How to Share Affiliate Links on Social Media

As social media continues to evolve and new platforms rise and fall, policies and posting methods are constantly shifting.

You may be wondering where you’re actually allowed to share affiliate links on social platforms and how to post them.

We’ve got you! In this frequently updated guide, we'll walk through how and where to share affiliate links on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, as well as live streaming platforms Discord and Twitch.

What to Know Before You Post Affiliate Links on Social Media

You must disclose - You’re legally required by the FTC to disclose any relationship with a brand that is giving you compensation in exchange for promotion. Yes, this includes affiliate links shared on social media. Read the FTC’s guidance for disclosing on social media.

Be careful posting anywhere you don’t “own” - Make sure to abide by each social platform’s policies regarding adding affiliate links in posts or comments on pages or profiles that you don’t own. Violating these policies may violate CJ’s network quality standards and lead to account deactivation.

Be helpful, not spammy - Randomly blasting affiliate links anywhere and everywhere won’t bring you much success. Make sure to limit sharing affiliate links on social only when they’re relevant or add value.

Add your social profiles to CJ - Before you start, you’ll need to add your social media accounts to your CJ publisher account under Account > Websites > Promotional Property Manager.

Match each link to your CJ PID - Once you’ve added your social accounts to the Promotional Property Manager, each social account will have a PID, or Promotional Property ID associated with it. When grabbing your affiliate link using the Deep Link Generator tool (see also: How to Use the Deep Link Generator on Mobile) or in the links tab within your CJ account, make sure to select the website you’ll be sharing to. This alters the link with the correct PID and allows you and the advertisers you promote to know exactly where the traffic or sales you referred are coming from in CJ reporting.

How to Share Affiliate Links on Facebook

Facebook allows you to share affiliate links to your Timeline and the About section.

Facebook allows you to share affiliate links to your Timeline and the About section. The summary below provides instructions on how to post affiliate links on Facebook:

Timeline

1. Navigate to your Facebook page.
2. Scroll to the top of your News Feed and under Create Post click the gray text next to your profile picture.
3. Enter the affiliate link, an image if applicable, and any necessary description or copy to give the link more context. A preview of the destination URL will appear below the text.
4. If it looks good, then click Post.

More detailed information about editing URLs and images in your posts can be found in Facebook’s Help Center article, How do I share a link from my Facebook Page?

About Section

You can also include clickable links in the About section, under Contact and Basic Info. This section is set up to add your websites and social links, as well as additional content which may contain affiliate links.

How to Share Affiliate Links on Instagram

On Instagram, there are two areas where you can place a clickable link: your Instagram Bio and Instagram Story. The summary below provides instructions on how to post affiliate links on Instagram:

Instagram Bio

Instagram allows all users to post a link in this section, but you’re limited to a single link.

1. Navigate to your Instagram Profile and click Edit Profile.
2. Add the link to the Website
3. If you have more links to share with your followers, tools like LinkTree and Linkinbio can help you add multiple affiliate links in one place.
   
   

Instagram Story

All Instagram users can add a clickable affiliate link via an Instagram Link Sticker in Instagram Stories. (Prior to November 2021, adding links to Stories was limited to accounts with greater than 10K followers.)

In the Instagram app, tap the plus sign icon in the upper right corner and select Story (or swipe right to get to the Story screen in one quick step).

1. Create your Instagram Story by taking a photo or video, or adding previously captured content via your phone’s library.
2. After uploading content to your Story, tap the sticker icon in the top row.
3. Tap the Link sticker or search in your Instagram Stories sticker tray for the link sticker.
4. Add the URL of the affiliate link and select Done.
5. Make sure to include a call to action in your Story so that your followers know to click through.
6. Send to your Story!

How to Share Affiliate Links on Pinterest

Here are the steps we took to pin an affiliate link on Pinterest:

1. Choose the product you want to promote from one of your joined advertisers.
2. Find and download the product image from the Links > Products page in your CJ publisher account.
3. Save the image for your pin locally on your computer.
4. Click the “+” button on Pinterest to create a pin.
5. Drag and drop or click to upload your product image to Pinterest.
6. Add your affiliate link as the Destination Link. Generate an affiliate link using the Deep Link Generator tool or grab the click URL from the Links > Search section of your CJ publisher account. It’s a short link that should look something like this: http://www.jdoqocy.com/click-xxxxxxx-xxxxxxx
7. Add a description or any copy to state what the pin is about.
8. Choose the board you want to pin to.
9. Save!

Note: Due to Pinterest Affiliate Guidelines, the visible URL in the pin will be the first link redirect. In the case of affiliate links generated via CJ, this will appear as the CJ tracking domain.

How to Share Affiliate Links on Snapchat

Snapchat allows you to add affiliate links in three ways:

1. In snaps sent to your followers
2. In Snapchat Stories
3. In one-on-one chats

Snapchat allows all users to post links, but you’re limited to a single link.

1. Take a snap/video or select the creative asset from your mobile device.
2. After selecting the creative, click the paper clip icon on the Preview screen
3. Paste the affiliate link you’ve copied
4. Tap 'Attach to Snap'
5. If you have more links to share with your followers, tools like LinkTree and Linkinbio can help.

Refer to this Snapchat help article on adding links to Snapchat: How to Attach a Link to a Snap?

How to Share Affiliate Links on Threads

Released in July 2023, Threads is a new app from Meta that allows users to share text updates and join public conversations. Users log in using their Instagram account.

As it stands, Threads has no current restrictions around the use of affiliate links within posts.

Posts on Threads can be up to 500 characters long and include links, photos, and videos up to five minutes in length. Users can add affiliate links directly into posts.

You can add an affiliate link to Threads in three ways:

1. Share an affiliate link in a new thread
2. Add an affiliate link to your Threads Bio
3. Reply to threads with an affiliate link (be helpful, not spammy!)

To add a CJ affiliate link to the Threads social platform, grab your affiliate link via the Deep Link Generator tool or manually pull from the CJ interface and post directly into your Thread post. Associated images will loads and clicks will be tracked as usual.

How to Share Affiliate Links on TikTok

TikTok allows affiliate links for business accounts. To sign up for a business account or switch your personal account to a business account, use the TikTok app as the desktop version of TikTok doesn’t have an option for switching account types.

Here’s how to post affiliate links on TikTok:

1. Click on the three lines at the top right to open Settings > Privacy
2. Select Manage Account
3. Choose Switch to Business Account
4. Choose one category for the account
5. Add an affiliate link to the Website
6. If you have more links to share with your followers, tools like LinkTree and Linkinbio can help.

How to Share Affiliate Links on Twitter

On Twitter, it’s easy to add affiliate links to your tweets, bio section, or direct messages by typing or pasting the tracking URL just like you would when sharing any other link.

Note that all links included in Tweets are shortened by Twitter using their t.co service. When viewing the Tweet on twitter.com the original URL (or shortened version of the original URL) will be displayed. When clicked, the link would redirect through a t.co link before arriving at its destination to an advertiser's site.

Why? Twitter shortens links to protect users from malicious sites that engage in spreading malware, phishing attacks, and other harmful activity. A link converted by Twitter’s link service is checked against a list of potentially dangerous sites.

How to Share Affiliate Links on YouTube

Affiliate links can be posted in the Video Description or in the comments below the description. Adding too many links can violate YouTube rules regarding spam, so limit your choice of links to the video topic.

Affiliate links can be posted in the Video Description or in the comments below the description. Adding too many links can violate YouTube rules regarding spam, so limit your choice of links to the video topic.

Video Description

Providing links in this area helps followers learn more about the products or services you presented in your video. Links to your other promotional properties (website and social channels) are allowed as long as they are registered in your YouTube account.

Comments

If you allow comments below your Video Description, you may include a link in one of your own comments, as long as it’s related to the video. Posting links in the comments sections of other vloggers is a violation of YouTube’s policies.

Live Streaming Platforms

Video streaming platforms that are primarily used for gaming often will allow user content including links in the Bio, Chat, and About Me sections.

How to Share Affiliate Links on Discord

You can drag and drop text links into the Chat box in your own server to share them with your community. Don’t post your affiliate links on servers belonging to other members. It’s a best practice to disclose that it’s an affiliate link.

How to Share Affiliate Links on Twitch

User content, including links, can be included in Stream Chat. Twitch allows user-generated content throughout the platform in virtually all media available according to their Terms of Service.

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Happy posting!

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