如何在您的应用程序中充分利用好友邀请

Social features like friend invites or referral campaigns are one of the most overlooked game mechanics. Common questions: how much time does it take to implement them, and what results can you expect? In this post, we’ll shed some light on the implementation process, best practices, and metrics to evaluate your results.

诸如朋友邀请或推荐活动之类的社交功能是最容易被忽视的游戏机制之一。 常见问题：实施它们需要花费多少时间，您可以期待什么结果？ 在本文中，我们将阐明实施过程，最佳实践和评估结果的指标。

An easy and free way to grow your user base is by asking existing users to invite their friends (Friend invites).

一种简单而免费的扩展用户基础的方法是要求现有用户邀请其朋友(“朋友邀请”)。

The process consists of sending an invitation, receiving one, and installing the app. At the core of the invite flow is a special deep link that holds user information about the referrer. It is smart enough to take the receiver to the proper store depending on their platform, e.g., Google Play on Android or App Store on iOS.

该过程包括发送邀请，接收邀请以及安装应用程序。 邀请流程的核心是一个特殊的深层链接，其中包含有关引荐来源网址的用户信息。 它很聪明，可以根据接收器的平台将接收器带到适当的商店，例如，Android上的Google Play或iOS上的App Store。

测量邀请流程的绩效 (Measuring invite flow performance)

The data and best practices presented in this post are based on analysis of over 88M invites sent using the GetSocial platform. All apps were segmented into three categories based on the depth of the friend invites integration into the game mechanics – Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3.

这篇文章中提供的数据和最佳做法是基于对使用GetSocial平台发送的超过8800万个邀请的分析。 根据好友的深度，将所有应用程序分为三类，邀请其集成到游戏机制中：级别1，级别2和级别3。

To compare the results of different levels of invite integration we’ll use:

为了比较不同级别的邀请集成的结果，我们将使用：

级别1。只需添加“邀请朋友”按钮 (Level 1. Just add an “Invite Friend” button)

Level 1 stands for a simple “Invite Friend” or “Share” button on the app’s UI.

级别1代表应用程序用户界面上的简单“邀请朋友”或“共享”按钮。

Assuming you’re using a third-party service, like GetSocial, for the invitation process (read why it is a bad idea to build it on your own), you only have to decide where to add invite buttons on the UI. SDK integration and testing shouldn’t take more than 1 day for an experienced developer.

假设您在邀请过程中使用第三方服务(如GetSocial) ( 了解为什么要自己构建它是一个坏主意 )，则只需决定在UI上的何处添加邀请按钮。 对于经验丰富的开发人员而言，SDK集成和测试的时间不应超过1天 。

Results can be different depending on the quality of the integration with a median of six invites sent per 1000 DAU and average send to install conversion of 1.3%. The median results are not super impressive, but the upper bound is much better.

结果可能会有所不同，具体取决于集成的质量，每1000个DAU发送6个邀请，中值发送安装转换率为1.3％。 中位数结果并不令人印象深刻，但上限要好得多。

We’ve analyzed the top performers of the Level 1 category and found 3 things that were common amongst them: they provide multiple entry points, multiple sharing channels, and use customized invite messages

我们分析了1级类别中表现最好的人，发现其中三个共同点是：他们提供多个入口点，多个共享渠道以及使用自定义邀请消息

提供多个入口点 (Provide multiple entry points)

Users won’t invite friends or share your app if they can’t find how to do it. Place invite buttons on visible places, like the main screen. Or place them in the context of the game flow. For instance, you can ask users to invite friends to beat their score after finishing a level or share a spectacular game event.

如果找不到方法，用户将不会邀请朋友或分享您的应用。 将邀请按钮放置在可见位置，例如主屏幕。 或将它们放在游戏流程的上下文中。 例如，您可以要求用户在完成关卡或分享精彩的游戏活动后邀请朋友打败他们的得分。

Multiple entry points for Friend Invites. Doomsday Clicker by PikPok

朋友邀请的多个入口点。 PikPok的世界末日唱首歌

Doomsday Clicker is doing a great job with share buttons. You can invite a friend from the main menu, share a comparison of player profiles, and show off how you destroyed the world this time.

世界末日Clicker在共享按钮方面做得很好。 您可以从主菜单邀请一位朋友，分享玩家个人资料的比较，并炫耀您这次如何破坏世界。

提供多个分享渠道 (Provide multiple sharing channels)

Today’s communication landscape is scattered among hundreds of messengers. I personally have friends on WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Line, and Telegram. To make sure that a player can invite any of their friends, we have to provide as many sharing options as possible. Besides that, we have to make sure that users have the same sharing experience everywhere: content is properly displayed and deep linking works as expected.

当今的通讯环境分散在数百个信使中。 我个人在WhatsApp，Facebook Messenger，Line和Telegram上有朋友。 为了确保玩家可以邀请他们的任何朋友，我们必须提供尽可能多的共享选项。 除此之外，我们必须确保用户在任何地方都具有相同的共享体验：内容正确显示，深层链接按预期工作。

Sharing channel usage split. Data based on 88M invites sent

共享频道使用情况拆分。 已发送基于8800万个邀请的数据

Interestingly, instant messengers surpassed Facebook and Twitter with the volume of invites sent, especially after Facebook closed their invite friends API and Twitter removed their integration with iOS.

有趣的是，即时通讯的发送量超过了Facebook和Twitter，尤其是在Facebook 关闭其邀请好友API和Twitter取消了与iOS的集成之后。

自定义您的邀请消息 (Customize your invite message)

Customizing your invite message is the best way to improve the send to install conversion for invites. You can change the message depending on:

自定义邀请消息是改善邀请的发送安装安装转换的最佳方法。 您可以根据以下内容更改消息：

• Entry point: when shared from the main menu, the message can be more generic, like “Hey, I can’t stop playing this game. I believe you’d like it as well [DEEP LINK]”, at the end of the level: “I’ve scored 9999 points in [GAME NAME], try to beat me [DEEP LINK]”.

  入口点 ：从主菜单共享时，该消息可以更通用，例如“嘿，我不能停止玩这个游戏。 我相信您也喜欢[DEEP LINK]”，在该级别的结尾：“我在[GAME NAME]中获得了9999分，请尝试击败我[DEEP LINK]。”

• Sharing channel: message for WhatsApp should be more casual and personal but only plain text and an image. On the other hand, email can have more generic but rich HTML content.

  共享频道： WhatsApp的消息应该更加随意和个性化，但只能是纯文本和图像。 另一方面，电子邮件可以具有更通用但更丰富HTML内容。

Customized invite messages. Doomsday Clicker by PikPok

自定义邀请消息。 PikPok的世界末日唱首歌

Doomsday Clicker from PikPok improved conversion to 19% after implementing all content optimizations. A conversion that is 14 times higher than average.

实施所有内容优化后，PikPok的《世界末日Clicker》 将转化率提高到19％。 转化率比平均值高出14倍。

2级。受邀邀请 (Level 2. Rewarded invites)

Let’s face it, users usually share the app only when they are very delighted. The vast majority of players are indifferent, they need an extra push or an incentive for bothering their friends with an app invitation. Rewarded invites gives them this push.

面对现实吧，用户通常只有在非常高兴的时候才共享应用。 绝大多数玩家都漠不关心，他们需要额外的推动力或激励，以通过应用邀请来打扰他们的朋友。 奖励邀请给了他们推动力。

Rewarded invites require a validation step to prevent fraud. Depending on the security requirements, you can implement validation on the client side or backend.

获得奖励的邀请需要验证步骤以防止欺诈。 根据安全要求，您可以在客户端或后端实施验证。

Implementation can take anywhere from 2 to 7 days depending on how you carry out the invites rewards validation. Comparing to “Level 1. Not rewarded invites”, the number of invites sent are 2.7 times higher on average with 5.3 times higher conversion.

实施过程可能需要2到7天，具体取决于您执行邀请奖励验证的方式。 与“级别1：未奖励的邀请”相比，发送的邀请数量平均高出2.7倍，转换率则高5.3倍。

While analyzing games on a case by case basis, we’ve noticed that when the rewarded invites feature is introduced, there is always a spike in the number of invites sent, but later the number drops towards the average. Below we prepared two mechanics that will keep the spikes coming week after week.

在逐案分析游戏的过程中，我们注意到，引入奖励邀请功能后，发送的邀请数量始终会激增，但后来下降到平均值。 在下面，我们准备了两种机制，可以在一周又一周的时间内保持峰值。

为重复邀请提供独特的内容 (Offer unique content for recurring invites)

Unique in-game content is desirable: epic chests, legendary crystals, space cats, you name it. The goal is to come up with a perk that users can get only by inviting their friends to the game.

需要独特的游戏内容：史诗般的宝箱，传奇的水晶，太空猫，随便你怎么说。 目标是提出一种特权，用户只能通过邀请朋友参加游戏来获得特权。

Unique unicorn cat for friend invites. Castle Cats by PocApp

朋友邀请的独特的独角兽猫。 PocApp的城堡猫

The designers of Castle Cats came up with the idea to run recurring quests to invite friends to the game with the unique “Minty Heart” cat as a reward for completing the quest.

Castle Cats的设计师提出了进行重复任务的想法，以独特的“ Minty Heart”猫邀请朋友加入游戏，以奖励完成任务。

与每个邀请的朋友增加奖励 (Increase rewards with each invited friend)

Another mechanic is to increase the reward for each invited friend. You can also reset the invite counter every week to create a spike at the beginning of the next week.

另一个机制是增加每个邀请朋友的奖励。 您还可以每周重置邀请计数器，以在下周初创建峰值。

Increasing chest rewards for friend invites. Sonic Forces Speed Battle by SEGA

朋友邀请的胸部奖励增加。 SEGA的Sonic Forces Speed Battle

Sonic Forces implemented the first part of this mechanic and for every recruited friend, they rewarded the sender with bigger and bigger chests, finishing with an epic chest for the 5th friend.

Sonic Forces实施了此机制的第一部分，对于每个新招募的朋友，他们都会用越来越大的箱子奖励发件人，并为第5个朋友以史诗般的箱子作为奖励。

3级。邀请作为核心游戏机制 (Level 3. Invites as a core game mechanic)

Both of the previous examples required changes not only to the UI, but also to game mechanics and economy. The next and deepest level of integration is when the game is designed around friend invites.

前面的两个示例都不仅需要更改UI，还需要更改游戏机制和经济性。 集成的下一个最高层次是围绕好友邀请设计游戏时。

For multiplayer games, friend invites is a way to start a session with anyone, even if they don’t have the app installed. When the session is created, all the joining details are attached to the deferred deep link and sent through one of the social channels.

对于多人游戏，即使没有安装应用程序，朋友邀请也是与任何人开始会话的一种方式。 创建会话时，所有加入的详细信息都将附加到延迟的深层链接上，并通过社交渠道之一发送。

Integrating such friend invites into your core game mechanics can take anywhere from days to weeks. It all depends on how deep you want the integration to be and how many of the required features can be provided by the third party SDK you’re going to use.

将这样的好友邀请整合到您的核心游戏机制中可能需要几天到几周的时间 。 这完全取决于您希望集成的深度，以及要使用的第三方SDK可以提供多少必需的功能。

Hard work on the game design phase pays off. We saw apps that are sending over 140 invites per 1000 DAU, which is 22 times (!) higher than “Level 1” integration metrics.

在游戏设计阶段的辛勤工作会收到回报。 我们发现应用程序每1000个DAU发送140个邀请，这比“级别1”集成指标高出22倍(！)。

微调 (Fine tuning)

To get optimum results you have to tune each step of the invite flow: entry point, invite message, sender’s reward, receiver on-boarding, and receiver’s reward.

为了获得最佳结果，您必须调整邀请流程的每个步骤：入口点，邀请消息，发件人的奖励，入职者的接收和收件人的奖励。

It can take time to test all the steps in this flow. When looking at the friend invite funnel as a whole, based on GetSocial data, the biggest improvements come from making a share button visible and fine-tuning the invite message.

测试该流程中的所有步骤可能需要一些时间。 当基于GetSocial数据整体查看朋友邀请渠道时，最大的改进来自于使共享按钮可见并微调了邀请消息。

To fine-tune variables even faster you can use an A/B testing tool. A few months ago, Unity released native A/B testing tools. On the Unity dashboard, they let you define variables, provide a couple of variations, define which metric will determine the winner and configure the best performing value for all users from the Unity Dashboard.

要更快地微调变量，可以使用A / B测试工具。 几个月前，Unity发布了本机A / B测试工具 。 在Unity仪表板上，它们使您可以定义变量，提供几个变体，定义哪个指标将确定获胜者并为Unity仪表板中的所有用户配置最佳性能值。

结论 (Conclusion)

As with anything, the deeper you go with your integration the better results you will get. By following these best practices, you can push the number of invites sent and conversion to the upper bound of the chart.

像其他任何事情一样，您对集成进行的深入研究将得到更好的结果。 通过遵循这些最佳实践，您可以将发送的邀请和转换的数量推到图表的上限。

Personally, I’d start with a simple “Level 1” integration and add an invite button. If your game is more fun with friends, a tighter “Level 3” integration can yield amazing results. And if you’re building a single-player experience, rewarded invites are the sweet spot between time invested and return.

就个人而言，我将从简单的“级别1”集成开始，然后添加一个邀请按钮。 如果您的游戏与朋友在一起更有趣，那么更紧密的“三级”集成可以产生惊人的结果。 而且，如果您要构建单人游戏体验，则奖励邀请是投入时间和回报之间的最佳结合点。

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GetSocial is the only Unity Certified asset that provides a full range of social features, like friend invites, in-app forums, social graph and targeted notifications in one SDK.

GetSocial是唯一通过Unity认证的资产，可在一个SDK中提供各种社交功能，例如朋友邀请，应用内论坛，社交图和定向通知。

翻译自: https://blogs.unity3d.com/2018/11/28/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-friend-invites-in-your-app/