Are Social Platforms Deprioritizing Posts With Links? Navigating Reach in 2024 and Beyond

For brands, marketers, creators, and users alike, social media has been a wonderful tool to promote external links to promote content, drive website traffic, or share news. Now, however, some platforms are deprioritizing or restricting posts containing links, as they don’t want to direct users off of their sites and apps. 

Here’s a closer look at how each major platform approaches external links and what it means for your content strategy. 

X: X is one of, if not the main, platform to watch for this trend, as its owner, Elon Musk, openly states that the platform deprioritizes posts with links. Just recently, Musk told a user to “just write a description in the main post and put the link in the reply.” The platform’s goal is to keep users scrolling, not clicking away. Throttling links—particularly to certain publications—has also been reported, cementing X’s stance on in-app engagement over external traffic.

Facebook: Facebook hasn’t made a statement that the platform is deprioritizing posts with links, but the algorithm suggests otherwise. According to data from Facebook, 95% of user feed content doesn’t include links. This trend is likely due to the rise of AI-curated Reels and moving away from news content. Whether intentional or not, link posts tend to get less visibility. 

Instagram: Instagram’s visual-first design makes external links an afterthought. Links have never been allowed in captions and are only clickable in Stories or bios, so there’s not much change happening on this platform. While Instagram doesn’t restrict links, it just doesn’t prioritize them in its format. 

Threads: Threads claims it doesn’t deprioritize link posts, but it’s important to be cautious with this platform. Since Threads shares a parent company with Instagram, its policies could shift to limit external linking, especially as it continues to build its identity in the social media landscape. 

LinkedIn: LinkedIn doesn’t officially restrict links, but evidence suggests that posts without links perform better in terms of reach. The platform also made an update earlier this year that made the link preview image a lot smaller than it once was in the feed. LinkedIn also incentivizes paid promotions for link posts by offering larger preview images for advertisers.

Snapchat & TikTok: Snapchat and TikTok both limit link integration in their designs. TikTok bans certain links, such as those to Amazon, while Snapchat restricts some links to competing social platforms. Neither platform heavily penalizes links, but their formats naturally focus on native content over external sharing.

What does this information mean for your content strategy? For brands looking to maximize reach, it’s becoming essential to tailor strategies to the specific preferences of each social platform. On platforms that deprioritize links, alternative approaches such as adding links in comments or creating compelling storytelling to drive users to your profile can be most effective. For campaigns focused on external traffic, exploring link-friendly platforms like LinkedIn may produce better results. Additionally, utilizing in-app engagement methods, such as Stories, can help enhance visibility while aligning with the platform’s design and user expectations.

At Bennington Brookstone, our team has our finger on the pulse of what’s trending in social media and beyond. We’re here to help you navigate the dynamic world of digital marketing. Call, DM, or email us at sbellem@bbrookstone.com to get started!