“Click the link in our bio”. Probably one of the most common phrases an instagram influencer has to type. Those, now well-known, link limits in instagrams service have sprung up a string of similar services that try to help influencers overcome those limits. The link services, however, can be repurposed for churches and can be a great way to create a “Church Hub” or “next steps” page.
The benefit of an Instagram bio link tools
The basic idea of an instagram linking services is that you can share one, easy to remember link and from there you can share other links. The best ones are also simple to use and update and possible provide some powerful benefits like displaying more relevant content depending on available data (i.e. geo specific offers or whatever).
For instagram, the clear benefit is you only have space for one link, but this lets you, in effect, provide multiple links. Sure, a user still has to go to your bio (which is much less seamless than an in line link) but after that point, it’s all plain sailing.
This benefit, one easy to remember link that you can provide for any purpose, is also why these services are useful for churches.
The downsides to these link services
Unlike a specific link, these links require multiple clicks or decisions. Ever additional click is a possibility that a person will lose interest or be unsure what to do next. This applies for the application for churches as well.
Instagram bio link tools for Next step or Church hubs
A church hub or next step page is an area where you can put all the relevant information and recommended next actions for guests or church members. Instead of people having to remember multiple urls, locations and details, they just need to remember one url which stays the same each week.
This area then sends them to the relevant page for their interests and provides more details there. This makes it easier to provide more information, but with a single action step.
Instagram linking services like linktree provide simple templates, memorable urls and tools to easily and quickly update. All great features for a church hub or next steps page. There are, however, other options that you might want to consider with their benefits or downsides.
Why not just use your homepage?
In a way, your homepage can be a hub. Think of it as a landing page. It is a single easy to remember url that you can direct people to. The only issue here is that your homepage often needs to serve three purposes.
- People interested in visiting for the first time
- People who have visited and now want to get more involved
- People who are members and want access to resources or more information on specific events or activities.
A homepage should serve first time visitors more than regular members and may end up hiding certain information you would want more prominently on your church hub.
Sometimes these purposes cross over and work together, for example showing details of upcoming events helps to show people thinking of visiting what the church will be like.
Why not just use a simple landing page?
This is my preferred option, especially if you know a few things about web design or have a good website solution that helps you make simple landing pages.
With a landing page, you have more control over the design and you are integrated with your general church website already. That can be a cost saving which is important for smaller churches.
There are even WordPress plugins like WP Church Center which create a hubpage for you.
But there are disadvantages.
- You may need to involve the web master to update these landing pages
- They aren’t as simple to use as one of these instagram linking services
- Your website may not be able to do some of the more advanced features that these linking services can do such as links which expire.
Which options is right for you?
As you can see there are different benefits and costs (including financial!) of these options. What is right for a mega church with someone on staff managing their website could be completely the opposite from a small church who have a stock website and a volunteer. Regardless, it is good to know there are options out there.
p.s. looking for a good instagram link service? Check out these four options.
Blessing Mpofu says
Such simple and practical way of using bio link. I love the idea of the landing page. Am so going to use this.
Laycistercians says
The first thing you want to do is to assess how much time you have to devote to Instagram or delegate this responsibility to someone else. If you delegate social media responsibilities, aim to review the plan with whoever puts it together for you and to check in on all of your accounts at least once per week to see how things are going and to participate yourself. Decide ahead of time what types of posts you will publish on specific days of the week. Knowing what you’re going to post ahead of time will keep you from second-guessing. After you’ve shared on Instagram for several weeks or more, it’s also a good idea to keep an eye on your Instagram analytics. This way you can see what content is resonating best with your audience.
Chris Wilson says
I’m afraid I don’t see how your comment relates to using one of these Instagram link in bio tools for a landing page. Perhaps I’m missing something.