Thinking about using apps like Linktree, Later & Planoly? Read this

Using 3rd-party apps means relying on technology. And sometimes technology can fail.
3rd-party apps can be shut down or marked as spam at any moment. There are many benefits to using these apps, as well. Let's weigh out the pros and cons of using a few of these apps. 

Instagram only allows for one link in you bio. As small business owners, we have so many goodies that one link just isn’t good enough, and we want to give our followers options. 

Linktree offers a great service. They responded to the frustration many businesses and individuals felt over Instagram’s one and only space for a link. For brands who want to share a lot with their communities, the space for one, and only one link causes some stress.

As we mentioned earlier technology can sometimes stop working without warning. In 2018, Linktree crashed leaving many users unhappy, even if it was a temporary mishap that brought attention to a major issue. Most small business owners like to have control of everything their business is involved in. Putting all of those Instagram conversions in the hands of a 3rd-party app means that your company is vulnerable to another glitch. 

Later Media offers their own version, called Linkin.Bio.

The aim of both Linktree and Linkin.Bio is to get users to your website faster, but thats just the issue. Instead of linking people directly to your website, you’re linking them away from Instagram to a site that isn’t yours. As we can see there are some trade offs to consider. 

The best solution Britni Elizabeth Creative would offer is to build a landing page directly from your website. All you need is a mobile friendly website (if you don’t have that already, I would be more concerned with getting that sorted ASAP!) a blank page, some buttons and a header!

There are tons of different post scheduling apps, and some of them charge hefty fees for using them. Always looking to save money for small business we have found that Later and Planoly have decent "free" services worth mentioning.

Later offers 30 posts per month for free for 3 profiles, but you can only schedule your posts up to 2 weeks in advance. If you decide to take the paid route you also have the benefit of using this one single program to post on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. 

Planoly offers 30 pre-scheduled posts per month for free, but only for Instagram. With the paid version you can also use this program to post for Pinterest. One interesting tool that separates Planonly from the rest of the post scheduling apps is that the paid version allows for the "shop" Instagram feature. This is extremely useful for retail and online stores.