Facebook is making it harder for businesses to share multiple links without a subscription. Here are 5 Meta-friendly workarounds.
If your business relies on Facebook to drive customers to your website, Meta’s two-link limit could throw sand into the gears of your marketing plans. For business owners who regularly share promotions, blog posts, product information or other online content, the restrictions could make reaching customers harder.
Fortunately, there are proven strategies to work around the two-link limit that will not get your page in trouble with Meta.
At mhp.si, we’re in the business of helping businesses reach their perfect customers. So, we’re keeping a close eye on Meta’s changing policies, while finding ways to help businesses adapt.
Read on for a full explanation of what’s happening with Meta’s two-link limit on Facebook business Pages. Then stick around for five practical strategies you can implement in your social posts today to help keep customers engaged and connected to your content.
Need help? mhp.si’s business is helping your business succeed. Contact us today.
What Is Meta’s Two-Link Limit?
Meta has been testing and expanding restrictions that limit certain unpaid Facebook business Pages and professional accounts to just two organic posts containing external links per month. Once that limit is reached, affected accounts are required to purchase an eligible Meta subscription like Meta One to publish additional external links.
The restrictions aren’t universal to all users yet. However, the growing number of affected accounts suggest businesses should prepare for tighter linking restrictions as Meta’s policies push businesses to subscribe.
For companies that depend on Facebook to generate website traffic, the consequences of these changes are broad. Two links per month doesn’t leave much room for promoting multiple products, sharing company news, announcing sales or directing customers to important information.
While many businesses have turned to the classic workaround of putting links in post comments, that isn’t a reliable solution anymore. Getting to that content adds extra friction for users, and because Facebook often defaults to showing the “Most Relevant” comments, your link can easily be hidden from view.
Also, under Meta’s current restrictions, if a post doesn’t already contain a link, placing an external link in the first comment can consume one of your two monthly link credits.
Fortunately, businesses have other options. Let mhp.si explain:
5 Strategies to Overcome Meta’s Two-Link Limit
Not every Facebook post needs to send someone directly to a sales page on a website. Sometimes, the better approach is to build trust and engagement by encouraging customers to interact with content in new ways: visiting your profile, viewing a Story or starting a conversation.
Here are five ways to put that approach to work.
The Strategy: Leverage Stories
Stories are short-lived photos and videos that appear at the top of Facebook and Instagram. Unlike traditional posts, they disappear after 24 hours, making them especially useful for timely announcements, limited-time promotions and special offers. Importantly for this technique, Stories have their own linking features that don’t consume your limited Facebook feed link credits.
Why It Works: Stories give businesses a direct way to share clickable links without relying on conventional Facebook feed posts. They also encourage quick action, making them a good fit for sales, events and announcements that won’t remain relevant for long.
How It’s Done: Start by creating a Story featuring a product, service, promotion or piece of content you’d like customers to explore. If you’re creating the Story natively on Instagram, open the sticker menu, select the “Link” sticker and enter the destination website address.
Because standard Facebook pages don’t have a native link sticker in the mobile app, you have two options for Facebook: you can either publish your Instagram Story and cross-post it to your Facebook Page (the link sticker should carry over), or you can create the Story via Meta Business Suite and use the “Add Link” tool to generate a “See More” button. Consider posting Stories regularly and using clear calls to action, especially when promoting something time-sensitive.
The Strategy: Link-in-Bio Tools
If your business often shares different kinds of content, a link-in-bio service may be one of the most straightforward solutions available. Services like Linktree and Beacons allow businesses to create a customized landing page that contains multiple links, all accessible through one permanent website address.
It’s like a small directory for your business. Rather than sending customers to a different destination every time you post, you send them to one place where they can find everything.
Why It Works: Profile and bio links are exempt from Meta’s organic feed post limits. You can update the links on that landing page as often as necessary, giving customers access to fresh content without consuming your monthly allotment of external feed links.
How It’s Done: Begin by creating an account with a link-in-bio service. Add links to the destinations your customers are most likely to need, such as your website, online store, appointment scheduler, current promotions or latest blog posts. Place the landing page’s URL in the website or link section of your Facebook and Instagram profiles. When publishing new social media content, end your post with a Call to Action like: “Our new fall arrivals are here! Visit the link in our bio to browse the collection.”
The Strategy: Integrating WhatsApp Business
WhatsApp Business is a free messaging application designed to help companies communicate directly with customers. Because WhatsApp is part of Meta, linking to it does not count against your external two-link limit.
Why It works: Instead of depending on links in public Facebook posts, businesses guide interested customers into private conversations where companies can freely share external website addresses. It also creates an opportunity for more personalized customer service, which can be especially valuable when customers are making purchasing decisions.
How It’s Done: First, download WhatsApp Business and set up a profile. Next, connect your WhatsApp account to your Facebook Page or Instagram. Depending on your account settings, you may be able to add a prominent WhatsApp contact button that lets customers initiate a conversation directly from your profile.
You can also create social media posts encouraging customers to reach out. For example, an HVAC company could post a photo of a completed project and invite followers to message them for a free estimate. Once a customer starts a conversation, your business can respond with helpful information and share relevant website links.
The Strategy: Comment Automation
You’ve probably seen social media posts that say something like, “Comment INFO below and we’ll send you all the details!” This approach allows businesses to engage customers publicly while delivering useful links privately.
Why It Works: The promotional post itself doesn’t need to contain an external website link, just an invitation to interact if the user is interested. Customers express their interest through comments, and the business delivers the link via direct message.
How It’s Done: You can use Meta Business Suite’s free, built-in keyword automation feature or set up an account with an advanced third-party service like Manychat. Choose a post or Reel, select a keyword that will activate the response and write the message customers should receive.
For example, a landscaping company could publish a Facebook post announcing a promotion and invite followers to comment “25OFFLAWNS.” When someone comments, the automation sends a private message containing details and a link to your website.
Be sure to follow Meta’s messaging policies. A Page is only permitted to send one automated private reply per user comment. Also, the standard 24-hour messaging window doesn’t officially open until the user actively replies to that initial direct message. Keep your first automated response friendly, concise and useful to encourage them to interact!
The Strategy: Utilizing Broadcast Channels
Broadcast channels give businesses and creators a way to share information directly with followers who choose to join, functioning more like a group announcement service. Please note that broadcast channels aren’t available to every business account. Facebook’s channel requirements generally make this option useful only for businesses that meet minimum audience thresholds, such as having more than 10,000 followers.
Why It Works: Channel messages are delivered through a different format than traditional Facebook Page feeds. For eligible accounts, this provides another way to communicate with followers and share useful links without relying exclusively on public feed posts.
How It’s Done: If your account is eligible, begin by creating a channel through the messaging features available on your platform. Give the channel a recognizable name, like “New Arrivals & Exclusive Offers.”
Once active, invite followers to join. You can promote it through regular feed posts, Stories and other communications. Then, use the channel to share updates that followers will genuinely appreciate, such as advance notice of sales, product announcements or links to relevant website content. Keep your messages useful and avoid overwhelming subscribers with constant promotions.
Need Help Keeping Your Business Ahead? Contact mhp.si
Businesses that are willing to adapt their marketing strategies find new ways to connect with audiences while staying ahead of competitors. Those that don’t… well, let’s just say their owners may soon have more time for hobbies.
At mhp.si, we help businesses of all sizes navigate changing marketing challenges with smart, effective strategies that deliver results. Whether you’re trying to make more of your social media presence, generate more website traffic or build a stronger digital marketing presence, we can help you find the right approach for you.
Ready to make your marketing work harder? Contact mhp.si and let’s get started.