This is ReferralHero, the hopping-est party around! RSVP and get ready for the event of the century, and don’t forget your referral-stuffed grab back when you leave.
First impressions are a huge deal. If I show up to a party and everything is well laid out, the tunes are bumping, and there’s already something fun to do, I know I’m in for a wild night.
Whenever I work with online marketing, I know the same rules apply. A landing page sets the scene for every interaction your customers will have with your brand, and if it’s a bit of a mess, you’re not going to inspire much confidence.
When it comes to a referral program page, this is even more important. You’re asking people to spread the good news about your company, and you need to make that proposition as exciting as possible.
Let’s take a look at what people are expecting from a referral page, and how you can make sure they stick around at your referral party long enough to cut the cake!
What Is a Referral Landing Page?
When customers stumble upon your referral landing page, everything about it should invite them to sign up for your referral program. Typically, it’s the first time users will hear about your program, so it needs to be both inviting and informative.
If you take the time to craft this first impression, you’ll have taken a huge step toward getting more people invested in your referral program. This, of course, will lead to more leads, better conversions, and a boost in sales.
While other landing pages on your site are working to turn casual surfers into customers, a referral landing page has the benefit of engaging with people who already have some connection with your brand.
Think about how your site landing page works to sell people on your brand. A referral landing page uses the same strategies to lead them toward sharing your brand with their network.
Having a more friendly, personal, and even casual tone signals the connection you’ve already formed with visitors. This kind of familiarity can be communicated through the pages, design, copy, visuals, and overall vibe.
Once you’ve created a successful referral program landing page, you’ll be able to reap the many benefits, just like a well-executed opening to a party.
- Data Collection - Some pages may include a field for information like name and email. Having this allows you to follow up with users and remind them about how spectacular your referral program is!
- Value Communication - Being a part of your referral program is a stellar opportunity! You’re offering rewards for sharing a company people love. A landing page helps you communicate that value to people and gets them excited to join.
- Drumming Up Interest - If you’ve designed it right, this page can convince customers who are simply exploring your site or finishing a sale to join your referral program. Each person who joins has the power to help your sales grow exponentially, so this is a pretty big win!
- Ease of Entry - Customers should be able to learn about your referral program, sign up for a link, and share your company for the first time all from the landing page. This kind of easy jump-start makes people far more likely to get involved.
With all that going for it, it’s no secret why a referral program landing page is such a vital part of any referral funnel.
Key Elements of an Effective Referral Landing Page
Just like planning a party, creating that show-stopping, eye-popping landing page for your referral program requires a lot of planning. There are some elements that really make or break it, and you can't slap them together without thinking about each one.
I’ve compiled some examples of stellar landing pages to figure out what exactly makes each element tick. Let’s take a look!
Headline and Copy
The main goal of your landing page is to give customers all the information they need to start referring. Call me crazy, but I’d bet a lot of that information is going to be given through the written word.
When figuring out exactly what you’re going to say on your landing page, keep in mind the three C’s. Copy needs to be catchy, clear, and communicative.
Think about the tone of voice that best represents your brand, especially since you’ll be attracting an audience that already knows you. Are you spunky, professional, fresh, or something else entirely?
Just like a party invite will feature a few sneak peeks at what's to come, your copy should entice the reader and make them want to get involved.
In the example above, MeUndies capitalizes on the familiarity of a common saying to bring people in. There’s a bit of underlying humor to much of their copy, and that isn’t lost on this page.
They go on to thoroughly explain the program and how users can get involved right away. In all, this is an excellent look at copy that converts.
Visuals
While I’m a sucker for good copy (obviously) it’s impossible to deny the power of visual marketing. A boring page with excellent words is way less likely to be engaged with than something that’s exciting to look at.
When deciding on a visual, make sure it’s relevant to your program. Think about what products people would be referring, what rewards they might be excited by, and the people who are affected by the program.
You also want to make sure the images are engaging. Bright colors, strong composition, and fun subjects are a must.
Omsom has this element mastered. The layout of the page and the choice of “hero-shot” has users thinking about all the scrumptious food they’ll earn before they’ve even finished reading the page.
Digital Design and Accessibility
Images and copy aren’t all that make up a strong webpage. How everything works together can make a huge difference in the tone your customers take.
Font, layout, and practicality all play a way bigger role in our web-surfing enjoyment than we realize. You want your landing page to be easy to parse and work exactly how people expect it to.
A faulty button or confusing icon can take people entirely out of the experience. Ensure everything on your page functions properly, and that the eye can flow easily from element to element.
Something that companies can forget is optimizing your page for mobile devices. You don’t want to lose out on potential referrers just because they were scrolling on their phone.
This page from Ohne uses fun colors and design elements like a star to emphasize important information on the page. This makes it fun to look at and tells users the company knows what it’s doing.
Discoverability
No show-stopping page, no matter how perfect, will do you any good if no one ever sees it. There are lots of ways people might stumble upon your referral program landing page, and you need to track and account for all of them.
Some great options to consider are
- A simple drop-down menu
- Pop-ups when people browse your page
- Attached to a thank-you page
- Linked from an email or ad
- A banner on your site landing page
Whatever route you choose, make sure the avenues to your page are easy to understand and find.
Rakuten includes their referral landing page as a tab on their site. This means customers can find it from anywhere, including the landing page, during shopping, and when they’re looking for help.
Call-To-Action (CTA)
At the end of the day, you have a specific outcome you want out of people visiting your referral program’s landing page. That might be signing up for the program, sharing to their social media, or claiming their unique link.
Whatever it is, the call to action is what makes it happen.
Make sure your CTA utilizes bright colors and nappy phrasing to pull people in. It should tell them exactly what they’re clicking on, and be visible from the entire page.
True & Co has designed their call to action button to stand out. Everything from its clear font to its pop of gold makes it one of the first things a person will notice when they land on the page.
This means no one will miss it, and the simple copy tells people exactly what they’ll accomplish when they click.
Referral Program Details
People come to the page to find out about your referral program, so you need to make sure they get that information in a clear way.
You’ll have to show them how the program works, what kind of rewards they can get, and anything else that will convince them to sign up.
However, don’t let this get too wordy. If users are confronted with a wall of text, they’re likely to bounce.
Trendy Butler combatted this by giving a brief description, then leaning on easily understandable icons to drive the point home. Even if someone refuses to read the copy, they’ll see the $10 bill and the mini-pipeline and have a solid handle on the situation.
The Bottom Line
Your referral program has the power to be the party of the year, but if people get bored and leave in the first half hour, there won’t be anything worth remembering. Taking the time to invest in an effective landing page can be the difference between a rager and a flop.
With each element working together in harmony, your customers will be jazzed as ever to sign up and start sharing your stellar company with the world!
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