How to Create a Short Link for a Facebook Post

That super long, clunky URL on your Facebook post isn't doing you any favors. A clean, short link not only looks more professional but also acts as a powerful tool for tracking who clicks what and when. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create a custom short link for any Facebook post, the best tools to use, and why this simple step can make a huge difference in your social media strategy.

Why Bother Shortening Your Facebook Link?

You might be wondering if adding an extra step to your posting process is really worth the effort. The answer is a definitive yes. Shortening your links goes way beyond just making them look tidy, it's a strategic move that provides tangible benefits for your brand and marketing efforts.

It Just Looks Better (Aesthetics and Trust)

First impressions matter. A long, convoluted URL filled with random numbers and symbols can look messy and, even worse, spammy. It distracts from your message and can make users hesitant to click.

Compare these two examples:

• Before: https://www.facebook.com/yourbrand/posts/pfbid02xZyAfrTmPqGhjGdf78tV3F2dHgJhRzXcQd3sWbNzK1pYvK8mR7TjS9aE6hG7iJpL
• After: yourbrand.co/summersale or bit.ly/brandsummersale

The second option is cleaner, easier to read, and immediately builds more trust with your audience. It signals professionalism and makes your content feel more deliberate and polished.

It Gives You Incredibly Valuable Data

This is the real game-changer. Most link-shortening services come with a built-in analytics dashboard. When you use a short link, you’re not just re-routing traffic, you’re collecting data on every single click. This includes:

• Total Clicks: Find out exactly how many people clicked the link in your post.
• Geographic Location: See where in the world your audience is clicking from.
• Referral Traffic: Know whether clicks came directly from Facebook, a shared post, or somewhere else.
• Time of Day: Track when your links get the most engagement, helping you optimize your posting schedule.

Without a short link, you're mostly flying blind. Once a user leaves Facebook to visit your site, that data trail goes cold. A short link bridges that gap, giving you a clear picture of how your Facebook content drives action.

It Strengthens Your Memorable Brand

Using a custom short domain (like npr.one for NPR or nyti.ms for The New York Times) turns every link you share into a branding opportunity. Instead of promoting Bitly or another generic shortener, you're reinforcing your own brand name. These are called branded links, and they consistently have a higher click-through rate (CTR) than generic short links because users know and trust the domain.

First Things First: How to Find the Permanent Link for Any Facebook Post

Before you can shorten a link, you need the right link to begin with. You can't just copy the URL from your main news feed. Every post on Facebook has its own unique, permanent address, often called a "permalink." Here’s how to find it.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Navigate to the specific post you want to share. This can be on your personal profile, a business page, or in a group.
2. Locate the timestamp on the post. It will look like "5m," "2h," or an actual date and time like "July 24 at 10:15 AM."
3. Click on that timestamp.
4. You'll be taken to a new page that displays only that individual post. The URL in your browser's address bar is the permanent link for that post.

That's it! This is the URL you will copy and paste into a link-shortening tool. It will work forever, even as the post gets older and moves down your timeline.

Creating Your Short Link: A Step-by-Step Guide Using Popular Tools

Now that you have your permanent Facebook post link, it’s time to shorten it. There are many excellent tools available, but here are a couple of the most popular and user-friendly options.

Option 1: Using Bitly (Great for Beginners)

Bitly is one of the most well-known URL shorteners and offers a generous free plan that is perfect for most users just starting out.

Here’s how to create a short link with Bitly:

1. Sign Up or Log In: Go to Bitly.com and create a free account. An account is necessary to track your link analytics.
2. Create Your Link: In your Bitly dashboard, click the "Create new" button and select "Link."
3. Paste Your URL: Paste the long Facebook post permalink you copied earlier into the "Destination" field.
4. Customize Your Link (Optional but Recommended): Bitly will instantly generate a generic short link like bit.ly/3xY7aZp. This works, but we can do better. In the "Custom back-half" field, change the random characters to something descriptive and easy to read. For example, if your post is about a summer recipe, you could change it to bit.ly/summer-guac-recipe.
5. Save and Share: Click "Create" and your new, short, and customized link is ready to be shared in your Facebook post! You can also track its performance directly from your Bitly dashboard.

Option 2: Using Rebrandly (For Taking Your Branding to the Next Level)

If you're serious about branding, Rebrandly is a fantastic tool that’s built around the concept of using your own custom short domain.

Imagine your company is called "Starlight Coffee." Instead of using bit.ly links, you could use a domain like star.co. Every link you share would look like star.co/morningdeal or star.co/newblog, reinforcing your brand every time.

The process is a bit more involved but incredibly powerful:

1. Buy a Short Domain: First, you'll need to purchase a short, snappy domain. Common strategies include using a shortened version of your name or a clever acronym. You can buy these from any domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap.
2. Sign Up for Rebrandly: Create an account at Rebrandly.com. They have free and paid plans.
3. Connect Your Domain: Follow the instructions inside Rebrandly to link your new short domain to your account. This usually involves a simple change to your domain's DNS settings. It sounds technical, but they provide excellent step-by-step guides.
4. Create Branded Links: Once connected, the process is just like Bitly. Paste your long Facebook post URL into Rebrandly, but now you can customize the back-half for your own domain. Your link will now be fully branded, trackable, and professional.

Expert Tips for Using Short Links on Facebook

Creating the link is just the first part. Using it effectively requires a bit of strategy. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind.

Always Tell People Where They're Going

A short link hides the destination, which can make people suspicious. Counteract this by being transparent in your post copy. Use a clear call-to-action that explains what happens when they click.

• Do: "Read our new guide to social media marketing here: ourbrand.rocks/sm-guide"
• Don't: "Click here for an amazing surprise: bit.ly/j2sK8d3"

The first example builds trust, while the second feels like potential clickbait or a scam.

Use a Single Link for a Single Campaign

If you're promoting a new product, use the exact same customized short link everywhere you talk about it - in your Facebook post, in your Instagram bio, on Twitter, and in your email campaigns. This allows you to aggregate all the click data in one place inside your link shortener's dashboard. You'll get a complete picture of your campaign's traffic without having to stitch together reports from a half-dozen different analytics platforms.

Consistently Check Your Analytics

Don't let that valuable data go to waste. Get in the habit of logging into Bitly or your preferred tool every week to see what's working. Which types of Facebook posts generate the most clicks? Do links with certain keywords in the custom back-half perform better? Use these insights to refine your content strategy and create more of what your audience actually wants to see.

Know When Not to Use One

While powerful, you don't need to shorten every single link. If you're sharing an article from a well-known, trusted source like The Guardian or Forbes, their original URL is often fine. Short links are most valuable when a URL is extremely long and ugly, when you want to track outbound clicks from a specific campaign, or when you are using a branded domain to boost recognition.

Final Thoughts

Creating short links for your Facebook posts is a small habit that delivers big results. It cleans up the look of your posts, reinforces your brand identity, and unlocks a treasure trove of data that can help you make smarter marketing decisions. By making this simple technique part of your regular workflow, you move from just posting content to strategically building an audience that engages and converts.

We know that managing short links, scheduling content, tracking metrics, and engaging with comments across multiple platforms can feel fragmented and overwhelming. That’s precisely why we built Postbase. We wanted to create a single place where all the moving parts of social media management come together effortlessly - a visual calendar to plan your posts, a rock-solid scheduler that handles video first, a unified inbox for all your messages, and analytics that tell you what’s working. It's built to make your process smoother, not more complicated, so you can focus on building your brand without fighting your tools.