The Long, Tired History of “Link In Bio”

“Link in bio”. 

These three short words have become synonymous with Instagram as a platform and are perhaps haunting to those who work in social media marketing. You probably see this phrase every time you open the app, and that’s because it was born out of necessity due to some oversights in the app’s design.


Because Instagram does not feature clickable links in the captions of posts – you either have to manually type in the URL on your mobile browser or copy and paste the URL into a different tab on your desktop – “link in bio” has become a quick, infamous phrase to signal to the reader that they need to head to your full profile and view your bio to find the link in question. 


Here lies the problem, though: you can only have one link in your bio. This can get kind of tricky very quickly when you perhaps reference a specific page on your website in a new Instagram post when saying “link in bio”, yet the actual link in your bio directs users to your site’s general homepage and not the link they were led to look for via the initial post.


So maybe you’d like to have one link in your brand’s bio that directs users to a landing page with all the links you could ever want them to see, in addition to various other social media profiles for your brand. Sounds like a dream! Well, this is where Linktree and other “bio link tools” come in.

 

What Is Linktree?

You’ve probably seen a Linktree link (linked as linktr.ee) or two out in the wild on Instagram in other brands, influencers, or even your friends’ bios and have wondered what it is or how exactly it works.


On its official website, Linktree calls itself a “bio link tool”. That basically means that it was created out of the previously mentioned need for a way to house more than one link in your Instagram bio, and Linktree itself allows you to create a sort of “reference page” for your brand while also housing multiple links. 


After creating an account, you will be able to customize your Linktree link in several ways for free, but you will gain access to more customization options by selecting a paid plan for a monthly (or annual) fee ranging from $5 to $24. Let’s quickly go over some of the features of each Linktree plan, including the free plan.


Free Plan

  • Ability to add unlimited links to your Linktree
  • Data from the last 28 days on how many times links were clicked
  • Able to collect payments and tips
  • 10% transaction fee

Starter Plan - $5 monthly, $3 per month billed annually

  • More customization options for backgrounds, buttons, fonts, and more
  • Data from the last 90 days on how many times links were clicked
  • Spotlight and highlight links, schedule links to go live at a certain time
  • Prioritized customer support, receive a response within 24 hours
  • 5% transaction fee

Pro Plan - $9 monthly, $6 per monthly billed annually

  • Even more customization options including the ability to remove the Linktree logo from your page
  • All-time data on how many times links were clicked
  • Connect your Linktree to ad analytics services including Google Analytics, Facebook, and TikTok Pixel
  • Use UTM tags
  • Collect email addresses using Mailchimp
  • Prioritized customer support, receive a response within 24 hours
  • 2 % transaction fee

Premium Plan - $24 monthly, $19 per month billed annually

  • All the customization options of the previous plans
  • A personal “customer success” manager
  • View and export all-time data on how many times links were clicked
  • Top customer support, receive a response within 4 hours
  • 0.5% transaction fee

Linktree generally recommends the Pro plan, but if you are looking to grow and expand your brand with the help of robust analytics features, perhaps the Premium plan is worth looking into.

 

Is Instagram Banning Linktree?

The quick answer is no, Linktree is not banned on Instagram. There was a point in 2018 where Instagram mistakenly marked Linktree links in users’ bios as spam and a violation of their community standards. This ban was quickly fixed and Instagram issued an apology.


However, even today when attempting to put a Linktree link in your bio, you may be met with a notification that claims the “link is not allowed”. This is again due to Instagram’s auto filters marking it as spam. If the app doesn’t allow you to continue without taking the link out, allow Instagram to automatically remove it for you and then file an appeal using the prompt on the screen.


The important thing to know is that using Linktree will not get you permanently banned from Instagram nor will it get you “shadowbanned”. Just make sure Instagram has not mistakenly designated the link as spam and continuously check to see that the link works and everything you’ve linked on the Linktree page itself is accurate and up to date.

 

Should You Use Linktree?

So, should your brand use Linktree in your page’s Instagram bio? It’s really up to you! There are many pros and cons that come with using Linktree, as with any one-bio link tool. 


The frequent “spam” issue that seems to follow Linktree all across Instagram may be a turn-off for some. However, Linktree provides many different customization options and valuable analytics even in the free version – with even more resources in the paid plans. Plus, even if the link continues to periodically be removed from your bio on Instagram, send it to other Instagram users via DMs and you can still use the link on other social media platforms.


If Linktree doesn’t sound right for your brand, there are also many other similar bio link tools with just as many customization options, like Carrd and Beacons. Both of these bio link tools are “freemium” as well, meaning that if you opt for the paid versions you will get access to more customization tools and data.


One thing is for certain, and that’s that bio link tools are essential to a brand’s reputation online these days. You should absolutely be using one, whether it’s Linktree or not! As long as we keep saying “link in bio”, you want that link to be informative and represents your brand in the best way possible.


Ready to get started building the best Instagram bio for your brand? Visit Power Move Marketing and request a quote. We’re a one stop shop for all your marketing needs and we nail the brand every time!

 

 

Author: Louise Irpino

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