Should you include links in social media posts?

Whether or not you include links in social media posts will largely depend on which social media channels you are using. Here, we consider the main different social channels and links could, or could not, be beneficial.

Is the link easily clickable? 

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn all display external website links in an easily ‘clickable’ way.  

It is easy to spot the inclusion of an external link in posts of each of these channels and image previews will even be displayed. 

Will the link drive quality traffic to your site? 

A social channel like Pinterest has the potential to drive great quality, engaged traffic to your website. Pinterest is used as a research and education resource by many users so pins, with the right targeting can attract potential new users or clients. Including links in your social media posts on Pinterest is an absolute must! 

Be wary of Instagram

There are very few places within Instagram where links can actually be clicked. You may see some users pop a link in their caption but, trust me, no one is going to copy and paste a link from your caption into their browser.  Links in your bio work well and if you have over 10,000 followers you’ll be able to utilise the swipe up link function in Stories. 

Explore different social media  CTAs 

Although social media can be a good driver of website traffic it should not be its primary purpose in any marketing strategy. I’ve said it before and will say it again …. social media is about being S.O.C.I.A.L. Create your content plan with this at the front of your mind. Sales posts are absolutely fine as part of a wider content plan but will not convert if every post is promotional. There are plenty of different calls to actions (CTAs) you can use on social media (comment, message, like, DM) as well as providing a link. Try some out and see which work best for you.