Startups #nofilter speaks over the phone with Nadav Raviv, Founder and CEO of Link Big. Link Big’s name speaks for itself – it is an automatic tool which customizes a brand’s Instagram’s bio link into a product page based on the image clicked on by the user. This lower-in-the-funnel link is way more valuable than your standard homepage link that most brands use on Instagram.
1) Your app creates custom links for Instagram profiles based on which item the user clicked on, which leads them straight to the product page so that they can purchase it. Pretty cool. Give us a few more details for those who aren’t yet familiar with it.
We are making the best shopping experience for brands of Instagram which they don’t have right now. Instagram is a top 10 app in world, but you can’t click on an image and see an item page and how much it costs. We want to fix this. We started with products…. then launched a new version with great success. We are giving users and buyers the opportunity to shop based on pictures straight to the item in just 2 clicks – no downloading apps or signing in. We want it to be as friction-less as Pinterest. Intuitive.
2) What if a user never clicked on an item? Does the default link go to the homepage?
I can see that you are not an Instagram user. You see on your social feed only recent pictures. On social, the brands pick the item, then you share it, like it, but some want to buy it!
3) Your website says you can provide 50-300% increase in traffic. But aren’t users clicking it anyway? Shouldn’t the increase you get them only be for CTR and not just traffic? I understand that you are leading them to a low in the funnel page which is better than the homepage. But what about Link Big’s custom links gets people to click in the first place more than a standard company link?
The standard URL that every brand is doing is not being clicked on. Zero traffic. If you follow a site on Instagram and see a shirt and want to know the cost, you can click on the bio link but then you have to search for it afterwards. That is why brands with millions of followers such as Asos – 12 million followers – but no traffic through Instagram! Ask yourself, when you click on an item, you want to get to the item page easily, friction-less. And because the URL in its current format is the homepage, no one clicks.
4) What has been your PR strategy? How do you drive signups?
We don’t have PR. We are going brand by brand on LinkedIn. Referrals by ad agencies and fashion bloggers among other potential clients. Only $100k investment so far, so there is no real money for marketing yet.
5) Any regrets so far?
I think going to investors is a waste of time. Going to investors is a waste of time that you can use to interview clients, or email potential clients, or analyze data or trends or insights from your own clients, or upgrade/customize versions of your product for the clients.
Investors are the opposite of going forward – they ask tough questions and think they know the product. If they don’t like it, they will mess around with you. We want feedback from brands and clients. Investors give you the wrong data, and are not helpful.
6) Do you have any growth numbers you’d like to share with our readers? Number of clients?
Google France chose us as best retail startup in Europe, and took us for 1 week in Paris for mentoring and meeting potential clients. We tripled traffic for our most recent client in just 3 months.
7) What website do you go to when you need to check if your internet is working?
Google.com – you just click the icon – less friction. We believe in a friction-less world.
Also check out rapi.do – Google your name and see what happens. This is a new search site we built based on Google’s “I’m feeling lucky”.
8) One piece of advice for Startups #nofilter?
Add some human touch. There is currently no evidence of a person or human being when you enter the site. Add a human touch, some visuals, a picture. Everything here is too clean and robotic.
