How to Connect Bitly to HubSpot for Social Publishing

Connecting Bitly to Hubspot lets you publish social posts with shortened, trackable links directly from your marketing tools, without switching platforms or manually shortening every URL.

This guide walks you through how Bitly works with your account, how to connect it to your social settings, and how to manage or disconnect it later.

How Bitly Works in Your HubSpot Social Tools

Before you connect anything, it is important to understand how Bitly behaves when you publish social content through your portal.

When Bitly is connected:

• Links in social posts published from your social composer are automatically shortened via Bitly.
• You can use either standard Bitly links or branded short domains configured in your Bitly account.
• Clicks and engagement are still tracked by your existing analytics inside your account.

When Bitly is not connected, links you add to posts are published in their full, original format, and any shortening must be done manually before you paste links into the social composer.

Requirements to Connect Bitly and HubSpot

To use Bitly with your social publishing features, you need a few prerequisites in place.

• An active Bitly account with login credentials.
• Permission to authorize third-party apps in Bitly.
• Permission to edit social settings inside your marketing tools.

If you manage multiple teams or brands, confirm which Bitly login and, if applicable, which Bitly group or organization you plan to use before you connect it to your HubSpot social publishing tools.

Step-by-Step: Connect Bitly to HubSpot

Follow these steps to authorize Bitly and start shortening links inside your portal.

Step 1: Open Your HubSpot Social Settings

1. Log in to your account.
2. In the main navigation, go to your settings area.
3. In the left sidebar, locate the section for Marketing or Social, depending on your menu layout.
4. Open the Social section to access social publishing configuration for your portal.

On this screen you manage connected social networks, default publishing options, and link-shortening preferences.

Step 2: Start the Bitly Connection Process

1. Within the social settings page, look for the subsection related to link shortening or Bitly.
2. Click the option such as Connect Bitly or Authorize Bitly. This opens a new window or tab where Bitly requests your approval.

If you do not see a Bitly option, confirm that you are in the correct social settings area for your HubSpot tools and that your user has permission to edit global social settings.

Step 3: Authorize HubSpot in Bitly

1. In the new Bitly window, sign in with your Bitly username and password if you are not already logged in.
2. Review the access request. You will see that your social publishing tools want permission to shorten links and access basic Bitly configuration.
3. Click Allow or a similar button to approve the connection.

After authorization, you are redirected back to your social settings, and Bitly appears as a connected link shortener for your HubSpot social publishing features.

Configure Bitly Link Shortening in HubSpot

Once Bitly is connected, you can adjust how shortened links are used when you publish posts.

Choose When to Shorten Links in HubSpot

In your social settings, look for options that control automatic link shortening for your social tools. Typical settings include:

• Always shorten links for all supported social networks.
• Never shorten links, even with Bitly connected.
• Shorten links for specific networks, depending on your social channel strategy.

Select the behavior that best matches how you want your social posts to appear and track across channels.

Use Branded Short Domains from Bitly

If your Bitly account includes branded short domains, you can configure those to work with your HubSpot social publishing tools.

1. In Bitly, confirm that your branded domain is properly set up and active.
2. In your social settings, check whether Bitly groups or domains are listed.
3. Select the group or domain that matches the branded short link you want to use with social posts.

After saving your settings, new links shortened by Bitly from your HubSpot social composer will use your selected branded domain instead of the generic Bitly domain.

Publish Social Posts with Bitly Inside HubSpot

After you connect and configure Bitly, you can start using shortened links in your day-to-day social publishing workflow.

Create a Social Post with Shortened Links

1. Open the social publishing tool inside your account.
2. Click to create a new post and choose the social network where you want to publish.
3. Paste the full URL into the post body or link field.
4. Based on your settings, the link is automatically converted to a Bitly short URL before publishing.
5. Review the shortened link to confirm it uses the correct Bitly domain or branded short domain.
6. Schedule or publish the post from your HubSpot social tools as usual.

Your short links now carry both analytics from your portal and click metrics inside Bitly.

Manage or Disconnect Bitly from HubSpot

You can change link-shortening behavior or disconnect Bitly at any time.

Update Bitly Settings

1. Return to your social settings.
2. Adjust link-shortening preferences, such as which networks use Bitly or which Bitly domain is selected.
3. Save your changes so new social posts follow the updated rules.

Disconnect Bitly from HubSpot

1. In the same social settings area, locate the Bitly connection.
2. Click an option such as Disconnect or Remove.
3. Confirm that you want to remove Bitly from your HubSpot social publishing tools.

After you disconnect, any new social posts published from your portal will no longer be automatically shortened by Bitly. Previously published Bitly links continue to function and track as usual inside Bitly.

Troubleshooting the Bitly and HubSpot Connection

If you encounter issues connecting or using Bitly, try these common checks.

• Authorization errors: Log out of Bitly, sign in again directly on the Bitly website, then repeat the connection flow from your social settings.
• Wrong Bitly account: If you accidentally connected the wrong Bitly login, disconnect from your portal and reconnect while signed in to the correct Bitly account.
• Missing branded domain: Confirm that your branded domain is active in Bitly and that you have access to the correct Bitly group or organization.
• Links not shortening: Revisit your social settings to confirm that automatic link shortening is enabled for the networks you are posting to from HubSpot.

If problems persist, compare your configuration against the official product documentation and ensure that your user has the necessary permissions.

Official Documentation and Further Help

For the most accurate and current instructions, always refer to the official documentation. You can review the detailed steps and product notes on the original help article at this HubSpot and Bitly connection guide.

If you need broader strategic help with your marketing setup, integrations, or analytics implementation, you can also work with a consulting partner such as Consultevo to refine your configuration and overall platform strategy.

By correctly connecting Bitly to your HubSpot social publishing tools, you streamline link management, create cleaner posts across your social channels, and maintain consistent tracking for every campaign.

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