The option was previously only released for accounts that had 10,000 followers or that had verification. This is excellent news for many users who previously did not have access to the tool due to the limitations imposed by the social network.
Replacing “Swipe up”
In August, Instagram announced that it would begin converting those who had “swipe up” access to the “link sticker”. The change started happening on August 30th and included companies and creators that were verified or that reached the limit for counting followers. While Instagram doesn’t publicly comment on this number, there is a proven consensus on it. The new tool brought some important advantages over the old “swipe up” tool. For starters, it gives the creator greater control over your Stories such as using polls, questions, and location stickers. It also allows creators to switch between different styles by resizing the stickers and then placing them anywhere in the Stories in order to bring maximum engagement. In addition, viewers can now react and respond to posts that have the “link sticker” attached, just like any other Story. Before, this type of feedback was not possible in posts with the “swipe up”, according to guidelines cited by Instagram itself.
The release of the tool for all users
In the new announcement on the 27th, Instagram stated that all users now have access to the “link sticker” feature in Instagram Stories. The expansion comes when the company recently switched from “swipe up” on Instagram Stories in favor of new “link stickers”. The company says that sharing links is useful in many ways for accounts of all sizes and types, which is why it is expanding access to allow everyone to share what they want in their Stories. In the past, link sharing was widely used by creators and businesses to drive their visitors to a website, to learn more about a product, read an article, sign up for a service, and more. “We made this decision based on feedback we heard from the community about how impactful it would be for creators and businesses of all sizes to benefit from link sharing to grow in the same way larger accounts do,” said Instagram.
Reels and Stories
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had a long speech on Facebook’s latest earnings announcement, noting that: “Reels is already the main driver of engagement growth on Instagram. It’s incredibly fun and I think there is still huge potential ahead of us. We expect this to continue to grow and I am optimistic that this will be just as important to our products as Stories. We also expect to make significant changes to Instagram and Facebook over the next year to further deepen video and make reels a more central part of the experience.” Clearly, Reels is a core element of the social network, but with the news, Stories remain important as it is a video tool as well. This makes Stories all the more valuable because of their ability to drive their direct traffic through links. With Instagram looking to focus on video content like Stories and Reels itself, you can also expect the platform to increasingly emphasize the use of Stories as demand drives more engagement.
Controversy about the new tool
As explained by Instagram: “When we first introduced Stories links, the feature was limited to verified accounts or those with a certain number of followers. We’ve heard from the rest of our community that they also want to share things that matter with their friends and family. Whatever you’re into, from cooking to volunteering or shopping, you now have a space to share in Stories — regardless of your account size. The announcement itself has been a source of controversy and confusion in the case of Instagram ads, which still use “swipe up”. But adding “link stickers” gives users more creative control over how links appear in frames in Stories, which can be a good way to drive more referral traffic. And now, everyone will be able to add their own links, expanding the potential value of Stories to drive audience action. Instagram claims that new accounts and accounts that frequently share content that violates community guidelines will not have access to the “link sticker”. Which is a kind of protection, to limit misuse of the tool, although the details of what qualifies as a ‘new’ account in this context have not been communicated. Instagram also notes that it’s developing new ways to customize the “link sticker” so it’s clear what someone will see when they tap your “link”. This might include a link preview element or similar, which might be another aspect to consider in your process. You can access the feature by selecting the stickers or stickers tool in the top navigation bar when capturing or uploading content to your Stories. After selecting the “link sticker”, you can add the chosen link and tap “Done”. From there, you can place the sticker anywhere in Stories and tap on it to see the other color variations. It was a much-requested addition and now, you can expect to see a lot more links in your Instagram Stories, which can even be a bit annoying and lead to an influx of users posting more Stories. So, it can be a blessing or a curse for the format.
Did you like to know about the tool in Stories?
Were you able to follow our article about releasing the link in Stories for all users? So, leave a comment telling how you think this change will impact Instagram users’ lives!
