Why more people are using branded short links

If you follow a lot of brands on your favorite social media feeds, you’ve probably noticed an interesting phenomenon: Rather than sticking to traditional URLs or the generic shortened ones provided by services like Bitly and Hootsuite, companies are embracing branded short links that reflect their business values.

Which brands are using branded short links?

From software companies to celebrities to small businesses, brands are embracing the power of custom link shorteners. Companies that include big names like Chick-fil-a, Microsoft, and more integrated branded short links into their social media strategy some time ago and continue to use them to keep their social channels on brand. They’re also turning to New Domain extensions as a solution for differentiating their link shortener from their main URL. TLDs like .SOCIAL and .NEWS have become popular choices in the social media sphere.

Why do branded short links matter?

Social media promotion is a must for businesses that want to reach a broad audience these days. But when you rely on third-party social media platforms for content promotion, your brand messaging can often get lost in translation. Branded short links offer a unique opportunity to direct social media followers to the content you want them to see while keeping your brand top of mind. Branded short links also tend to be trusted and clicked more than generic links, which is something all brands can benefit from, no matter the size of the business.

How do I create a branded short link?

If you’d like to set up a branded short link for your own social media channels, it’s easy to do so. Many social media management platforms including Bitly and Hootsuite allow paying customers to use a custom URL shortener for their social channels. If you need a little help along the way, we’ve put together an easy to follow tutorial on how you can do so yourself.