We’re a little late, but the news is still worth sharing. Your favourite phrase, “Swipe Up,” is extinct. Yes. You heard it right! Instagram replaced the classic “Swipe Up” feature with a better and improved Link sticker. Here’s everything you need to know about how to add links to Instagram Stories now.
How do link stickers work?
The function of the sticker is the same as the swipe up button. It will take your followers to an external website and help you drive traffic to blogs or push sales. The difference is how it is placed in the Story. The swipe up button goes at the bottom, whereas the sticker can be inserted anywhere.
Here’s how you can insert a link sticker to the story:
- Go to the add stories option on Instagram.
- Click a picture, record a video, or select a pre-recorded camera/video from the phone gallery.
- Click on the link icon available at the top of the screen, almost in the middle.
- Paste a link.
- Place the sticker wherever you want and better optimise your stories.
- Click on the forward arrow or the done button at the bottom right of the screen.
That’s it! Now anyone who sees your Story can tap on this sticker to visit the link posted by you.
How is the sticker different from swipe up?
- It changes the CTA motion: Clickable buttons generate more engagement. That’s one of the reasons Instagram introduced the feature. And that’s the biggest difference. Users had to swipe the stories up to reach the linked website with the swipe up feature. With a link sticker, they could click the button and land on the mentioned website.
- It’s more inclusive: Only accounts with more than 10K followers and a blue tick had access to the swipe up feature. Instagram plans to make the link sticker available for all. For nano-influencers and micro-influencers, that’s excellent news!
- It has a reply option: Swipe up didn’t have a reply option, which reduced engagement rate and opportunities for direct feedback. With the link sticker comes a reply dialogue box, so your followers can respond directly from it.
- It’s customisable: Swipe up had limited scope for creativity. It is now so with the link sticker. You can paste them anywhere in the Instagram Story, add different call-to-actions, and make it more visually appealing.
Time to start using the link sticker feature
Since Instagram is already testing the link sticker feature for accounts with less than 10K followers, check if you’re one of them. If you are, then get ready to use it. If not, then there’s always IGTV.
The video description on IGTV allows anyone to add links to your YouTube channel, website or more. Multiple of them. So, go forth and create!
