Do I have to have a photo for my links to work

HI, I am new and have a couple of questions?  

1.  Do I need to have a photo for my comment work to work?  Right now I am posting a story first and then coming back to manychat and add the photo or video and then posting to instagram 
2. Can I use the work “shop” on all my post.

I have watched many videos and can’t get into a good rhythm with this 

thank you - Lisa