How to Add Facebook and Instagram to an Email Signature

Your email signature is one of the most overlooked marketing assets you have. Every time you send an email, you have a direct line to a captive audience - so why not use that space to grow your social media presence? This guide will walk you through exactly how to add clickable Facebook and Instagram icons to your email signature, turning every message you send into a growth opportunity for your brand.

Why Add Social Media Icons to Your Email Signature?

Before getting into the how, let's quickly cover the why. Adding social media links to your daily correspondence isn't just about aesthetics, it's a smart, passive marketing strategy with tangible benefits.

• Boost Your Follower Count Organically: You're already communicating with people who know, like, or work with you - colleagues, clients, partners, and leads. These are warm contacts who are more likely to give your social accounts a follow than a brand-new prospect who just discovered you. It's a simple, non-pushy way to invite them into your social ecosystem.
• Promote Your Content Effortlessly: Are you sharing valuable insights, new products, or behind-the-scenes content on Instagram and Facebook? Your email signature silently points people toward that content, increasing its reach and engagement without you having to send a separate promotional email.
• Build Brand Credibility and Trust: A professional email signature with active social links shows that your brand is legitimate, modern, and actively engaged with its community. It gives recipients another avenue to vet you, see social proof, and get a feel for your brand’s personality.
• It's a Zero-Cost Marketing Channel: You don't have to pay for this promotion. You are already sending these emails. Leveraging your signature is a completely free way to drive traffic and engagement to your most important social platforms.

The Right Way vs. The Wrong Way

There are two ways you can add your social links, and one is significantly more effective than the other.

The Wrong Way: Pasting Plain Text URLs

Simply copying and pasting the raw links to your profiles at the bottom of your email is a common mistake. It looks something like this:

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourbrandname
Check us out on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourbrandname/

While functional, this approach is clunky, visually unappealing, and takes up a lot of valuable space. It looks dated and can come across as unprofessional.

The Right Way: Using Clickable Social Media Icons

A much cleaner, more professional method is to use small, high-quality icons of the Facebook and Instagram logos. Each icon is hyperlinked directly to your profile. This approach is visually tidy, instantly recognizable, and makes it incredibly easy for someone to click through. It's a small change that makes a huge difference in perception.

How to Create and Prepare Your Social Media Icons

Before you can add the icons to your email client, you need to have the image files ready and properly formatted. This process is simple and has three main parts.

Step 1: Find and Download High-Quality Icons

You need clean, professional-looking icons. Don't just grab the first low-quality image you find on a Google search. Look for icons that are specifically designed for this purpose.

• Ideal Size: You want something small enough that it doesn't overwhelm your signature. Aim for a size between 30x30 pixels and 40x40 pixels. Anything larger will look clunky.
• File Format: A PNG file with a transparent background is your best option. This ensures the icon looks clean and doesn't have an ugly white box around it, regardless of the recipient's email background color.

Where to find icons:

• Iconfinder: A great resource with a huge library of free and premium icons. Just search for "Facebook icon" or "Instagram icon" and filter by "free" and "no link back."
• Flaticon: Another massive library offering icons in various styles. You can find minimalist, modern, or colorful options to fit your brand.
• Design Your Own in Canva: On Canva, you can easily create custom-sized graphics. Just open a new design (e.g., 40x40 px), search for Facebook or Instagram logos in the "Elements" tab, and download them as a PNG with a transparent background.

Once you have your icon files, save them to a place on your computer where you won’t accidentally delete them.

Step 2: Get Your Direct Profile URLs

Next, you need the exact web addresses for your Facebook and Instagram profiles. A typo here will lead to a broken link, so it's a good idea to double-check.

• For Facebook: Go to your brand’s Facebook Page and copy the URL from the address bar in your browser. It should look something like https://www.facebook.com/YourBusinessName.
• For Instagram: Your Instagram URL is simply https://www.instagram.com/YourUsername. Just replace "YourUsername" with your actual Instagram handle.

Keep these two URLs handy in a notepad or document so you can easily copy and paste them later.

Step 3: Host Your Icons Online (Optional but Recommended)

While you can upload icons directly from your computer, some email clients (especially older versions of Outlook) may treat them as attachments, which can be annoying for the recipient. The best practice is to host the images online and link to them.

Don't worry, this sounds more technical than it is. Here are a few easy options:

• Your Website's Media Library: If you use WordPress or a similar CMS, just upload the icons to your media library. Once uploaded, click on the image and copy its "File URL."
• Imgur: This is a popular and free image hosting service. Upload your icons, click on the uploaded image, and copy the "Direct Link."
• GitHub: If you're a bit more tech-savvy, you can create a public repository on GitHub and upload your icon files there. The links will be very stable.

Once your icons are hosted, copy the direct URLs for each image and save them alongside your social profile URLs.

Adding the Icons to Your Email Signature: Step-by-Step Guides

Now that you have your icons and links, it's time to put it all together in your email client of choice. The process differs slightly for each platform.

For Gmail

Gmail makes adding images and links to your signature straightforward.

1. Click the Settings gear icon in the top-right corner and select "See all settings."
2. On the "General" tab, scroll down until you see the "Signature" section.
3. Click the "+ Create new" button, give your signature a name (e.g., "Main Signature") and click "Create."
4. In the signature editor box, type your name, title, and other contact details. Then, place your cursor where you want the icons to appear.
5. Click the "Insert image" icon in the editor's toolbar. It looks like a small picture of mountains.
6. Choose the "Web Address (URL)" option. Paste the URL of your hosted Facebook icon image and click "Insert." The icon should appear in the editor.
7. Click on the icon you just inserted to highlight it. You'll see options for size (Small, Medium, Large). Choose "Small."
8. With the icon still highlighted, click the "Link" icon in the toolbar (it looks like a chain link).
9. Paste your Facebook Page URL into the box and click "OK."
10. Repeat the process for your Instagram icon right next to the Facebook one. Insert the image, resize it, and add the correct link.
11. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Save Changes."

For Outlook (Desktop App & Web)

The process is similar for both the desktop and web versions of Outlook, though the menus are slightly different.

Outlook Desktop App (Windows):

1. With Outlook open, go to File > Options.
2. In the new window, select the "Mail" tab, and then click the "Signatures..." button.
3. Click "New" to create a signature or select an existing one to edit.
4. In the editor, place your cursor where you'd like your icons.
5. To add an icon, click the image icon (it's to the right of the "Business Card" button). Browse your computer and select your downloaded icon file.
6. Click the newly inserted icon to select it.
7. Click the hyperlink icon (it looks like a globe with a chain link) in the toolbar.
8. Paste your Facebook profile URL into the "Address" field at the bottom and click "OK."
9. Repeat the process for your Instagram icon.
10. Click "OK" to save the signature, and then "OK" again to close the options window.

Outlook on the Web (Outlook.com / Microsoft 365):

1. Click the Settings gear icon in the top right, then search for "Signature" in the search bar and select "Email signature". Or go to View all Outlook settings > Mail > Compose and reply.
2. In the signature editor, locate the image icon in the toolbar.
3. Browse and select your saved icon from your computer.
4. Once inserted, click the icon to select it, then click the "Insert link" icon in the toolbar.
5. Paste in your social media profile URL and save.
6. Repeat for the other icon and make sure to click "Save."

For Apple Mail

Apple Mail can sometimes be a little finicky with HTML signatures, but this method generally works well.

1. In the Mail app, go to Mail > Preferences from the top menu bar.
2. Click the "Signatures" tab.
3. Select the email account you want to create the signature for on the left, then click the plus (+) button to add a new signature.
4. Uncheck the "Always match my default message font" box. This is important for preserving the formatting.
5. Add your text details (name, title, etc.). Then, find your downloaded icon files in Finder.
6. Drag and drop the Facebook icon file directly from Finder into the signature editor box. Do the same for the Instagram icon.
7. You may need to resize the images. Right-click (or Control-click) on an icon and select an appropriate size if the option is available. Often, Apple Mail handles the original file size, so using a pre-sized 30x30 icon is best.
8. Highlight the Facebook icon by clicking and dragging over it. Then go to Edit > Add Link from the top menu bar (or press Command-K).
9. Paste your Facebook Page URL and press Enter.
10. Repeat the linking process for your Instagram icon.
11. Simply close the Preferences window. Your changes are saved automatically.

Final Thoughts

Adding Facebook and Instagram icons to your email signature is a simple, set-it-and-forget-it tweak that quietly works to grow your audience and reinforces brand professionalism with every email you send. It transforms a basic piece of communication into a consistent, passive marketing tool that bridges the gap between your inbox and your social community.

Of course, growing that following is just the first step. As more people discover your social profiles through channels like your email signature, the challenge becomes managing that increased engagement and maintaining a consistent content calendar. At Postbase, we designed our platform to solve exactly these growing pains. We offer a clean, reliable, and modern tool that makes planning and scheduling your social content effortless, consolidating your community management into one simple inbox so you never miss a comment or DM a customer sends your way.