Swapping out Instagram/Twitter bio links can be irritating! This can be a huge inconvenience for businesses and influencers. However, there is a work around and it comes in the form of ‘Link in bio.’
Founded in 2019 by British entrepreneur, Tom Packer and experienced creative director Derrick Chafin, a UK-US startup Direct.me is an online platform that helps influencers and businesses promote their online activity.
Raises £2M funding
Recently, the social media platform raised $2.6 million (approx £2 million) funding in a seed round, led by Fuel Ventures, to help people organise their social presence and build greater personal connections with their audiences.
The company will use the funding to rapidly scale its team in the UK, US, and internationally, improve its “link in bio” platform to connect audiences to all of a user’s content and help influencers monetise their audience.
Tom Packer, founder, and CEO of Direct.me said, “Influencers come in all shapes and sizes and aren’t just celebrities. We recognise this and are finding new ways to help anyone with a social presence gain more from their audience. This can mean developing ways to create greater interaction by delivering a more unified way to move the audience between the things that are important to them or creating new ways to draw income from fans. With the support of Fuel Ventures, we can continue to build on our successful test phase and continue to make it easier than ever for people to find and connect, even those with audiences that have grown to a point where they’re otherwise uncontactable.”
‘Link in bio’
Social media networks like Instagram and Twitter have limitations on adding links in profiles. In this case, Direct.me’s ‘link in bio’ platform acts as an interactive digital business card that defragments users’ online profiles and maximises interactions with followers. Unlike LinkTree, OnlyFans and Cameo, this service is free and has premium features such as analytics and customisation.
Direct.me, a UK-US venture consolidates anyone’s social presence with a single, simplified website where followers can find everything they need and connect with followers via personal experiences that generate income.
According to the company, 60% of influencers believe that it is important to keep followers engaged through listening and responding to them, and around 70% of influencers driven to make money through their social channels.
Mark Pearson, founder and managing partner of Fuel Ventures added, “If you want to learn more about an influencer, there’s one place you know to look: that link in bio. Direct.me has huge potential to make that link hugely powerful for anyone with a social presence. We are excited to be part of Tom, Derrick, and the team’s journey to build a global platform that defragments users’ online presence.”
Direct.me was officially launched in Summer 2020 after spending nine months in beta testing.