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Bringing frictionless deep linking to life: Real-world applications
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As the paths to conversion become more intricate—spanning multiple platforms, devices, and touchpoints—every break in the user experience introduces friction that can derail engagement and conversion efforts. That’s why deep linking continues to be critical across all app categories. For mobile app marketers, creating a frictionless customer experience with deep links is about more than just convenience—it directly impacts key metrics like retention, lifetime value (LTV), and in-app purchases (IAPs).
Why frictionless customer experiences matter
Customer friction refers to anything that slows down or interrupts the user’s journey. It can be as simple as being forced to re-enter login information or as complex as navigating through multiple redirects before landing on the right content. These disruptions not only frustrate users but can erode trust and damage your brand’s reputation.
Frictionless definition: Occurring effortlessly and smoothly, without any obstacles or delays that slow down or complicate the process.
Every point of friction—whether it’s a confusing redirect, a broken link, or a long process—has the opportunity to prevent users from accessing the content they need to complete their journey. This friction is detrimental to marketing efforts, whether the goal is to convert, take action, or trigger an event, and it damages brand reputation. Poor implementation of deep linking can actually add to the problem, leading to broken experiences across platforms, which only frustrates users further.
What is the frictionless solution for deep linking?
Enter TrueLink, a powerful solution for marketers to craft personalized, frictionless experiences with deep links that guide users directly to their app. TrueLink transforms potential disconnects into smooth transitions, enhancing user satisfaction and maximizing brand engagement.
TrueLink is designed to ensure that users never encounter friction in their direct-to-app journey, regardless of the platform they’re coming from—whether it's social media, email, SMS, web, etc. By leveraging customizable, branded, multi-platform deep links, marketers can guide users directly to the relevant content in their app, eliminating any unnecessary steps. TrueLink works across various marketing platforms, making it a flexible and scalable solution for driving app adoption, usage, and retention.
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Frictionless transformations: Practical applications that deliver results
How does this actually look in practice? Let’s explore a few real applications of how TrueLink can transform the user experience across various verticals.
Use case 1: Scaling influencer marketing
Scenario: A fashion and home decor brand needs to convert its entire product catalog into branded short deep links.
Brand friction: Due to the catalog's vast size, this would traditionally be an incredibly tedious task.
Solution: Luckily, with the Deep Link API, the link generation process is automated for every item in their catalog. This turns thousands of SKUs into customized, branded deep links, ready for promotion.
Taking it a step further: These automated deep links can then be shared with influencers, who embed them into social media posts, stories, or social shopping platforms like Instagram or TikTok. When a user clicks on a link, they are taken directly to the specific product page within the brand’s app, ensuring a seamless shopping experience.
This frictionless journey boosts conversion rates and provides valuable data on influencer performance and user behavior. It facilitates broad product promotion while maintaining a cohesive brand experience.
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Use case 2: Desktop web to mobile app with deep linking
Scenario: While travelers may check in on the web, many prefer to access their boarding passes via their mobile devices for ease on the day of travel.
Customer friction: Requiring users to find the app on their respective app store, and then manually search for their boarding pass, can lead to frustration and missed opportunities for engagement or upsells.
Solution: After travelers complete the web check-in, they receive an SMS with a deep link to download or open the airline's mobile app. Users are taken directly to their boarding pass and can easily view options for purchasing upgrades, baggage, or other add-ons.
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Use case 3: Measuring offline to online conversions
Scenario: A fast food brand plans to deploy 2,000 printed QR codes in brick-and-mortar quick-service restaurants, promoting an app-exclusive offer of a free dessert with the first order made through its mobile app.
Brand friction: Measuring the success of converting foot traffic from offline stores to mobile app users can be challenging to impossible.
Solution: The fast food brand uses TrueLink to generate QR codes linked to the specific app-exclusive promotion. These 2,000 QR codes are printed on posters in offline retail outlets to measure conversions by location. When customers scan the store’s unique QR code, they are directed to download or open the app through a deep link, which activates the free dessert promotion for their first mobile app order. A conversion is attributed to that location.
Taking it a step further: After the promotion ends, these QR codes can be dynamically updated with new routing, analytics, or deep linking parameters, eliminating the need to replace them each time. This flexibility ensures that the QR codes remain functional and relevant while allowing for continuous optimization of user journeys and performance tracking without the hassle of physically updating the codes.
This streamlined process reduces friction, boosts engagement, and provides valuable insights into user behavior while maintaining the campaign's efficiency.
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Use case 4: Transitioning a user from desktop to mobile
Scenario: After users purchase a policy on desktop web, an insurance brand wants users to transition seamlessly to their mobile app for onboarding and policy management.
Customer friction: Traditionally, transitioning between devices might require users to manually re-enter information, leading to frustration or drop-offs.
Solution: With TrueLink, the insurance company sends an SMS with a deep link to the user’s mobile device. When the user taps the link, they are automatically directed to the mobile app, where their policy is retrieved, and they can continue the onboarding process with previously entered details at the ready.
Closing the loop on engagement with TrueLink
In every vertical, frictionless customer experiences are more than just a convenience—they’re a necessity for building and maintaining relationships with users. TrueLink empowers marketers to ensure that every touchpoint in your user’s journey remains smooth, seamless, and fully optimized for conversion.
Whether through branded links, QR codes, or streamlined SMS flows, or other journeys, TrueLink helps marketers close the loop on user engagement, turning potential frustrations into conversion opportunities. As you think about how to optimize your user journeys, consider how frictionless experiences powered by TrueLink can deliver measurable growth.
Looking to transform your app’s user journey? Take the next step: Book a demo to learn more about how TrueLink can help your brand create frictionless experiences that drive engagement, conversion, and loyalty.
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