Linktree

Linktree
A combination of a house and two trees.
Developer
  • Alex Zaccaria
  • Anthony Zaccaria
  • Nick Humphreys
  • Bolster Creative PTY LTD
TypeSocial media link in bio landing page
StatusActive
Members40 million
Pricing modelFreemium
Websitelinktr.ee/s/about

Linktree is a freemium[1] social media reference landing page[2] developed by Alex Zaccaria, Anthony Zaccaria, and Nick Humphreys, headquartered in Melbourne,[3] Australia.[4] Founded in 2016, it serves as a landing page for a person or company's entire associated links in social media, which rarely allows linking to multiple sites.[5] The site was inspired by the developers' annoyance with social media that cannot or do not allow multiple hyperlinks.[6]

History[edit]

Linktree was established in 2016, out of annoyance regarding social media that do not allow multiple hyperlinks in profiles.[6] The site was created in six hours.[6] It is reported to have gained 3,000 users overnight,[when?] which caused the server to crash due to overload.[6] In 2018, Instagram banned the site[7] due to "spam", although it was lifted and Instagram issued an apology.[6] In December 2018, the number of users reached 1 million, then 3 million by the end of 2019. By October 2020, Linktree had gained more than 8 million users.[8][9]

As of March 2021, the number of users reached nearly 16 million, with an increase of 300% over the previous year.[10]

In August 2021 Linktree announced the acquisition of smart link provider Odesli to become a "one-stop-shop" for musicians seeking to monetize their art.[11]

Features and subscriptions[edit]

Linktree is a freemium service: it is free, but also offers a 'Pro' subscription launched in April 2017,[6] which gives more benefits, such as more customization options, more detailed analytics, email sign-up integration, removal of the Linktree logo, etc.[12] Users can upload as many links as they wish despite not subscribing. Pro analytics allows users to view their click-through rates. Both offerings allow users to create a personalized and customizable page, that houses all social media links and official websites. Linktree also partnered with Amazon, allowing users to upload their Amazon store profile as an affiliate link.[13] Amid the George Floyd protests, Linktree allowed users to adopt a 'Support Anti-Racism' icon, which pops a tab linking visitors to articles to further understand racism, organizations to donate to, and places to protest.[clarification needed]

Accolades[edit]

In 2019, Linktree was included in CNBC's 'Upstart 100' list of "brightest, most intriguing, young startups promising to become the great companies of tomorrow."[14] In March 2020, Fast Company placed Linktree as fourth place in the 'Most Innovative Companies of 2020' list in the 'Social media' category for "making Instagram's 'link in bio' into a sleek menu for sharing articles, merch, or paid partnerships."[3] For comparison's sake, in that year the first place was Cameo and the third Pinterest; while the fourth place of other years[15] were Reddit (2018 and 2021), Are.na (2019) and Genies, Inc. (2022).

Continuous Instagram bans[edit]

It is reported that Linktree, started as a link-in-bio tool for Instagram, was banned from Instagram in 2018,[7] since it is noted as "breaking the community standards," specifically as a spam website.[6][16] Linktree stated that they were "working on it" with their "representatives on Instagram."[16] This ban resulted in improving the relationship between Linktree and Instagram after thousands of users advocated on Linktree's behalf. Although the ban was lifted and Instagram issued an apology,[12] as of March 2021, Instagram accounts for less than 40% of Linktree's profile traffic.[17]

Funding[edit]

On October 27, 2020, Linktree announced that it had received US$10.7 million in Series A financing from Airtree Ventures and Insight Partners. The funding is the company's first from an institutional investor.[8] On March 26, 2021, Linktree announced the closing of a $45M Series B financing round. The round was co-led by Index Ventures and Coatue, with participation from returning investors AirTree Ventures and Insight Partners.[18] After raising $110M in January 2022, and offering to pay its employees $6,000 in a yearly bonus, the company announced it would fire 17% of its workforce citing changing dynamics. It did not reveal cash on hand.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Linktree Review: Advantages, Disadvantages, Alternatives & How To Use". RecentHub. 2020-06-01. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  2. ^ "Social Media Landing Pages: The Best Link in Bio is Your Own". Nexcess. Retrieved 2023-04-19.
  3. ^ a b "The 10 most innovative social media companies of 2020". Fast Company. 2020-03-10. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  4. ^ "About Linktree™ | The Linktree Story". Linktree. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  5. ^ Ford, Brooke (2020-07-01). "Linktree Review 2020 | What Is It? Is It Worth It? Should You Get It?". Gain More Followers. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Zaccaria, Alex (2020-06-06). "Bootstrapped and Global from Day One: The Story of Linktree". Archived from the original on 2020-12-19.
  7. ^ a b Erica. "Why You Should Stop Using Linktree & How to Create Your Own in Squarespace". Big Cat Creative. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  8. ^ a b "Linktree raises $10.7M for its lightweight, link-centric user profiles". TechCrunch. 26 October 2020.
  9. ^ Carman, Ashley (2020-09-22). "The links that do it all, and the scrappy startups that power them". The Verge. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  10. ^ Swant, Marty. "The URL Renaissance: Linktree Raises $45 Million To Fuel 'Link In Bio' Social Commerce". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  11. ^ "Linktree acquires Odesli in a bid to become a "one-stop shop" for artists". Forbes. 19 August 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Is Linktree Safe? Or Are There Better Alternatives?". Socialfollow. 2019-12-28. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  13. ^ Andress, Lina (2020-03-31). "Linktree Review: Share Links Limitlessly (Real Pros & Cons)". HowSociable. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  14. ^ Spiegel, David (2019-11-12). "100 of the world's most promising start-ups to watch in 2019". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  15. ^ Chronologically:
  16. ^ a b "We've been notified of an issue with Instagram..." Linktree (Twitter). 2018-06-13. Archived from the original on 2020-12-19. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  17. ^ Waters, Cara (2021-03-25). "Afterpay's Nick Molnar backs social media startup Linktree in $59m raising". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 2023-04-16. Retrieved 2021-06-11.
  18. ^ "'Link-in-bio' company Linktree raises $45M Series B for its social commerce features". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
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