We love it when the social media giants play with their toys, and Facebook-owned Instagram is the latest platform to fiddle around with its features – so to speak. From 30th August, some users will no longer be able to use the swipe up call to action on Stories, because it’s being replaced with a Link Sticker. 

We know, we know, not every change is either welcome or required, but bear with us and we’ll talk you through what the changes could mean. 

First of all, not everyone had the swipe-up facility, it was only available to verified businesses and creators or those who met the required follower count limit (eg the much-hallowed 10,000). 

Second, we reckon the Link Sticker will give Stories creators more control. You can change the size and style and – most niftily – you can stick your Link Sticker anywhere you like in the Story. 

The goodies keep on coming too, because unlike with the swipe up system, the Link Sticker allows users to react and reply to posts that carry it, boosting your engagement with a click. 

The Link Stickers will join others for donations, music and polls that already exist on the Stories platform, but don’t worry if you don’t get access to them straight away. 

Instagram is, understandably, concerned that if it hands them out to the world and his wife, there’ll be someone who spoils it for everyone by using Link Stickers to spread misinformation and whatnot. Back of the class for that ‘orrible lot. 

If the platform does decide to go the whole hog and share them universally, it could be the first step toward creating even more access to link-sharing in Stories, and the business possibilities for that would be well… almost limitless. 

For now, we’ll keep an eye on Instagram and its Link Stickers, and let you know whether they boost traffic and engagement. 

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