How Do You Copy a Link on Instagram? A Step-by-Step Guide

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Karen Lin

Instagram 101 | Jul 29, 2024

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Social media is all about connecting with others by sharing awesome content you see online. Instagram makes it super easy by allowing users to share posts and profiles with friends directly through direct messages. But what if you want to share IG content with someone with no Instagram account or on your website? How do you copy a link on Instagram and share it elsewhere?

That’s what we’re getting into today. In this guide, we’ll share how you can generate links that lead to Instagram posts, profiles, Stories, and more. Keep reading to learn how to do it in a few simple steps!

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Why Learn How To Copy a Link From Instagram

Knowing how to copy and paste a link from Instagram has plenty of benefits. First, it makes sharing content with friends outside of Instagram so much easier. You can copy links and paste them directly into messaging apps to send to someone who isn’t active on Instagram.

Another reason to copy a link to photos or videos is to cross-promote Instagram content on other pages. Maybe you have a blog or page on another social media platform where you’d like to share your latest post. You can easily just paste the link there for your website audience to see. This also drives traffic to your page, letting you gain more followers.

You can even copy Instagram links and publish them in your Stories to amplify their reach. This is especially useful for sharing Instagram pages on your Story since there’s no feature that lets you do so directly. Creators with over 10k followers can use the swipe-up feature to do that. According to Martech, brands get swipe-through rates between 15% and 25%, making it effective for boosting reach.

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How Do You Copy a Link on Instagram: 5 Types of Links You Are Likely To Copy

There are many parts of Instagram where you can generate links to share, from feed posts to profiles to Stories. Copying a link on Instagram is self-explanatory, but we’ll show you how to do it anyway, both on mobile devices and desktops. Here’s how it works, depending on the kind of content you want to get a direct link to.

1. How To Copy an Instagram Feed Post Link

Do you want to generate a link for sharing an Instagram post with others? Here’s what you need to do:

1. Open Instagram and navigate to the post you want to get a link to.

2. Click the paper plane icon at the bottom of the post.

3. Select Copy link from the pop-up menu that appears. The text should change to “Copied” afterward.

Path Social’s screenshots highlighting an IG feed post’s share button and “Copy link” option.

4. Paste the link wherever you wish to share it. 

2. How To Get an Instagram Profile’s URL

Do you want to share not a specific post but a brand’s entire page with a friend? Here’s how to do it, step by step:

1. Open Instagram and find the profile you want to generate a direct link to.

2. Click the three dots in the upper-right corner of their page.

3. Choose Copy profile URL. A notification that says “Link copied to clipboard” should pop up from the bottom of the screen.

Path Social’s screenshots highlighting the three buttons above an IG profile and the “Copy profile URL” option.

4. Paste the link to share with others wherever you have to. 

3. How To Copy a Link to an Instagram Reel

Copying a link to a Reel is pretty much the same as doing so for a feed post. The only difference is the location of the share (or paper plane) button. Do you want to share a Reel with a friend? Here’s how you can do it in a few simple steps:

1. On Instagram, find the Reel you want to share.

2. Click the paper plane icon on the bottom-right section of the screen, right under the comments icon.

3. Tap Copy link in the pop-up menu.

Path Social’s screenshots highlighting an Instagram Reel’s share button and the “Copy link” option that appears after.

4. Paste it in the messaging app or website you want to share the Reel to.

4. How To Copy an Instagram Story Link

If you want to add a hyperlink to an Instagram post, or more specifically, to Instagram Stories, there are a couple of ways to do this. First, you may want to share the link to a certain Story someone currently has on their page. Here’s how to do this:

1. Open the Instagram Story you want to share.

2. Click the share button (paper plane icon) on the bottom-right of the screen.

3. Tap Copy link.

Path Social’s screenshots highlighting an IG Story’s share button and “Copy link” button that appears in the menu.

And that’s it! You can share the link with anyone if you want to show them that specific Story post.

But you can also generate a base Story link. This is a permanent Story link that directs someone to a certain profile’s currently available Stories. To do that, generate the same link as above, but delete all the characters that come after the poster’s username. The link should look something like www.instagram.com/stories/[username].

5. How To Copy Instagram URLs When Using a Desktop Browser

Using Instagram on a laptop? Here’s how to generate links for sharing from your desktop browser:

1. Go to the Instagram website.

2. Find the post for which you want to generate a link and open it.

3. Highlight the URL in your browser’s address bar.

4. Hit Ctrl + C on your keyboard to copy the link.

5. Paste the link to where you’d like to share the post.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add links to Instagram captions?

Technically, yes, you can add a link to an Instagram caption. However, note that it won’t be clickable, so it won’t translate into a hyperlink. People will need to memorize the link and type it into their mobile browser. It’s much better to direct your audience to a link in your bio that they can easily click.

How do I open a link in an Instagram post?

If the post asks you to click the link in the poster’s bio, head to their profile. Then, find the link on their page and click on it. Links in Stories, on the other hand, are easier to open. Just click on them if they’re posted as a sticker or swipe if it’s a swipe-up link by a creator.

How do I share a link on my Instagram Story?

If you have a professional account with more than 10,000 followers, use the swipe-up feature to add links to Stories. If not, you can use the regular custom link sticker on Stories.

How do I add a link in my bio?

It’s easy to add a link to your bio for your audience to find and click. Here’s how:

1. Open the Instagram app and head to your profile.

2. Click Edit profile under your bio.

3. Tap the Links field.

4. Click Add external link.

5. Paste the URL you want to share on your bio.

6. Add a title for your link.

7. Tap Done.

Share Post Links To Engage and Grow on Instagram!

Sharing links to photos, videos, and profiles on Instagram is an awesome way to spread cool content on the platform. It’s also perfect for promoting your content anywhere other than the Instagram app. Knowing how to copy an Instagram link is great, not just for sharing content but also for engaging your audience.

The answer to “How do you copy a link on Instagram?” is super simple. Now that you know how to do it, sharing and cross-promoting content should be a breeze for you. But that’s not the only way to grow and spread the word about your page. You can do it even more effectively with a growth service like Path Social.

We use AI to find your niche audience and promote your content to them on Instagram. That means more people discover your page, leading to more new followers who find your content exciting and interesting. Grow your page with Path Social today!