This article contains affiliate links.
Having an Instagram link in bio is a no-brainer for anyone marketing their business there. But most are boring! The link in bio should give visitors an experience similar to being on your website. After all, that's the first impression a potential client will have of you.
But, whilst most marketers spend time and money creating a beautiful and highly strategic website, they will put a different level of importance on the link in their bio.
People often opt for a simple (and ugly) link in bio tool to add to their social platforms. They need to remember that the link in bio is the first touch point someone will have with their business outside of social media.
Treat your link in the bio as strategically as your website to create a great first impression with potential clients.
But as you cannot currently add links to Instagram or TikTok posts, all external content mentioned in your content should be available via the link in bio. And there is a risk of overwhelming and confusing people if you just present them with a bunch of buttons or links.
Creating a bespoke link in bio page on your main WordPress website is only a good option if you're a web developer. It will make updating your link in bio page a NIGHTMARE.
Most people accessing your link in bio page will be using a mobile device, so the page needs to be mobile-optimised. But for those who aren't, you'll still want to ensure they have a great experience by making the page work well on all devices.
How to create the perfect link in bio on Instagram and TikTok.
Your Instagram and TikTok visitors will expect a website experience when they click the link in your bio. So let's give them that, but strategically so they don't get overwhelmed or lost and instead see what they need.
Your link in bio should include the following:
- A menu directing people to the most important content. Including anything you've mentioned in recent posts.
- A short introduction to you and your business, including a photo.
- Your most relevant opt-in so you can take people off the platform and onto your email list.
- A short introduction to your most relevant offer.
- Any other relevant content, such as a recent blog or podcast.
Your link in bio is also the perfect place to show off your best reviews and social proof.
You could make the link in your bio even more helpful for your readers by adding links to your favourite tools, podcasts or books. And you can even monetise your link in bio by using affiliate links.
BONUS TIP: when auditing a client's Instagram account, check the link in bio works as well as possible to position their business to their audience.
Create a link in bio page that looks like your website.
You know how important your website is, and while it's essential to tweak your website regularly to make sure it represents you well, creating a web page from scratch is a NIGHTMARE!
… learn code – er, no thanks!
… pay a developer – pricey ????
… use a tool from one of the schedulers – looks pants & doesn't create a great first impression.
Ideally, your link in bio will provide a smooth transition from Instagram or TikTok to your website, and your visitor will think they have been on your website from the first click. This fluid experience will also help to reduce your bounce rate.
Put your link in bio page on your domain.
The reason the perfect link in bio page should be on your domain is so YOU get the website traffic. By using a 3rd party app, you can't accurately track your website traffic.
Plus from an SEO perspective by using a third party app, the app is getting all the SEO juice (technical term) and you are missing out. Google doesn't see that your website is getting traffic from Instagram (or TikTok) and the 3rd party gets all the referral credit.
Create a no-code link in bio with a template.
There is, finally, a simple way to create a beautiful-looking link in bio without needing to understand code or hire a web developer.
Introducing TONIC.
We discovered TONIC while looking for a solution to quickly create beautiful stand-alone pages outside of WordPress and used one of their templates to rebuild the information page for The Social Media Managers Toolkit.
But then we saw TONIC had a links template; we were blown away! TONIC was exactly what we had been looking for while winging it with other tools.
TONIC templates work with Showit, a drag-and-drop website builder that reminds us of our favourite tool, Canva because you can drag and drop to create the website of your dreams…
… with no code,
… no developer,
… no need to crack open the wine!
You can create a beautiful website with Showit and TONIC, but in this article, we’ll focus solely on their link in bio template.
Some of the most prominent marketers use the TONIC links template, influencers and brands on Instagram (who knew!??), and now we use it too. Check out our Instagram for a demo!
How to create a link in bio page using TONIC and Showit.
Follow these simple steps to create your link in bio page for Instagram or TikTok using the TONIC links template.
Step 1: Grab the template.
Because we love these templates so much, we've wangled you a 15% discount on any TONIC template, including the links template!
To get the discount, go to the TONIC shop here and use code THETWOLAURAS15 at the checkout.
You will need a Showit subscription to use these templates, but it's super affordable, you'll only need the lowest plan unless you add a blog, and you can have a month free on us here!
Step 2: Add your brand colours and fonts to your design settings.
Showit makes it so easy to add your brand colours and fonts to the design settings. Once you have added these, you can apply them to any page with one tap.
You'll select which fonts to have for your title, headings, subheadings and paragraphs, and you can add up to 8 brand colours; we added black, white and off-white.
Step 3: Apply your design settings to the template.
The joy of TONIC templates is that you can use them exactly as they are, and they're so beautiful you may well want to do that. Or you can quickly apply your design settings with one tap!
Once you’ve added your fonts and colours, you may need to make minor tweaks to resize or align elements. But the beauty of Showit is that this is so simple – even my mum could do it!
As far as we know, Showit is the only website builder which allows you to optimise your desktop and mobile sites separately while viewing both together. And while you're primarily creating your link in the bio page for mobile, it is worth taking a few minutes to ensure it works well on desktop too.
Step 4: Add your content.
Once you have added a template to your Showit account, it's time to personalise it! You'll add your images, update the text and links, and make minor design tweaks.
Remember to include a recent photo of you and add your most relevant lead magnet.
Get 15% off a TONIC template and one month free on Showit.
Grab your 15% discount here using code THETWOLAURAS15 at the checkout.
