Recently, I listened to the Science of Social Media podcast. And the episode I heard pondered an excellent question: Do links in social media posts result in better engagement? Whether in a post through a call to action or directly embedded in the text, are they beneficial to gaining more likes, reposts, or shares? 

Using their research, they found that links receive less engagement than posts without. With their opinion, I formed my own. I have to agree with the podcast results. Let me explain.

A Link Pulls Away From The Post and the Platform

In all social media platforms, they have an algorithm. And they are fundamental to good social media engagement. The higher engagement means a higher percentage of people will see the post through these algorithms. These algorithms are what result in the content you like and thus the more time you spend on that social media platform. 

So when a post is calling to people to “click the link below” or “check the link in bio”, you are pulling away from both the post and the platform. For the post, it means less engagement and less likely to do well in the algorithm. Links aren’t good for social media platforms as well. SocialMediaToday found that most platforms discourage links overall. Not just them, but the podcast had this point as well. They stated that having the most engagement on a platform is how social media platforms survive, so links are discouraged.

A Link Comes With Risks Even in Posts

Something that wasn’t brought up in the podcast was scamming links. Data security is a huge problem when it comes to social media. WebsterFirst found that 

“Social media has become a hotbed for scammers, with 70% of people who were contacted through these platforms reporting financial losses of over 1 billion dollars.” 

Even when you know you know the person who’s posting, there is always a small chance that an external link is unsafe or even dangerous to a person’s personal information. And I know that even if there’s a link in a post, I don’t even click because of how often scamming can happen. It brings this anxiety to social media posts with links, because you never know if a link is safe or not, especially when you’re in unfamiliar territory. Since scamming occurs frequently, it results in posts with links having low engagement due to suspension and fear. 

A Link Must Be Recommended, or Only in a Bio

That’s not to say that a link cannot be used in other places though. Bios in social media accounts tend to have liked their extra content. The podcast says that those bio links result in more clicks than links directly in the post. You can also recommend your work without the link in the post. As for my final thoughts though, I recommend staying away from links in your posts. The lack of engagement and dangers to me far outweigh the good of links.