve your click-through rate and conversion rate.
Use a link-in-bio tool
As we described earlier, many brands are getting smart about how they use their limited clickable link real estate. Instead of a single static link to, say, a sale page or an intake form, brands are now using link-in-bio tools to take users to a powerful custom landing page that can then take users wherever they want to go within your digital ecosystem.
Here’s how this works with Bitly.
Using our user-friendly, no-code, all-in-one landing page builder, Bitly Pages, create a responsive, mobile-optimized landing page or mini website. This page can link out to as many of your brand’s pages and assets as you want. When you create a link-in-bio through Bitly Pages, you have the option to pick the URL.
Once you have your Bitly Link-in-bio URL, go back into your social profiles and update your link-in-bio using the short link you created here. Now all your social media profiles have a link-in-bio that points to your customized landing page that’s optimized for mobile—and for conversion.
Track your link performance
Once you’ve set up a landing page using a link-in-bio tool like Bitly, you can also use analytics tools (including Bitly Analytics) to track link performance.
You can use Bitly and other social media management tools to track social media performance generally as well as link performance. With Bitly, you gain powerful insights into who’s clicking your link-in-bio, what they do once they click, and how well your various links are performing.
Not every link on your landing page is going to perform equally—the pages aren’t designed to do so. But you can get a sense of what’s working and what’s not by comparing similar pages.
For example, did your fall sale flop but your Labor Day sale set records? Now that you know, you can look at the differences between the two and start testing solutions.
You can also track performance over time. Assuming you keep a fairly stable set of links, a drop in performance could reveal something users don’t like about the destination.
Optimize for mobile
If you do your work from a computer, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking everyone’s using laptops for everything. But the broader internet doesn’t work that way—in 2023, 56% of all internet traffic was mobile, and that number is creeping higher in 2024.
We know social media really doesn’t tilt toward desktop users. Most social media platforms are mobile-first, and some are practically mobile-only! That means users who interact with you on social media are mostly using their phones. When they click on your link-in-bio, they aren’t clicking—they’re tapping.
If they land on a site that’s hard to read on mobile or has untappable links and buttons, they won’t stick around.Using a modern page builder like Bitly should guarantee that your link-in-bio page performs perfectly on desktop and mobile browsers.
Use clear CTAs
Getting users to click the link-in-bio on your profile was a big first step. But even though they’re now on your landing page, the battle isn’t done!
Don’t just present them with a list of links. First, give them context: Explain why they should tap through on a button or link. Then, invite them to do it using a clear and concise call to action.
These don’t have to be complex: “Read Now,” “Get the Gear,” “Check the Looks,” “Stay Informed”—short, direct, and enticing is the name of the game.
Create a high-converting link-in-bio with Bitly
Making the most of your social media presence means creating an optimized link-in-bio destination that gives followers what they want—and pushes them to convert.
We’ve given you a roadmap for making the most of your limited external linking opportunities on social media, and Bitly is the key. Using Bitly, you can create a high-performing mobile-optimized landing page for your link-in-bio that helps you turn more followers and casual viewers into paying customers.
Ready to see more? Start creating your high-converting link-in-bio page with Bitly now! Get started for free.
