You probably know about the problem of being unable to add links to posts in Instagram and TikTok (as you have just one link option in the bio section for both platforms), but what can you do if you have multiple things that you want to promote such as a new product, a special offer and your newsletter?
I know a few small businesses that don't have websites and find the one link in Instagram hugely frustrating.
You have four choices, depending on whether you have your own website or not:
Stick to the one link and hope that people will have a look around your website in order to find what you are promoting. Perhaps you don't have a website (eg if you sell via Third Party platforms), so posting a third party link may result in people arriving in the website and struggling to find your promotion
Use "Link-in-Bio" software like Linktree (see pic below) or Campsite, which although free, allow zero customisation unless you wish to pay.
If you have your own website you can build your own links page which directs people to various areas of your website. Excellent alternative by the way.
If you don't have your own website, you can use a new feature in Canva to create your own customisable links page which you can update as and when you have something new to sell or shout about.
On the left is my Instagram profile with the one link. On the right is a picture of Linktree (free account)
In this blog we are going to focus on option four, because I think this is a great little work around for those small businesses that aren't yet ready to have their own website but do want to promote different products or services.
The pic below shows you what my "link-in-bio" (designed in Canva) currently looks like on mobile and desktop. It's really easy to create, as Canva already has multiple templates to choose from and it's even available in the free Canva option. The page is static so you are limited to what you can see, but if you have more links than me then you would simply change the page design or use the website design templates available in Canva (see an example of this towards the bottom of this blog).
How to create your very own customisable "link-in-bio" page
1. Log into Canva. If you don't have a Canva account prepare to be amazed by what you will be able to start creating with it. It's free and super easy to use (you can also book a PowerHour Canva training session with me 😉 if you need help initially navigating how it works).
In the search bar type in bio and then hit the Bio Link Website option, as per the pic below.
2. Select one of the templates. Too much choice? On the left hand side you can filter using themes and styles. Another way to sort is to click the like/heart button on all the designs that catch your eye. To view your "liked" selection, click on the home tab at the top and click the "Like" tab on the left hand side. And don't forget the templates are customisable, so if you see something you like but it's not quite perfect, you can change it to fit with your brand.
Remember the page will look different on mobile when compared to desktop, as per my picture towards the top of page. If you want a picture to span the screen on desktop, make sure you use a landscape picture. You will be able to view what it looks on desktop in step 4.
3. Once you have finished customising the
template to fit with your brand colours, fonts etc you can add your links. Select the text, click on the three dots and select the link button. Add your link and click apply. You will need to repeat this process for all the links you wish to add.
4. This next stage can be a little confusing but just keep reading and you will be fine. Once you have finished editing your template we can now publish it. The difference now to what we would normally do in Canva is that we are not downloading a document but copying a weblink.
When you click "publish as website" you are given four options, scrolling, standard, classic navigation and presentation mode. Each option looks different and you will need to pick the best one for you. Personally, I think scrolling is the one that works best. Next click the "open website" button and the design will appear as it would on a desktop. On mobile it crops the background picture.
5. The next stage is to copy the URL of the opened website page. This is the URL that you would paste into Instagram. BUT as it's a bit long and clunky, we are going to shorten it.
There are a couple of free website that you can use including Bitly and TinyURL which is what I use. If you set up an account you will get the option to rename the URL the first time you create a link.
Luckily Clairical was available. If you want a fully customisable URL then you have to upgrade to a subscription and this might be a good option if you don't have your own domain (URL address). This is what the link will look like using the free version of TinyURL. This is the link that you would now add to Instagram.
You can also use the Canva website feature to create your own landing pages. Maybe you have a special offer on a product, or perhaps you are launching a competition or holding an event. Or you might simply want to introduce your business and you're not quite ready to take the step towards an actual website yet.
Canva provides single page website templates (all fully customisable) and if you publish as a scrolling website, as we did above, you get a great result as per the example video below (this is the Health and Beauty Online Store Website template which I haven't edited).
Canva offers some really great options for small businesses that aren't yet ready to commit to the process of getting a website, and of course because it's Canva, it's very easy to create great designs that are on-brand.
Don't forget if you need any support with the above please get in contact. To find out more about my PowerHour please click here.
Happy Designing!