How to Add a Link to Facebook Story in 2024
How to Add a Link to Your Facebook Story
Adding a link to your Facebook Story is an awesome way to share cool websites, articles, products and more with your friends and followers right within the Facebook app.
Whether you want to drive traffic to your latest blog post or make your followers laugh with a viral video, inserting a clickable link into your Story can help you spread your message and get more eyeballs on your content.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about leveling up your Facebook Stories with links, including:
- The top benefits of linking in Stories
- What types of links perform best
- Step-by-step instructions for adding links on mobile
- Harnessing Instagram and WhatsApp to boost engagement
- Following link formatting best practices
- Comparing Stories to Facebook posts for links
- Monitoring performance with UTM parameters
- Fixing common issues with links not working
- Optimizing link previews for higher click-through
Let’s dive in!
Why You Should Add Links to Your Facebook Stories
We all know that Facebook Stories are a smash hit — but did you know that over 500 million accounts are creating Stories every single day?
With that huge built-in audience, adding links into your Stories gives you a prime opportunity to:
- Drive more visitors to money-making websites or online stores
- Boost engagement and word-of-mouth sharing from followers
- Increase conversions and sales for ecommerce brands
- Raise awareness about important causes or nonprofit initiatives
In fact, one survey found 75% of users are more likely to purchase a product after viewing it in a brand‘s Story. And HubSpot reports that Facebook Stories generate 15-25% higher open rates compared to News Feed posts.
Links allow you to tap into the addictive, visual nature of Stories without forcing viewers to leave the comfort of the Facebook app. Followers can seamlessly click through to online destinations at the tap of a finger!
Plus, while News Feed posts appear for just a short time in followers‘ feeds, Facebook Stories remain visible in your profile for a full 24 hours. That gives your audience a larger window to discover and click on your links.
Choosing the Best Links to Include
Of course, not all links make for a quality addition to your Facebook Stories.
Here are the key characteristics to look for when deciding which links to post:
- Authoritative websites and pages with trustworthy information
- Entertaining or funny videos, memes or animations
- Functional tools or quizzes your audience would enjoy
- Products, services or special offers likely to prompt purchases
You‘ll also want to stick to links with:
- Fast page load speeds under 3 seconds
- Mobile optimization for easy viewing on phones
- Concise URLs that won‘t overwhelm the Story screen
Let‘s analyze the step-by-step process for effortlessly adding a clickable link to your Story.
Inserting Links in Facebook Stories via Mobile
If you use Facebook‘s iOS or Android app, here is the full playbook for dropping a functioning link into any Story:
- Open up the Facebook app on your phone and tap Your Story
- Choose your Story format: photo, boomerang, etc.
- Look for the chain link icon and tap to select it
- Paste your prepped link URL into the field
- Hit Go and wait for the link preview to populate
- Customize the preview content to entice clicks
- Jazz up the Story with stickers, emoji and text as desired
- Tap “Share” when your masterpiece is complete
Example Story Link Insertion
It only takes seconds to add your link, but it could earn thousands of clicks and skyrocket your conversion rates!
Leveraging Instagram and WhatsApp for Links
Here is an awesome hack if your Instagram or WhatsApp accounts are already paired with Facebook:
Any Story link you post on Instagram or WhatsApp will automatically port over to your Facebook Stories too. It‘s social media magic!
You can take advantage of this time-saving feature to add links in just a few taps:
Instagram Link Method
- Construct an Instagram Story as usual
- Look for the “Link” sticker and tap it
- Paste your URL inside and drag to position it
- Customize the preview content that appears
- Post your IG Story like normal
- Voila! Your link is now live in Facebook Stories as well
WhatsApp Link Instructions
Similarly, any WhatsApp Status update with a link will sync automatically to your Facebook Story feed.
Follow these steps to take advantage:
- Open up WhatsApp on your phone
- Create a new Status then tap the link icon
- Insert your link URL when prompted
- Customize the preview content so it stands out
- Hit Send to share your Status to contacts
- Check Facebook Stories to see your link live in action
This cross-platform functionality is super convenient, allowing you to manage links from your preferred app.
Formatting Links to Best Practices
Inserting properly formatted link code into your Facebook Stories ensures happy users and healthy click-through rates.
Use these web development tips when structuring links:
- Place the main keywords near the front of lengthy URLs
- Shorten extremely long links with Bitly or TinyURL
- Include descriptive anchor text for the hyperlink itself
- Use hyphens (-) instead of underscores (_) in URLs
For example, transform this ugly link:
www.extremelylongsitenamehere.com/category/this_is_an_article_about_facebook_story_links.html
Into this user-friendly version:
bit.ly/fb-story-links
Adhering to these best practices keeps your Story links functional and user-friendly.
How Do Story Links Compare to Facebook Post Links?
You may be wondering—how do link capabilities in Facebook Stories stack up against sharing URLs in regular News Feed posts?
While both are solid options, Stories provide a few key advantages:
- Links in Stories stand out more with colorful, visual surrounds
- Vertical, full-screen Stories better optimize links for mobile users vs horizontal posts
- Story links have more real estate to encourage clicks with sticker animations, emoji and bold/large text
- Stories see higher average engagement rates overall vs News Feed posts
However:
- Posts allow longer-term visibility for your links as they remain on your Timeline indefinitely
- You can include more contextual details and longer link descriptions in post formats
- Posts appear in followers‘ feeds initially which may drive more passive traffic
Weighing the pros and cons, Stories tend to edge out posts when it comes to optimized link promotion. But both formats have their strengths!
Monitoring Link Performance with UTM Tags
Here is a nifty tech trick to track how well your Story links perform: UTM builder tools!
UTM stands for "Urchin Tracking Module," named after the original Google Analytics software Urchin.
UTMs allow you to:
- Append identifiable codes to your links so you can tell clicks apart in your analytics
- Quickly determine the source of your traffic
- Analyze user behavior from click to conversion for each link
For example, you can build Story links like:
www.yourlink.com/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=story&utm_campaign=summer
Then easily filter analytics to show data for each Story link specifically.
Using UTMs provides the technical intel to optimize your top-performing Story links!
Troubleshooting Tips for Broken Links
Like any tech tool, you may encounter issues adding links to Stories at times.
Here are some handy debugging tips:
Link Not Working
- Double check the original link loads properly in multiple browsers
- Try deleting and repasting the link in the Story composer
- Clear your browser cache and test again
- Ensure your device has a solid internet connection
Still not working? Try opening the link in the Facebook app instead of a browser.
Link Looks Correct But Isn‘t Clickable
- Confirm you pasted the link using the Story link tool specifically (not just text)
- Reload the Facebook app and check if the link loads correctly
- Repost the Story with the link inserted again from scratch
Story Not Appearing Publicly
If issues viewing the Story itself, verify your Story visibility is set to Public or Friends (not Only Me). Restricting access prevents it from being seen.
Reposting Stories can also quickly fix random glitches!
Crafting Compelling Link Previews
Along with a properly working link, you want to maximize clicks with irresistible link preview graphics.
When adding links to Stories, customize these aspects of the auto-generated preview:
- Title: Use emotional keywords like "Unbelievable" or "Finally"
- Description: Pose an intriguing question to pique curiosity
- Image: Vivid colors and faces tend to perform better
For example:
Unbelievable Trick Adds 20+ Likes to Facebook Stories
Learn the insider secret to make your life 100x easier 😱
With strategic preview content, you can dramatically lift that Story link click-through rate! 📈
Key Takeaways for Linking like a Pro
Let‘s recap the fundamentals for effortlessly embedding functional links in your Facebook Stories:
- Paste prepped link URLs using the chain link icon in the Story composer
- Alternatively, use Instagram or WhatsApp then sync Stories
- Format links properly and make mobile-friendly
- Add UTM tracking codes to monitor performance
- Troubleshoot issues so links function perfectly
- Optimize the auto-generated link preview content
So now you have zero excuses not to add some pizazz to your Stories with clicks to awesome websites, articles, quizzes and more!
Have you used links in Facebook or Instagram Stories before? What topics or types of links seem to resonate best with your followers? Let us know your innovations in the comments below!
