Meet the new brave world of deep linking and drive sales!

To make it clearer, mobile deep linking is actually the technique for launching a native mobile application via a link. The most outstanding advantage of using deep linking is that it gives both to app developers and marketers the opportunity to drive users quickly and effortlessly to an exact location within their mobile app, shorting the gap between the users and the desired content, product etc.

Mobile deep linking can be applied in numerous situations, making the user experience seamless, improving performance and increasing conversion rates and drive sales, as users can immediately see the content they would like to see or complete the action (e.g. a purchase) they would like to complete.

A. Publishers & Mobile Commerce:
The example of publishers is probably the best example to in depth understand how deep linking works. To be more specific, let’s create a scenario: an article within a publisher’s app promotes the latest pair of shoes for 2016. Thanks to deep linking, users can be motivated to immediately buy the advertised new product, directly through brand’s application, by being redirected from publisher’s app. The commercial model of retailers highly differentiates, as they can drive sales, without relying just on ad revenues. In this way, a strong relationship is created among publishers and retailers, creating an affiliated channel of communication.

B. Mobile Payments & Mobile Wallets:   
Any mobile application offering mobile services, such as mobile coupons, mobile tickets and parking, actually uses deep linking with mobile wallet apps for enabling purchases and payments directly through the application.
Example: A bank loyalty app can take advantage of deep linking in order to offer to their users a 360° experience. Users choose within the loyalty app an offer from an affiliated to the program merchant, and complete the transaction by being “deep linked” mobile banking app of the bank.

C. Gaming apps:  
Scenario No. 1: Let’s assume that an owner of an app game aims to increase user acquisition without spending plenty of money on advertising. The easiest way to do so is through deep linking. How? A user plays a game round and he/she is motivated to invite his/her friends in order to earn more lives and be able to continue playing. The friend receive the invitation, which contains a “deep link” – the tool to be directed to the store and download the app game. He downloads the app and immediately he is redirected to the same game round with his friend from whom he received the invitation.
Scenario No. 2: Users want to unlock a specific achievement or a level within the game. The promotional code, as well as a deep link, are sent to them via a SMS. Users “deep link” to the app game to the unlocked achievement/level directly through the SMS, use the promotional code and continue enjoying playing.

Deep linking and mobile loyalty apps

Deep linking is the next generation in the world of mobile marketing.

No more advertising costs, just affiliation and attribution! This is the concept behind deep linking and loyalty mobile applications.

Mobile deep linking is the best solution for running co-branded activities between loyalty programs, aiming to take customer engagement to the next level. Sharing CRM and 2nd party data is the key to success when mobile deep linking is used for mobile loyalty.

And it is not only that! Mobile deep linking can highly attribute to your company’s sales. By sending users at the exact screen of the mobile app, their whole mobile experience is getting seamless. Marketers can enhance user engagement, as users can easily access the content you want to provide them with, with essentially no navigation. The result is one: increase sales effortlessly!

Here at Warply, we know the importance of mobile loyalty deep linking and that’s why it is one of our first priorities, having already run some deep linking examples.

Example No1: Ethnodigos, the first mobile loyalty app in the Greek insurance market, was rewarding all new registrations, by giving to all new users a free coffee from Everest. New users were getting a promo code to the inbox of Ethnodigos mobile app and were directly “deep linked” to the basket section of Everest mobile ordering app, to order the free coffee.  

Example No.2: By taking advantage of the loyalty program of Nestle Hellas, users can buy a discount coupon of Nestle products and directly “deep linked” in the “basket” of AB Vassilopoulos app, for redemption of that coupon once they are about to complete their grocery shopping via AB mobile app.

Example No.3: Through the loyalty program of Nestle Hellas, users can take a discount coupon for a coffee and instantly redeem it through Everest mobile ordering app, by being “deep linked” in the basket of the latest.

Example No4: Marketers can facilitate users’ log in process, through a two-step authentication process. Users log in for the first time in the mobile app, they receive a SMS to authenticate their new account and instantly redirected to their profile screen within the app, to start their navigation.

Deel linking implementation

Deep linking consists of a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), facilitating linking to a specific location within a mobile app. It is what URL stands for hyperlinks for websites.

Custom URL Handler Guide
URI is more than necessary in order to create an advanced deep linking experience. Just like URL for websites, URI contains all the information needed to launch the desired screem of mobile application. More detailed information about URI creation can be found here.

Through an advanced marketing automation platform, such as Warply Engage, the process of deep linking is getting easier, enabling even marketers to do it on their own, building better user experiences. 

Warply Engage platform facilitates marketers to do mobile deep linking through the following options:

A. Deep linking via push notification
Marketers are able to drive users’ app to the desired screen of the application directly through the app, simply by inserting the destination app screen in the set up process of push notification.

Insert the destination app screen in the “Custom Fields” in the set up process of push notification. 

B. Deep linking among mobile apps 
Deep linking between two mobile applications is possible once the configuration of each mobile app is available. It is a timeless process, only requiring SDK integration.
Warply provides you with an easy-to-understand documentation both for Android and iOS operating systems, facilitating marketers and developers to create effective, seamless cross-app user experience.