A new article on Social Media Today reports that Instagram has just announced that links are now being made available in Instagram Stories for all users, not just those with 10k followers or verified accounts.



As you can see in the above example, all users will now be able to access the link sticker for Stories, which Instagram introduced as the primary link sharing option, instead of 'Swipe up' links, back in August. Which, in itself, has been a source of controversy, and some confusion in the case of Instagram ads, which still use swipe-up links. But the addition of link stickers, as opposed to swipe-up links, gives users more creative control over how links appear within their Stories frames, which could be a good way to drive more referral traffic.

And now, everyone will be able to add their own links, expanding the potential value of Stories for driving audience action. For brands, that will likely put more focus on Stories as a communications tool - and with Instagram increasingly looking to put more focus on video content, like Stories and Reels, you can also expect the platform itself to increasingly emphasize Stories usage as it seeks to drive more engagement. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said so much in Facebook's most recent earnings announcement, noting that: