Referral Program - Achieving 7 Million Invites in 30 Days
Some context about Hood
Hood is a new-age Anonymous social network that allows users to share their true stories without the fear of being judged.
Referral Program
In our early days, we launched the referral program. However, the initial UI was bad—very bad. When I presented the UI, the feedback I received was, 'Ye kya banadiya, itna confusing aur cluttered hai' (What is this? It's so confusing and cluttered). That was the moment I knew I had to rework on the design.
On that very day, in the first redesign, my main goal was to make it easier for users to act on the in-app referral.
To achieve this, I focused on key improvements:
I redesigned the screen layout to be modular, displaying more information upfront, which made it easier for users to understand and interact.
I added Redeem options within the same modular layout, making them more visible and accessible for users.
There are more insights below, and for reference, I will also attach the very first iteration at the end.
The 3rd screen above with the bottom sheet was part of the design when we launched the referral program. Later, a problem arose: users were not able to understand how to redeem the offer. To address this, I integrated a GIF that shows how to redeem easily, and it worked.
And I also did a little animation with the potli (money bag) 💰. It was fun!
Data doesn’t lie
A total of 7.3 million invites were sent during the referral program, achieving a staggering 6% referral conversion (Industry Standard: 2%) and adding over 400,000 new users in a record 30 days. Here is a glimpse of what all happened during the program. 👀
First Iteration 😉
While designing this first iteration, I thought I did a great job by providing all the options on a single screen. However, I was wrong, and although criticism is hard to take, but it's necessary.
Based on my own experience with referral systems...
Key Motivations: Users are primarily driven by three key factors:
1. Money: There is a wide audience across various ticket sizes.
2. Status: Users seek recognition and social standing.
3. Entertainment: Engaging experiences are a strong motivator.
User Behavior: Users often struggle with understanding probability and tend to engage in low-effort cognitive activities. For example:
* More people participate in Dream 11 than invest in equities.
* Users are willing to play card or arcade games for rewards as small as 1 rupee.
* Many users take part in quizzes on e-commerce or OTT platforms.
Virality Potential: Organic virality or low-cost user acquisition is possible if there’s a monetary reward tied to low-effort cognitive actions.
Do you like what you see?
Get in touch: souravsrivastava123@gmail.com • Linkedin