Getting ongoing engagement from your program members is a critical aspect of running an effective referral program. The single most important thing you can do is stay relevant to your members. You don’t need to annoy them, but sending a gentle nudge or reminder may be exactly what they need to get back into gear. Today, we’ll cover the best referral program engagement hacks that will keep your members motivated to refer their friends.

Referral program engagement is crucial

You’ve learned how to ask for referrals and invited people to your program. And when you launched the program, member engagement was high. But now, things seem to have slowed down.

Sometimes, members forget about your program, or don’t realize they can share with multiple friends. And even the most active members can get distracted. It’s your job to keep them engaged.

How to know if referrers are engaged?

You thought once a member referred a friend, they would automatically continue to refer more and more people. But that’s not true. Just because someone signs up for your referral program doesn’t mean they’re active and engaged.

Here at Referral Rock, there are four ways we measure how engaged your program members are:

  • Members Added: number of new members that joined the program
  • Members Activated: number of members that engaged with the program for the first time
  • Member Visits: number of visits to the Member Portal
    • This measures whether members stay engaged with your program
    • Not all Member Visits translate into shares, but the more visits you get, the more shares you’ll get
  • Shares: number of times people actually share you via your program – how often they send their referral link to others

rr dashboard metrics just awareness and shares

Monitor these and other indicators on our Analytics Dashboard, and learn more about how to measure your program success with our Referral Funnel guide.

The main indicator of program engagement is shares, because that’s what you ultimately want your advocates to do – keep referring their friends.

But people will need to join your program and visit their member portal before they share. That’s where your ongoing engagement strategy will come in.

Our top strategies for referral program engagement

How can you remind members about your referral program and keep them engaged?  Luckily, there are quite a few easy strategies to promote your program to existing members. With regular promotion, you can remind members about the referral program and increase the odds of having continual engagement.

1. Create dedicated reminder email campaigns

Sending reminder emails is a simple way to boost engagement. People tend to forget, and sending them an email about the program and its benefits can help re-engage members.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to be too forward or pushy with your message. A simple email stating, “Don’t forget: share with your friends and earn rewards!” can be persuasive enough. Be sure to add a link to the referral program and an image to draw interest.

With Referral Rock, you can send personalized Monthly Summary emails to all your members, which give them an overview of their sharing activity for the past month and remind them to keep referring. These emails get a ton of traffic, so they usually create spikes in engagement.

You can also send automated referral emails to all customers at set times (we recommend sending these monthly to quarterly), and to customers who haven’t yet joined the program.

In addition, we recommend quarterly re-engagement emails to people who haven’t shared via the program within a given quarter, but who have engaged with it before then.

2. Send out notification emails at strategic times

Notifications, or event-driven invitations, let you connect with both new and existing members when they’re happiest with you – those moments when they’re most likely to share their experiences with friends.

So, send out these strategic, personalized emails to individual customers when they meet certain requirements (Referral Rock lets you set them up and send them automatically).

We suggest sending out notifications after someone makes a purchase, after they complete onboarding, or after any other milestone that shows they’re satisfied. Send the emails right after the milestone, or a few days after.

And why not send a timed email right after a customer earns a reward? Congratulate them on the reward, give them the info they need to redeem it, and encourage them to keep sharing to earn another reward. If you’re using a tiered system like Morning Brew does, show how many referrals are needed for that next reward.

morning brew referral program consider us impressed

No matter what emails you use to promote your program, make sure they let people access and share the program as quickly as possible. With Referral Rock’s One Click Access links, advocates can access their member portal and their referral link right away, with no password needed.

3. Remind customers of the program in existing emails

In addition to direct referral program reminders, you can devote a small section of your existing emails to referral program promotion. One sentence is all you need. This lets your emails do double duty: you’ll promote referral program engagement without overwhelming your customers.

  • For example, if you send email newsletters, mention the referral program at the end of the email.
  • Or, if you want customers to see your  program when they’re happiest, insert a sentence in the transactional emails (thank-you or invoice emails) you send right after a purchase.
  • Some brands, like Casper, place links to their program in review emails.
  • In addition, you can add a quick link to your email signature. This way, anyone who receives an email will also get a reminder and link to the referral program.

Providing your customers with a quick link to the referral program can help boost engagement. Plus, they’ll know exactly where to find it when they’re ready to refer someone.

Casper referral email

4. Create as many access points as you can

The more ways people can hear about and access the program, the more likely they are to engage and share. So, make sure you give them plenty of access points. We’ve covered different types of emails as access points already, but don’t stop there.

Complement your email communications by promoting your program across a variety of  other channels you already use to engage with your customers. The more ways for people to discover the program, the higher the chances they will join or reconnect with it.

Here are some other access points we recommend:

  • Your website (including banners, footers, navigation menus, and call-to-action buttons)
  • Checkout or thank-you pages (immediately after a purchase)
  • In-app notifications (within your customer portal, behind a login, or in your mobile app)
  • Social media posts
  • Account notifications
  • Business cards, postcards, or other printed materials (with a QR code for easy online access)
  • In-store signage (again, with a QR code)
  • Text messages

5. Add or change the friend reward

If you aren’t giving out rewards to referred friends yet, we recommend that you start. People are much more inclined to share if they can also give a reward to their friends. That way, they won’t feel like they’re “selling out” their friend just to earn rewards for themselves. Instead, the program feels more altruistic.

“Give $10, Get $10” sounds much more appealing than just “Earn $10 for each referral.”

Top 11 Ongoing Referral Program Engagement Hacks 1

If you’ve already added a reward for the friend and aren’t seeing the engagement you expect, that incentive might need changing. Either increase it, or change the friend reward type.

6. Switch up your reward structure

Another way to refresh your program is to change its rewards structure. You can set up a tiered reward system with bigger and better rewards for more referrals. Some people are competitive by nature, so introducing a challenge in your program can help keep them motivated. Don’t make the tiers too far a stretch, however. Make sure the rewards are achievable – you don’t want members to get discouraged from sharing.

A variation on this is a stacked structure, where members earn on every referral, but rewards get bigger after someone reaches a certain number of referrals. For example, maybe a member will earn $25 for their first five referrals, and then earn $50 for every referral after that. Giving members something to work toward adds an element of gamification, and creating dimensions in your reward structure can increase engagement.

7. Run special seasonal promotions

It’s easy to start ignoring the things we see constantly. If you’re not seeing that many shares, even with regular promotion of your program, it may be time to change up the type or value of your referral program rewards.

Sometimes, simply changing the rewards and messaging of your referral program is enough to catch your customer’s eye. That’s why we recommend seasonal campaigns, or promotions based on holidays, events, peak sales times, or slower sales times.

referral program engagement hack: change rewards

Changing up the reward makes the most sense if done seasonally, especially if you’re planning to increase the reward value. That way, you’re not locking yourself into a permanent change. Plus, the limited-time offer creates a sense of urgency.

You can also change the program’s messaging according to the season. For example, your February promotion could be a “Spread the Love” campaign, while one in December can change to “Share Some Cheer.”

Pay with Gasbuddy referral email

Title and imagery changes are a simple way to boost engagement from your members, and are even more effective when combined with a new, relevant reward to match the promotion.

Hopefully, you’ll see an increase in engagement, and if you do, you may decide that you’ll keep the new reward.
But regardless of final results, you’ll usually drum up some initial promotion and excitement around like a new reward, compared to your standard one.

8. Update your program messaging

Before they share, people need to know exactly what you want them to do (share) and what’s in it for them (the reward). If people are accessing their member portal but aren’t sharing often, it may be because your messaging is too confusing or disjointed.

Check the messaging in your member emails, on your program landing page, and in your Member Portal. Are the instructions for how to use the program, and the rewards people can earn, clear? If not, think about breaking down the instructions into three or four bulleted steps.

9. Offer tips for how members can share

It doesn’t matter how simple your program is – providing a list of best practices or sharing tips can help boost engagement. Everyone needs a little encouragement, right?

There are a few prime times to send a helpful message to your members.

  • Start them off on the right foot: When someone signs up, send them a message with some sharing tips.
  • A week or two after sign up: Chances are, members will probably share as soon as they sign up. But they may forget after a while – a email with best practices is a great reminder for them to start sharing again.
  • Throughout the program: Consider different ways to reach out to members on a regular basis, providing tips and other program updates.

You don’t have to use every single one of these message types. In fact, it’s best to send them at intervals.  For example, if you send sharing tips right after someone signs up, you probably don’t have to send them a week later. Wait a couple weeks and allow members to grow familiar with the program on their own.

Referral program sharing tips to send customers

Customers usually share their referral link through email, social media, or a direct link. Here are some sharing tips to help them with every channel:

Sharing through email:

  • Point them to the easy sharing buttons in their referral program member page.
  • Provide them with a pre-drafted email message to make the sharing process easier. All they have to do is insert an email address and click send.

Sharing on social media:

  • Explain the benefits of sharing on social media – they can reach multiple friends with one message, at the click of a button.
  • Encourage them to add the referral link to their social media bios. This is an easy way for their friends to see the link without them having to constantly share posts.
  • Explain that, if they add a referral link to their social bio, it’s best to still occasionally share a post with their link if possible. Posts allow them to give a little more detail about the offer and are more visually appealing.

Sharing a direct referral code or link:

  • Show members where they can find their personal referral link or referral code.
  • Let them know this link can be shared however they want – through text, in person, messaging platforms, etc.
  • Encourage members to use their QR code to share their link on the go (if you’ve made this option available).

10. Leverage your whole team

Focus on motivating your team (sales reps, services reps, other employees) and external partners to seek out shares at the most opportune moments. It’s essential for your team to understand how your program operates, and to recognize the ideal times to invite others to join.

Similar to sending notifications, timing is key. Train your team to ask for referrals when people are feeling their best about your brand:

  • After they make a purchase
  • On the anniversary of their subscription or project completion
  • When they leave a glowing review or comment on social media
  • When they provide positive feedback
  • When you know they’ve recommended your business outside of the program

Instead of merely requesting a referral, your team should provide potential referrers with a direct link to your program. If you’re speaking in person, consider sharing a QR code that leads directly to the program page.

11. Show referrer successes

Don’t be afraid to brag about your customers who earned rewards for referring friends. People are motivated by other people’s success, especially if they can see actual results. By highlighting how successful customers have been with your referral program, you can persuade others to be more proactive.

Consider adding a referral program spotlight in your monthly email newsletter, social media channels, or on your website. You don’t have to mention the specific person’s name. But you can highlight their success, like how many total referrals were sent, how many referrals turned into customers, and how many rewards were earned.

Some ways to highlight success

  • Highlight which members were rewarded: “Jack earned $50 this week from referring his friends!”
  • Announce successful referrals: “10 of our new referrals made their first purchase!”
  • Mention the referral count: “We had an impressive 12 new referrals this week!”
  • Praise the top member: “Amy referred a whopping 10 referrals this month!”
  • Tally member sign-ups: “We are beyond excited: 16 customers signed up for our referral program this week/this month/today!”

It’s best to ask your members before using their name in a feature or post. More often than not, they’ll be happy to be spotlighted!

Create ongoing referral program engagement

As you can see, there are a number of referral program engagement hacks to keep your members motivated to share. Try one of the many tips above, in addition to promoting your program, and increase your member participation.