I posted this update to my twitter/facebook profiles this morning, but thought it was relevant enough for a blog post.
Pet Peeve: Email & other publications using shortened links. It’s fine for twitter, but otherwise, I want to know where you’re sending me.
Here are my views on using link shorteners/url shorteners in your marcoms (marketing communications).
The Good: URL shortening is used to reduce the number of characters in any web link – most commonly used to fit a link and its related commentary/description within Twitter’s 140 character limit. TweetDeck, a popular desktop Twitter application previews the link’s actual destination when clicked. TinyURL (a free url shortening service) offers a preview so you can decide whether to continue to the link’s destination or not (although it does require enabling and the use of cookies).
The Bad: Bit.ly, another popular link shortener, does not appear to have a prominent preview tool. From a professional standpoint, it does look appealing though because you can create an account and track the number of clicks your links get, etc.
The Ugly: The smart computer user needs to know where they are being directed on the internet! A lot of nasty viruses and malware are running around out there – and no one wants to deal with that.
While I appreciate the value of link shortening for twitter updates, I prefer not to see them on facebook, in emails, and even more so in online publications, blog posts, and articles. If not for the safety factor, there’s the other reason that when I’m reading real estate updates or marketing updates, I’ve probably already read the article on Realtor.org or Mashable.com that you are linking to. There’s no reason for me to click though to something I’ve already read!
So please – don’t waste my time or leave me exposed to security risks when you’re publishing links online 🙂
If anyone has any tips on best practices you’ve experienced for using and sharing web links using link shortening, please pass them along! I’d love to share them here.
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