what is the best referral strategy for mobile apps?

Aneesh Rayancha
3 replies
Hey Folks, what referral strategies have you come across for mobile apps recently? What are some of the challenges you've faced in implementing a referral program? Please share your own experiences with referral programs, both good and bad Is WhatsApp sharing effective or does asking the user to connect their Gmail and sending bulk emails to their contacts work better? You can share articles/examples of effective referral implementation in apps. Looking forward

Replies

Ava Adams
Not my wheelhouse, but a few things to consider for mobile app referral: 1.In-app incentives: Freebies or points for both referrer and referred. Look at Dropbox or Uber for inspo. 2.Easy share: Make the share button super visible. 3.Deep linking: Ensure the referral link opens the right app page, not just the homepage. Obviously, the strategy depends on the app's purpose. Referral for a game app would be different than, say, a productivity app. So, adapt accordingly.
Salar Davari
I think the problem with mobile app referrals is that they usually require the other person to install the app and insert a referral code as well. People find that difficult and not so smooth. I think two approaches could be taken: 1. Rewarding each step: for example, the moment I invite someone to join the app, I should get a prize (the lowest one). Then, when my friends open the invitation email or message and click on the link, I should get another prize (still small but bigger than the first one). Finally, when the friend joins the app, I should get the ultimate prize. 2. Rewarding the invitee: the majority of referral programs, reward the inviter very well while the reward for the invitee is not as big. I think by engineering this part, referral programs could do a better job.
Tyler Scott
Following because I'm interested in this as well. One strategy I want to explore that I don't think too many organizations have attempted to capitalize on yet is Venmo advertising. It's really interesting that people are willing to share what they are spending their money on, who they are giving it to, and what they are doing with it. I think it might have this social media FOMO effect where if you could advertise that someone is paying for your service on Venmo it might cause a FOMO effect on their friends who see that post.