How To Add A Link To Your Instagram Story: A Step-By-Step Guide

Are you looking to drive more traffic to your website through Instagram? 

Mastering the art of adding links to your Instagram stories is a simple yet powerful strategy to boost engagement and increase sales. The swipe-up feature allows users to seamlessly access external URLs directly from your stories, making it a valuable tool for businesses to promote products, services, or blog content.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to add a link to your Instagram story, how to use it effectively, and how it can help elevate your marketing efforts. 

Whether you’re launching a new product or sharing a special offer, knowing how to use Instagram story links is a key step in improving your online presence and achieving your business goals. 

Let’s dive in!

Who Can Add An Instagram Story Link?

Before you can get access to this feature, there are a few prerequisites you need to check, focusing on Instagram growth before learning how to add a link to your Instagram story. 

Use An Instagram Business Profile

The first requirement is that your Instagram account needs to be a business profile and not a personal one. 

To make this switch, go to your profile and tap the three lines in the upper right-hand corner; then choose “Settings” and “Account.” At the bottom, you’ll see an option to “Switch to Professional Account.” 

Select it and follow the steps of adding your business category and contact information. Once you’re done, there’s just one more hurdle to clear before you can learn how to add a link to your Instagram story.

Get 10k followers

To use the swipe-up feature on Instagram, you need 10,000 followers. If you haven’t reached this yet, focus on growing your followers with services like Kicksta, which helps target the right people safely.

A business profile is essential for effective marketing on Instagram. It gives you access to tools like adding links to stories once you have 10,000 followers, helping drive traffic to your website. Kicksta saves you time by bringing real followers interested in your brand.

To boost your Instagram marketing, post content that resonates with your audience, use relevant hashtags, engage with followers, and collaborate with influencers. These strategies will help grow your following, drive traffic, and achieve your business goals.

Another important component of Instagram growth is to make sure you’re posting high-quality content. Any photos, videos, or graphics that you post should tie in with your Instagram theme, provide value to your followers, and include an engaging caption that asks readers to take action.

Hashtags are also a helpful method of growing your account. By using relevant hashtags, you can position your account in front of more users who are interested. 

Instagram followers that you get access to Instagram story links. Once you have over 10,000 followers, invest some time into learning how to add a link to your Instagram Story.

How to Add A Link to Your Instagram Story

You have a business profile, you have 10k followers, and you’re ready to begin swiping up. Here’s a step-by-step guide detailing exactly how to add a link to your Instagram story and see not only Instagram growth but more website traffic and sales too.

Step #1. Create an Instagram Story

Open your Instagram Story camera by swiping left from your Instagram home feed. Take a photo, or swipe up to access photos from your camera roll. Once you’ve selected an image, you’ll see a row of icons at the top. Tap the hyperlink icon (it looks like a chain).

Step #2. Add a URL

Without 10k followers and a business profile, you can’t use the swipe-up feature. Instead, you’ll see a “More Options” screen to tag business partners using Instagram’s branded content tools.

If you have access to the swipe-up feature, adding a URL is simple. After creating your story, tap “URL” and paste the link to direct viewers.

Having a business profile and 10,000 followers unlocks this feature, helping businesses drive traffic to websites or specific content, promoting products, services, or updates directly through Instagram stories.

Step #3. Publish Your Story

And that’s it — now you know how to add a link to an Instagram story. Simply click “Done” after adding the URL and you can upload your Instagram story just like usual. Your published story will include a “Swipe-up” link. The process of adding a link to your Instagram story is painless and easy.

Instagram Story Links Best Practices

When using Instagram story links, include a clear call-to-action (CTA) to encourage followers to engage. Use phrases like “Swipe up” or add arrows pointing to the link. Track clicks and conversions to see how well your links are working and improve your strategy. Keep your content interesting and high-quality to keep followers engaged. Following these tips can drive traffic, increase engagement, and reach your marketing goals.

Include a CTA

When adding a link to your Instagram story, use a clear call-to-action (CTA) like “Swipe up” or arrows pointing to the link. Videos or GIFs, like showing someone swiping up, make it more engaging. CTAs guide viewers to your link, increasing clicks. 

When adding a link to your Instagram story, use a clear call-to-action (CTA) like “Swipe up” or arrows pointing to the link. Videos or GIFs, like showing someone swiping up, make it more engaging. CTAs guide viewers to your link, increasing clicks. 

Using GIFs or videos also helps viewers engage without reading long text, making your story more fun and eye-catching.

“Be intentional about the call-to-action copy overlay for the posts! Ensure they are action and value oriented, not simply a “swipe up” gif. People need to be incentivized to take action.” — Anna Nassery, Founder & Brand Director of Brand Up.

Of course, you also need to make sure your link makes sense given the context of your Story. If you’re sharing a photo of a new product, for instance, don’t link to your blog — provide the link to where people can purchase the product. 

Make sure you provide content that’s relevant to your followers and that the Story and the URL go along with one another. 

“When creating an interactive post with a link, I like to tell a story with my post. I use animation and geotags to grab the viewer’s attention and then make sure to use a call to action to swipe up on the photo with the link.” — Sasha Horne, Creator of SashaTalksTech.com 

Track Analytics

Use Instagram Insights to see how well your Stories are performing. By navigating to “Insights” from your business profile, selecting “Content,” and selecting “Stories,” you can view statistics for the story posts you put up in the past 14 days. 

Important metrics to measure include interactions (how many people took an action from your Story, such as replying or visiting your profile); reach (how many users saw the post overall); and next story or exited (how many users didn’t stick around to see the entire story, and clicked out of it instead). 

Keeping up with measurements like these can help you improve your Instagram strategy, letting you know if there’s anything you need to tweak moving forward.

Follow Content Creation Best Practices

Your Instagram stories should be high-quality and engaging to keep viewers interested. If you don’t have access to story links yet, use this time to improve your strategy. Try features like stickers, polls, and hashtags to create great content. 

This will help you grow your following and reach 10k followers faster, so you’re ready to use links when you can.

“The reason why 95% of my leads and sales come from Instagram is largely because I don’t guess what type of content my audience wants to see, I ask them. Every month I use the quiz and poll sticker asking my audience their likes and dislikes in a variety of ways. If you make it fun, more people will give you feedback. Plus the Instagram algorithm rewards you when people engage with your page.” — Tiffany Carter, Top Business Coach for Women.

Benefits of Instagram Story Links

Adding a link to your Instagram story makes it easy for viewers to visit your website with a simple swipe-up, boosting website traffic and streamlining the buying process. Brands like Abercrombie & Fitch use swipe-up links to direct viewers to specific product pages, making shopping easier. 

To use this feature effectively, ensure clear CTAs and relevant content. Even without 10k followers, businesses can still tag partners using branded content tools to drive engagement and traffic.

Creative Ways Influencers and Brands Use Instagram Story Links

Instagram Story links are helpful to influencers too, not just brands. Influencer Whitney Bates regularly uses her Instagram Stories to announce collaborations with brands that are relevant to her fellow young-mom followers, such as meal subscription boxes that make dinner easy to prep. Recently, Whitney used her Instagram Stories to feature a company called Loopy Cases that makes a unique phone case. 

She included a swipe-up link so her thousands of followers could visit the brand’s website and find the product she was using. 

For Loopy Cases, this was a smart way to position their product, as influencer marketing can lead to more organic Instagram followers.

Another strategic way to use Instagram Story links is to send people to your latest blog post, if applicable, instead of a product page. Here, elopement photographer and business educator Lindsey Roman offered a freebie to her followers: a guide to getting amazing reviews from past clients. 

Free content doesn’t always help you make immediate sales, but it can help you cultivate high-quality leads who will ideally make a purchase in the long run. 

The swipe-up feature can drive traffic to your website, but you can also use it creatively. For example, actress Candace Cameron Bure linked to a Facebook Live video about her Hallmark Christmas movie on Instagram, allowing fans to watch the video. Sometimes, it’s a good idea to link to other social media platforms, not just your website.

See Instagram Growth

By growing your Instagram followers, you’ll unlock the swipe-up feature and reach even more people who are interested in your links. 

Now that you know how to add a link to your Instagram story, start using this powerful tool to boost your sales and watch your Instagram grow. 

You’ve got this! Keep creating great content and engaging with your audience—success is just around the corner!