Even if you’ve seen only a few posts on Instagram or TikTok, you’ve probably come across the term “link in bio”. It shows up everywhere from your favorite brand’s product posts to the latest snapshot of your # CottageCore account that you follow.
But what does “Link in Bio” actually mean? Why do people always use it? And should you take part too? Let’s find out!
What does “Link in Bio” mean?
Creators on Instagram and TikTok use the term “link in bio” to let their audience know that they can get more information about a post by clicking the URL in their bio.
Anyone can add a link to their bio on Instagram, and any business account holder can add one to their TikTok. There, the creators draw attention to the link by mentioning it in the content they post.
Rumor has it that adding “Link in Bio” in Instagram captions reduces the reach and engagement of posts, so we ran an experiment to test the theory. Spoiler: Saying “Link in Bio” actually increased our engagement and reach, but you can watch this video to see the details:
“Link in Bio” is the only way Instagram and TikTok creators with fewer than 10,000 followers can send people away from the platform. Accounts with more than 10,000 followers are allowed Add links to your stories.
Most YouTubers use their Instagram and TikTok biolink to direct viewers to one of six things:
- your website
- Your other social media profiles
- to blog
- A product page
- An online shop
… or all of the above (more on that later).
Where is the link in the bio on Instagram?
On Instagram you can find the “Link in Bio” in the short description at the top of a user’s profile. It sits among other important information such as the number of posts and the number of followers.
Venture North, an organization promoting tourism in Northern Scotland, uses their link in the bio to direct their audience to their website.
Where is the link in the bio on TikTok?
For the sake of simplicity, the Biolink is located in exactly the same place on TikTok. It can be found in the bio at the top of a creator’s profile page.
Here’s how to paste a link on your Instagram bio
Adding a link to your Instagram bio is a simple process. So easy, you can get it done in just three short steps.
1. At the top of your profile page, click “Edit Profile”.
2. Enter your Destination URL (the link you want to promote) in the “Website” field
3. Click Submit at the bottom of the page
And so you have a link to yours Instagram biography.
Quick tip! If you don’t see the link when you navigate back to your profile, you probably forgot to click “Submit” before exiting.
Here’s how to paste a link on your TikTok bio
With TikTok, the process is similar. However, right now, most users need a business account to add a link to their bio.
If you have a creator account on TikTok and you don’t have access to the link in the bio function, the first thing you need to do is switch to a business account. To do it:
1. Click the TikTok menu icon
2. Click on “Manage Account”.
3. Select “Switch to business account”
4. Choose the category that best describes your company
5. Click on ‘Next’
Now you can add a clickable link to your TikTok bio.
1. Click on “Edit profile”
2. Click on “Add your website”.
3. Enter the URL that you want to display on your profile
4. Click on ‘Save’
You now have a link in your TikTok bio.
How to add a link in the bio with multiple links
The problem with the Biolink feature on both Instagram and TikTok is that you can only have one. You can’t post links anywhere else on these platforms so you’ll need to get smart to optimize your only opportunity.
For most YouTubers, this means converting a link into multiple links using a landing page.
Just create a landing page with all the links you want to showcase and add a link to that landing page on your Instagram or TikTok bio.
And if that sounds a little complicated now. Don’t worry, there are plenty of tools out there that you can use to create a multilink landing page with ease.
Link in bio tools
Create a link in the bio landing page with Linktree
Linktree is a free tool that lets you create a simple landing page with multiple links from simple templates. It’s pretty easy to set up.
The free version gives you templates with some customization options and access to a simple statistics interface so you can see how your page is performing.
When you pay $ 6 a month to go Pro, you can remove the Linktree logo from your landing page, access better analysis and customization options, and Linktree’s retargeting feature on social media.
Create a one-click bio with Hootsuite
If you use Hootsuite to manage your social media, you can do so from your dashboard with. create a link tree oneclick-bio.
With oneclick-bio you can create simple links in bio landing pages with text-filled buttons, as offered by Linktree. But you can also add social media links and an image gallery.
You can use the picture function to recreate posts from your Instagram or TikTok account in oneclick-bio. However, unlike your posts in the platform, you can add clickable links to the images in your one-click.bio.
So anyone who navigates to your landing page from your Instagram or TikTok account can access a clickable version of the post they’re interested in.
Learn how to create a One-Click.bio landing page here.
Create a landing page with Unbounce
If you have a little more time to spare and prefer a fully customizable link in the bio landing page, you can create one with a landing page builder such as Unbounce.
With Unbounce you can create a fully branded landing page that perfectly complements your Instagram or TikTok profile. Use a simple drag-and-drop builder or super-smart AI to get the job done.
5 Link In Bio Tips To Drive More Traffic To Your Website
Highlight your most important links
Less is more when it comes to multi-link landing pages. Resist the urge to pick up every link under the sun. The last thing you want is to distract people from what is important.
Good things to highlight on your link in the bio landing page are:
- Your website home page
- Your latest or most popular content
- Information about a sale, promotion or giveaway
- Links to your other social media accounts
- Your online storefront or top product page
- Your most powerful lead magnet
Customize your links to suit your goals
Which links you include in your link in the bio landing page depends on what you want to achieve with them.
If you want to build your email list, you can skip the other social media account links but put your lead magnet and list signup in the foreground.
On the other hand, if you are on Instagram or TikTok for more sales, you want to draw attention to your online storefront and the latest deals or freebies.
Offer value, not hard sell
Someone who followed a “Link in Bio” request from Instagram or TikTok is likely new to your content. So it is best to avoid hard selling on your landing page.
Instead, focus on adding value. For example, you could:
- Offer exclusive offers or discounts to people who shop through your landing page
- Link to your most read or useful content
- Add a good introduction about yourself or your brand
Keep your link short in the biolink
Both Instagram and TikTok will display your full URL in your bio. So you want it to be something short and powerful.
Some links in Bio-Tools allow you to customize your URL. If you can, you should!
You can use this area to mention your brand name and insert a call to action. For example:
www.mybrand.ca/learnmore
www.mybrand.ca/sayhallo
www.mybrand.ca/shopnow
www.mybrand.ca/welcome
Custom links are powerful, easy to remember, and more likely to inspire clicks.
And don’t worry if you can’t make a short URL at the source. You can a. use URL shortening tool like ow.ly, which you can access from the Hootsuite dashboard for ultra-fast links.
Use emojis to highlight your “Link in Bio” appeal in a post
Once you have a super sleek link on the bio landing page, extra effort should be made to drive traffic to your profile. One way to do this is to use emojis to draw attention to your link in the Bio-CTA.
You don’t have to go through the full Gen Z, however. One or two well-placed emojis will do.
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