What is Referral Link and How it Works?

Referral marketing does not work (well) without implying a referral link in the campaigns. Just like pizza doesn’t go without cheese, similarly, the referral campaigns don’t go without the referral link. 

The link is one that a friend shares with another friend to enroll in a referral campaign. That link can also be used in tracking the statistics of the referral program and also to know the top influencers. 

What is Referral Link?

The referral link is a type of URL (Uniform Resource Link) used in the referral marketing campaigns to promote their brand and products through their existing customers (advocates) making them the brand ambassadors for their company. The link is given to all who enroll for the referral program.

A referral link is basically a tracking ID for the company to keep track of the referral program and its insights. Every advocate gets a unique link every time to share it with their friends.

Is a Referral Link similar to Referral Code?

The referral code is not similar to the referral links, but the code is a part of it. The URL of the campaign (link) is the same for everyone but the code is the unique identifier of every link. 

How does the Referral Program Link work?

The link works for both the advocates and their friends. The link and the referral code are generated every time any advocate is enrolled in the referral program. Once the link is shared the data and the tracking starts. 

Let us take an example of two friends, one is Katherine and other is Joshua let us learn how they are using the link on their end. 

Katherine is the advocate of your company. She has been a customer of yours for a long time and is loving your products and services that you are providing them.

Joshua is the friend of Katherine to whom Katherine will recommend for availing your services by using a refer-a-friend.

1. Katherine

Once the referral program is created you will send them an invitation email to join your referral program. 

The email will contain a URL to the referral program.

Katherine will click on the link and will land onto your referral program. Your referral program says:

“Refer-a-friend and get $150 Amazon gift voucher”

*Once your friend signs up*

So Katherine shared the link to Joshua over Whatsapp. 

2. Joshua

Joshua receives a text over Whatsapp “Your friend Katherine referred you to enjoy our amazing services. Get a 20% discount on your first purchase once you sign up.”

The message also contains a link and a unique code. 

Joshua will click on the link. He will land on your home page and will sign up—you’ve got a new lead.  

Once he signs up he is eligible for the first-time purchase discount and Katherine too can avail of her offer.

Why is it necessary to use Link?

The link of the referral works behind the scenes to make the workflow easy and trackable.

The link makes it much easier to get the insights and the statistics of the campaign. A link has reduced the manual work and works in a more automated way. This saves you a lot of time–as it can sometimes get quite difficult to track the activity of each and every customer manually.