Marketers who regularly use social media may be aware of Bit.ly, the link shortening service that allows you more space for Facebook posts and tweets.

But there's more to Bit.ly than URL wrangling, so today we're having a look at Bit.ly Brand Tools.

Measure up

While link shortening is a very useful service, the diminished URL can look a bit haphazard. For example, a regular shortened link will look something like this http://bit.ly/S7hBH8.

Enter Branded Short Domains, which ensures your shorted links are still on message. So a link from online retailer QVC  will be shortened to qvc.co/give-joy.

Custom bitlinks

On the other end of the stick, Bit.ly gives you the option to customise the second half of your link with custom keywords.

Let's say you've posted an article about mobile marketing, you can create a link such as http://bitly.mobile.

This custom URL may give users more impetus to click through.

Analytics

All that link shortening isn't much use unless you can measure your results.

Bit.ly offers in-depth analytics allowing you to measure what your customers are sharing and how your links are performing, all in real time.

To find out more visit bitly.com.

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