When I launched my new website and blog this fall, I also created a new Instagram menu. I have been getting so many questions about it so I decided to make a blog post about it for you!

I came up with this idea by paying attention to a few big brands that I follow- so the concept itself it most certainly not my own. But I can definitely walk you through what I did to create mine.

What do you even mean by having a custom Instagram menu? When I say custom Instagram menu, what I am referring to is the ability to have the link in your profile lead followers to a page that is geared not only for your Instagram users, but also designed for optimal mobile viewing since that is where that particular audience is coming from. I not only wanted followers to be able to click on a link that would look really good on their phone and be easy to navigate- but most of all I wanted a way to link to multiple different things- all without changing the main link in my profile.

As you can see in the graphic shown, when you click on the link in my profile, you are brought to a mobile friendly menu that has links to recent blog posts, how to inquire about booking a session, opt-ins for my email list, free downloads for photographers, my online course waiting list- you name it! Basically anything that I mention on Instagram that I want my followers to check out, I have provided a quick link to right on that menu!

Originally I used a site called linktree to build a custom Instagram menu for this purpose. Linktree was super easy to use- and allowed me to quickly create a custom menu without any designing on my part. They have a free version which I used, which allowed me to pick from a few different color options, but you could pay $6 a month to have branding and some custom features if you wanted.

When we built The Fount Collective’s new website using Showit this past Spring, I learned how to create a custom mobile page for Fount’s Instagram menu- so that’s exactly what I did for this website as well. One thing that I really love about the Showit platform is that you can customize a mobile page view vs a desktop view. So all I did was create a mobile page with all my branding, buttons, links, and graphics that I wanted- and then I turned off the visibility for desktop. So my Instagram menu is really just a page that you can see on a mobile device, but not on a desktop.

And by creating it this way, vs a third party option like Linktree, I have full control over the look and design. (without paying extra money each month) I was even able to add my direct email opt-in directly on that page. By including my free downloads for photographers right in this menu, I have seen a big increase in my email subscribers because it’s so easy to access. And best of all, this means that anytime I mention something I want my followers to check out in an Instagram post, whether it’s a recent blog post or a new product, when I say “Click on the Link in my Profile”- I can have multiple content links waiting for them right there.

Basically, instead of just putting my website home page as the link in my profile, leaving followers to go find everything on their own, I made an entirely custom page JUST for my Instagram followers to access from their phone, making all the links to all the things very easy to find. And since I have a following of both clients and photographers, I was able to separate my menu page into two sections so each could find exactly what they were looking for without having to dig around.

Showit also makes it very easy for me to jump in and edit any of these links anytime as well. I have full control over adding or removing links or any changes I want to see at any time! But you don’t have to have a Showit website to make this work for you! All you need to do is to create a page with mobile viewing in mind.

A great example of this is my client and fashion blogger Lauren McBride. She has a page on her website that is set up for all of her Instagram links– such as shopping links with all the great deals and sales she finds, her individual recent blog posts, even her family’s favorite music playlists! You can get really creative with your menu to fit your own brand!

I hope this helps! If you have any questions about this post, leave them in the comments below!