With the release of the Facebook SDK version 4.28.0, App Invites is deprecated. It will be supported until February 5, 2018.

App Invites Best Practices

Overview

This guide details some best practices for App Invites so you use them effectively and provide the best experience for people using your app.

Check out the Analytics section for more on analyzing the performance of invites to your app.

Placement

Make it as easy as possible for people to invite their friends to your app. You should place the entry to app invites in a prominent location.

DO

  • Put invites in the root navigation to make them easy to find
  • Consider a lightweight tutorial flow explaining how to invite friends

DON'T

  • Place invites in a specific flow that isn't easy to get back to
  • Place invites in an area more than a few taps away

Clear Labels

Include a label on the button for app invites. It should be clear what will happen when you tap the button.

DO

  • Add text to your invites button like: "Invite Friends" or "Invite Facebook friends"

DON'T

  • Use only an icon and no text for the invites button

Personalized Images

You can personalize invitations sent from your app with a unique image. Use this to your advantage by using images that are relevant and showcase your app. App Invites are surfaced in a dedicated place in the Facebook mobile apps. People can view and return to invites at their convenience so making invites look beautiful will lead to increased conversions.

Consider these examples:

  • Commerce: Show an item recently viewed or the last purchase
  • Entertainment: Highlight a recently watched video
  • Creative: Attach user generated content
  • Game: Add a player's high score, progress, or latest victory

Highlight Features

Use app invites to highlight exciting features in your application. When you add a new feature to your app you can use app invites to help spread the word. Utilize deep linking to bring new users directly to relevant content. See the App Links implementation section for more details: iOS, Android

Deep linking examples:

  • Link to a book in your reading app
  • Link to shared photos in your photo app
  • Link to a video in your entertainment app
  • Link to a place in your travel app

Incentivize Invite Accepts

It's against Platform Policy to incentivize invite sends; as an alternative, consider incentivizing invite accepts. You can use App Links here again to customize the incentive. For example: use an App Invites promo code with a deep link to key content, and then grab that promo code on app launch to give your new user an incentive to engage with your app!

High Quality App Store Page

If you think of app invites as a funnel, the last stage in the funnel is your app store page. Do not lose out on half of your installs due to a poorly designed app store page.

Consider including these in your app store page:

  • Solid description
  • Nice screenshots
  • Quality video preview
  • Localized text

Usage in Games

You may be aware of another invites product specifically tailored to the mechanics of games, Game Requests. Game Requests have proven to be successful for game developers who have a presence on the web and mobile. If you are a mobile-only game developer we encourage you try out App Invites and determine the best solution for each of your games.