How To Drive Traffic Using a Link in Bio [Instagram + TikTok]
Even if you’ve only seen a few posts on Instagram or TikTok, you’ll have likely encountered the phrase ‘link in bio.’ It pops up everywhere, from your favorite brand’s product posts to the latest snap from that #CottageCore account you follow.
But what does ‘link in bio’ actually mean? Why are people always using it? And should you get in on the action too? Let’s find out!
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What does “link in bio” mean?
“Link in bio” refers to the URL in the bio section of most social media profiles. Creators on Instagram and TikTok use the phrase in posts to tell their audience they can find more information by clicking the URL in their bio.
Most creators use their Instagram and TikTok bio link to send viewers to one of six things:
- Their website
- Their other social media profiles
- A blog
- A product page
- An online shop
… or all of the above (more on this later).
Anyone can add a link to their bio on Instagram, and any Business account holder can add one to their TikTok. Once there, creators draw attention to the link by mentioning it in the content they post.
Some rumors claim that saying “link in bio” in your Instagram posts reduces reach and engagement, 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:
Using a link in bio is one of the easiest ways Instagram and TikTok creators can send people off-platform. (Links in Instagram Stories used to be restricted to accounts with more than 10,000 followers, but now, they’re available to anyone.)
Where is the Instagram link in bio?
On Instagram, you’ll find the ‘link in bio’ in the short description at the very top of a user’s profile. It sits underneath other important information like the number of posts and follower count.
The Instagram link in bio isn’t restricted to business accounts, either. So even if you only have a personal account, you’ll be able to add a link to your Instagram profile.
Venture North, an organization that promotes tourism in north Scotland, uses its link in bio to direct its audience to its website.
Where is the TikTok link in bio?
The TikTok bio link is at the very top of a creator’s profile page, just like the Instagram link in bio.
How to put a link in your Instagram bio
Wondering how to add a link to your Instagram bio? It’s a simple process — just three short steps.
1. Click Edit profile at the top of your profile page
2. Enter your target URL (the link you want to promote) in the Website field
3. Click Submit at the bottom of the page
And, just like that, you’ve added a link to your Instagram bio.
Quick tip! If you don’t see the link when you navigate back to your profile, you probably forgot to hit the Submit button before navigating away from the page.
How to put a link in your TikTok bio
The process is similar on TikTok. However, currently, most users need a Business account to add a link to their bio.
If you have a Creator account on TikTok and don’t have access to the link in bio feature, you first need to switch to a Business account. Check out our TikTok for Business guide for step-by-step instructions, then come back here!
Once you’ve switched to a Business account, you’re ready to add a clickable link to your TikTok bio.
1. Click Edit profile
2. Click Add your website
3. Enter the URL you want to feature on your profile
4. Click Save
Congratulations — you now have a link in your TikTok bio!
How to add multiple links to your link in bio
The problem with the bio link feature on both Instagram and TikTok is that you can only have a single link. You can’t post links anywhere else on these platforms, so you have to get crafty to optimize your one opportunity.
For most creators, that means turning one link into multiple links using a landing page.
A landing page can contain all of the links you want to showcase. You just need to link to that landing page in your Instagram or TikTok bio.
Sound complicated? It’s really not! Plenty of tools can help you create a multi-link landing page.
Link in bio tools
Hootbio
Did you know that you can create a unique link in bio page for Instagram and TikTok using Hootsuite? To get started, sign in to your Hootsuite account and navigate to the Create section of the dashboard. There, select Hootbio from the menu.
Note: Hootbio is available to Team, Business, and Enterprise plan Hootsuite users. If you are a Professional plan user, upgrade now to access this feature.
To build your Hootbio page, start with basic profile information:
- Profile name. This will show up as the heading at the top of your page.
- Profile description. This is the subtitle text located below your profile name.
- Profile picture. We recommend using an image aligned with the branding of your Instagram account to keep the look of your bio page familiar and on-brand.
- Your website. This is where you create a URL for your link in bio page. We will let you know if a URL has already been claimed by someone else.
Then, add your links. Every link has to include a URL and text that will be displayed on the button. You can also add images to links, but this feature is optional.
To change the order of links on your page, simply drag and drop them using the triple bar icon.
When you’re done, click Update in the top right corner of the page.
You can also direct followers to your other social accounts — or your email inbox — using dedicated buttons.
Head to the Social section of the menu to set up links for Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Messenger, and email.
To save your changes, click Update in the top right corner of the dashboard.
In the Design section, you can customize the design of your Hootbio page. Pick one of the recommended color themes, or customize your font, button, and background colors to make the page truly yours.
When you’re done — you guessed it — click Update in the top right corner of your screen.
That’s it! Your Hootbio page is ready. To start using it, copy the link displayed in the top right corner of the dashboard, and paste it into your Instagram and TikTok bios. You can update your bio whenever you need, but note that URL edits are restricted to once every six months.
Ready to build your own custom link in bio page? Sign up for a free 30-day Team plan trial now, and start converting your Instagram followers into online customers.
One-click bio
If you use Hootsuite Professional to manage your social media, you can create a link tree from your dashboard using oneclick.bio.
With oneclick.bio, you can create simple link in bio landing pages with text-filled buttons like those offered by Linktree. But you can also add social media links and an image gallery.
You can use the images feature to recreate posts from your Instagram or TikTok account in oneclick.bio. But, unlike your posts in-platform, these images can include clickable links.
This simple tool lets anyone navigating to your landing page from your Instagram or TikTok bio access a clickable version of the post they were interested in.
Find out how to create a one-click.bio landing page here.
Linktree
Linktree is a free tool that allows you to create a simple multi-link landing page from basic templates. It’s pretty easy to set up.
With the free version, you’ll get templates with some customization options and access to a simple statistics interface so you can see how your page is performing.
If you pay $6 per month to go Pro, you’ll be able to access more powerful customization tools. For example, pro accounts can remove Linktree’s logo from their landing page and access better analytics and customization options, like Linktree’s social media retargeting feature.
Unbounce
If you’ve got a bit more time on your hands and prefer a customizable link in the bio landing page, you can create one using a landing page builder like 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
The last thing you want is to distract people from what’s important. So resist the urge to include every link under the sun on your landing page.
Good things to highlight on your link in bio landing page include:
- Your website home page
- Your latest or most popular piece of content
- Information about a sale, promotion or giveaway
- Links to your other social media accounts
- Your online storefront or top product page
- Your best-performing lead magnet
Match your links to your goals
The links you choose to include in your link in bio landing page will depend on what you want that page to achieve.
If you want to build your email list, you might skip the other social media account links but put your lead magnet and list sign up front and center.
But if you’re on Instagram or TikTok to drive sales, you’ll want to focus attention on your online storefront and latest sale or giveaway.
Offer value, not the hard sell
If someone has clicked your link in bio on Instagram or TikTok, they’re looking for specific content. Make sure your landing page meets their expectations instead of hitting them with the hard sell.
Instead, focus on offering value. For example, you could:
- Offer exclusive deals or discounts for people who buy via your landing page
- Link to your most-read or most useful piece of content
- Include a helpful introduction to you or your brand
Keep your link in bio link short
Both Instagram and TikTok display your full URL in your bio. So you want it to be something short and powerful.
Some link in bio tools allow you to customize your URL. If you can do it, you should!
You can use this space to mention your brand name and include a call to action. For example:
www.mybrand.ca/learnmore
www.mybrand.ca/sayhello
www.mybrand.ca/shopnow
www.mybrand.ca/welcome
Customized links are impactful, easy to remember and more likely to inspire clicks. Plus, they often look a lot less spammy.
And don’t worry if your tool can’t automatically create a short URL. You can use a URL shortening tool like ow.ly, accessible from the Hootsuite dashboard, to create ultra-snappy links.
Use emojis to highlight your ‘link in bio’ call out
Once you have a super sleek link in bio landing page, you’ll want to try extra hard to drive traffic to your profile. One way to do it is to use emojis to draw attention to your link in bio CTA.
You don’t have to overdo it, though. You can highlight your CTA with a few well-placed emojis.
Drive traffic to your website from Instagram and TikTok using Hootsuite. From a single dashboard, you can manage all of your social profiles, schedule and publish posts, engage your followers, monitor relevant conversations, analyze results, manage your ads, and much more.
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