The number of companies and brands that use link shortening in their social media campaigns is increasing with every day. You have probably witnessed this trend yourself. Until recently, links shared on social websites used to be longer than the other text content of the posts. Now, however, links are reduced to only about 15 characters. That creates a big convenience in social networks where posts have character limitation, like is the case with Twitter. But that is not the only advantage of link shortening. By publishing these compact links, companies can easily track clicks and visits, as well as to use customized links or social media ROI.
Advantages of Link Shortening
- Brand Awareness – Link shortening is no longer used only for making URLs more compact. Many link shortening services give brands the chance to customize their links by including their abbreviated name in it. That can quickly impress a company’s clients and become a sign of trustworthiness. In addition, such customized short links are easier to recognize among all the rest.
- Better Insight – The shortening of links will allow companies to get detailed insights on their consumers. For instance, they will get the chance to see which shortened links were more popular. Moreover, they will know the location where there were most clicked on. That is some valuable information that brands can use to their advantage.
- Social Media ROI – The service also enables companies to follow their social media impact. How does this happen? Well, first you need to know that there are two main ways in which social website users can engage with your content. The main one is by clicking on the buttons and functions which are built in a particular social network. For instance, those are actions like sharing or re-tweeting replying or commenting, favoring, sharing and etc. These features are available for everyone to see and to use.
The second thing that reveals a company’s social media impact is the actual link clicking. What is interesting about social website users is that many of them share or comment on a link without actually opening and reading the content to which it leads. However, shortened links let brands see how much of their consumers have actually made the effort to follow a web address and browse through its content. In other words, companies can receive better insight on their user engagement. In that way they will see which posts are more effective and which – less.
Choice of Link Shortening Service
Some websites that offer shortening of links may offer you some basic insight information about your content and level of engagement without having to subscribe. However, to experience the full benefits of the service, you should better register on the site. A number of link shortening services require a subscription fee for the full package. Our advice is to start small. Create a free registration on some link shortening website and see if it works for you. After a while, you may switch to a paid service that will send you much more information. It is recommendable to always use shortened links in your bigger social media campaigns. That will enable you to see your gaps and mistakes and then fix them on time.
