Instagram and TikTok. Aren’t they just great? Both platforms allow you to share amazing content that showcases your products and team. But there’s a catch: you can only add links to your bio and Stories… So what do you do when you need to share a link from your posts?
There are several solutions, but the most prominent is Linktr.ee.
In this article, we take a look at what Linktree does, how it works, and how to create an alternative that drives traffic straight to your site.
To get your questions answered quickly, tap on the bullet point below to go to the relevant section:
- What is Linktree?
- What is Linktree used for?
- Is Linktree free?
- Free features of Linktree
- Paid-for features on Linktree
- How to get Linktree
- Should I use Linktree?
- Linktree alternatives
- How to make your own Linktree
What is Linktree?
Linktree is a desktop and app-based tool that allows you to share multiple links on social media, but it rose to prominence on Instagram. This is because Instagram was one of the first notable platforms to not allow you to share web links anywhere apart from in Stories and in the ‘bio’ section of your profile page, which has a strict character limit. Users therefore had to find another way to direct their followers to their websites or other social channels.>
What is Linktree used for?
Linktree can be seen as a ‘mini site’, which provides embedded elements alongside a list of links that can connect visitors to your various platforms. It is therefore a great tool for sharing content directly with visitors, prompting them to buy products or highlighting what you publish elsewhere.
Once your Linktree site is populated, you simply pop the Linktree URL into the bio of any social media platform you use in order to drive traffic. You can then include ‘link in bio’ in your Instagram and TikTok posts. If you’ve been wondering ‘what does link in bio mean?’, this is the reason!
Linktree’s available features are divided into four tiers – a free tier and three paid tiers.
Is Linktree free?
Yes, the most basic version of Linktree is completely free.
Originally, the free version had very limited functionality, but over the years this has been expanded.
However, if you want access to some of the platform’s niftier features, then you will need to start spending some money.
Today, there are now three paid levels for Linktree:
Starter: £2.50 per month
Pro: £4 per month
Premium: £11.50 per month
Free features of Linktree
A free Linktree account gives you a decent haul of features. Without paying a penny, you can embed as many links as you wish onto your Linktree landing page.
You also now have the ability to embed Twitch, Facebook and YouTube videos, which means visitors can watch your key videos without having to click through to host sites.
Other functionality includes the ability to show your TikTok profile (and six of your favourite TikToks) and for visitors to listen to your Spotify playlists on Linktree itself.
You can also use it to sell products with Linktree’s ‘store’ functionality, which creates a sort of mini shop on your page. This can be powered by your Shopify, Spring or Bonfire accounts and can be tailored to promote particular deals or your latest products, or to create a gift guide for special occasions.
A certain amount of customisation is also permitted for free thanks to a selection of built-in themes. Thumbnails for key links can be added, along with icons that can help to signpost particularly useful content to a visitor. You can add social profile icons to the bottom of the page too, which means you don’t have to bulk up your page with listed links to these platforms.
In addition to a profile picture, you can add a title and bio description too. This will help visitors to learn a little more about you.
Analytics haven’t been forgotten either and you can easily track how many views and clicks your Linktree page is collecting. However, more in-depth reporting is not possible. You will also not be able to export this data.
Paid-for features on Linktree
If you want to pay a fee every month, you unlock extra features. These features will depend on how much you want to pay.
Starter package
For £2.50 a month, you get access to the very first paid tier of Linktree.
In addition to everything the free version possesses, you can give your preferred links a bit more ‘wow!’ factor with animated styling or a ‘spotlight’, which displays your content rather than just the link. You can also change your font and button style, gain access to even more themes and tailor your background with custom or stock images and videos.
A particular bonus of a starter Linktree package is that you can schedule links to go live and to be archived. This makes management far more straightforward.
When it comes to analytics, you can drill down into the detail a little more. For instance, you can check the performance of individual links for any time period within the previous 365 days. You’ll also be able to see the top 10 referral and location-based results, social icon analytics and device-based results.
Pro package
With Pro, you pay £4 every month. However, this gives you a significant bump in terms of functionality.
You’ll be able to hide the Linktree logo to put your brand front and centre and you’ll be given far more freedom to embed links. In particular, you’ll be able to embed your latest YouTube videos and tweets automatically.
With Pro, you can collect more data from your visitors too. For instance, you can collect email addresses and phone numbers to begin building your very own visitor list. Your analytics also improve. You’ll gain access to mailing and phone number list results, streaming service analytics and unlimited referrer and location-based analytics. Conversion tracking is possible too. However, you still won’t be able to export this data.
On the other hand, by upgrading to Pro, you’ll be able to link up your Linktree with Google Analytics as well as optimise it by adding meta descriptions and tags.
Oh, and you can also connect it to MailChimp, Zapier and Google Sheets!
Finally, you’ll be able to fully customise your T&Cs and multiple admins can be added to the account for easier management.
Premium package
With Premium (£11.50 per month), you get access to the full Linktree toybox.
This means you can fully export all of your analytics data in addition to gaining access to a customer success manager.
There’s also more support from Linktree itself, with a free onboarding call to get you set up and access to exclusive content to help you take things to the next level.
How does Linktree work?
Linktree works by creating a landing page on their site, which features multiple links to your site or other social profiles. It can also feature embedded content.
Once you have created an account on Linktree, you gain your very own Linktree URL. You then simply copy and paste this URL into Instagram, TikTok or any other social media bios, telling your followers to check out the ‘link in bio’. This will then help to drive traffic to other platforms or encourage sales. However, you don’t need to restrict it to link in bio uses. You can even pop the URL into your email signature!
These pages can be customised in various ways, depending on your subscription (detailed above). For instance, you could change your fonts, add animated backgrounds, highlight priority links and even schedule new links to go live.
If you have a Pro or Premium subscription, you can also access more in-depth analytics so you can assess which links perform best. This means you can tailor future marketing content to your audience.
Read more: Facebook groups for business
How to get Linktree
You just need to visit the Linktr.ee website and create an account. When we tried it, it took about 5 minutes to set up, from start to finish.
If you opt for a Premier account, you’ll get a free 30-minute onboarding call from the Linktree team to help you get things started.
Should I use Linktree?
It is super simple to use, so if you’re looking to share more links on social media without setting up your own website, definitely give it a try.
However, if you have your own site, we recommend creating your own Linktree-style landing page. This means you can direct traffic to your own website, bypassing Linktree altogether.
Linktree alternatives
You don’t have to use Linktree to share multiple links. There are a bunch of other options out there, such as LnkBio and TapBio.
However, the best alternative is to create a landing page on your own site.
Yes, it’ll take you a few more minutes to do, but you’ll be directing traffic to your own site, rather than Linktree. Not only does this drive traffic, but it’s free and gives you complete control over the branding.
How to make your own Linktree
You can create your own version by building a landing page on your own website.
Simply list the most important links on your site in order to direct users to specific information. For instance, you could feature your latest article, your newsletter sign-up page and your contact page. There’s no limit to how many you include.
Give it a short URL, like www.yoursite.com/instagram, and then add the link to your Instagram bio.
Simple!
Talk to us about your content and social media needs!
If you’d like to find out how we can help you create content for your organisation, feel free to get in touch with our team. Simply drop us a line at hello@methodmarketing.org and we’ll get the ball rolling.
