This automation welcomes a new user who joins the game via a referral link. It serves as an intermediate step where the new player is first checked for eligibility to participate, and then the referrer earns points for them. Once the new player becomes an official referral, they proceed to the game.
It is important to note that this automation does not start directly. Instead, it is triggered when a referral clicks the link sent by a friend, so there is no need to configure a trigger.
Attention: This template works in combination with two other templates for the referral system. Before setting it up, you must add all three templates to your connected Instagram or Telegram bot account.
After that, you can begin editing them to customize the system according to your needs.
The "Referral" and "Points for referral" templates are universal and work in both Instagram and Telegram without significant differences.
Important note for Instagram Users: Instagram has a specific limitation: simply clicking a referral link will not trigger the automation if there has been no prior dialogue between you and the client.
For the referral link to work, the client must either send you a direct message after clicking the link or have previously sent a direct message, and only after that click the link.
If there has already been a dialogue, simply clicking the link is enough.
In this guide, we will cover the second out of the three ready-made templates for the referral system within the gamification framework:
How to add a template
You should already have the template added if you have started setting up the referral system. However, if you missed this step, add the templates now.
Open the Automations section.
Go to Ready-made templates.
Select the "[Game in Telegram] Referral" template.
Choose the account for which you are setting up the referral system.
Click "Add template".
After that, make sure you already have the following templates added: [Game in Telegram] Game (or another automation where the "Referral link" action is configured) and [Game in Telegram] Points for referral. Only after adding all three templates can you proceed with setting up the referral system.
Automation setup steps:
"Assigned tags" Condition
The automation starts with the "Assigned tags" condition. We check for the presence of two tags to prevent users from going through the scenario repeatedly. The parameter for the condition should be set to "Contains", so that if at least one of the tags is present, the condition is met:
Received the link / Game in Telegram: this tag is added in the main automation "[Game in Telegram] Game", or in another automation where the unique referral link is issued.
Launched / Telegram friend: this tag is assigned to the referral to prevent them from going through the automation again.
If the user has at least one of these tags, the automation does not start. This prevents situations where a player or referral clicks the link again.
Welcome message
If the tag condition is not met, a welcome message is sent to the referral, for example:
"Hi, you came to us through a friend! Subscribe to the channel and click the button below."
This message includes a link to the channel or Instagram account and a "I'm subscribed" button for the subscription check.
Additionally, after the welcome message, a "Launched / Telegram friend" tag is assigned to the new client, which is checked in the initial condition.
Subscription check
After clicking the "I'm subscribed" button, the subscription check begins:
If the user is subscribed to the channel (or Instagram account), they continue with the scenario.
If the user is not subscribed, they will be invited to do it and click the “I'm subscribed” button again. A link to the channel/account is also provided for convenience. By default, the check is performed three times, and after that the user is allowed to continue without a subscription, in case they really want to participate, but are not ready to subscribe yet:
Attention: If the referral system is set up for a Telegram bot, you must select your Telegram channel in every condition where the subscription is checked. To do this, add the Telegram bot as an administrator of your channel.
How to make a bot an administrator of a channel
Important: you can loop the subscription check so that the user cannot proceed in the scenario until they meet the condition.
Attention: all three templates use ChatPlace links by default. You must replace them with your own.
- Click on the message and you will see the hyperlink, select the corresponding icon in the text editing window, and insert your own link, or simply delete the text with the hyperlink.
Repeated attempt check
After the subscription check, there is a "Assigned tags" condition block to verify whether this user has already been a referral before. The presence of the "Subscription / Telegram Friend" tag is checked:
If the tag is already present, it means the user has already completed the verification and cannot go through the automation again.
If the tag is not present, it confirms that the referral has just completed the subscription check and can be marked as a new referral.
Registering a referral
If the referral passes all checks, the tag "Subscription / Telegram Friend" is added to prevent the repeated awarding of points in the future.
Important! If this is not your first game with a referral system, make sure to replace all tags with new ones so that players from previous games can fully participate in the new game.
Awarding points to the referrer
At this step, the action "Launch automation for the referrer" is triggered, selecting the automation "[Game in Telegram] Points for Referral".
Thus, a separate automation for the referrer starts, awarding them points for bringing in a new participant.
The key setting is ensuring the "Start for Referrer" parameter is enabled.
Final message for the referral
Once the referral has passed all checks, they receive a message: "Great, you have met the requirements!"
In this message, the referral receives information about the game rules and prizes, along with an invitation to join the game.
Transferring the referral to the game
The final step is the "Start Automation" action, where the automation "[Game in Telegram] Game" is selected. This action launches the main game process for the referral, allowing them to receive their referral link and fully participate:
At this stage, the automation setup is complete, and you can proceed with configuring the template "[Game in Telegram] Points for Referral".
Checking for username
The scenario can be improved by adding extra blocks, for example, checking for username in Telegram. This is important because not all Telegram users set a username, and without one, participating in the game and being added to the tournament table will not be possible.
To do this:
Create a “Client Data” condition.
Select the "Username check" condition.
Set this block as the starting block.
Create a message and write a text, informing the player that they need to set a username.
Add a re-clickable button in the message block so the client can repeatedly check for a username.
Create another "Username Check" condition to loop the verification.
Done! Now, the client will be notified in advance if their account is missing a username, allowing them to fix it before joining the game.
Another template improvement can be welcome points for new players after passing the subscription check.
Awarding points to the referral
To do this:
Find the "Add tags" action, located after the subscription check.
Open the action settings and click "Add".
In the list, select the "Change gamification scores".
In the action settings, specify the number of points awarded to the referral.
In the next message, include text informing the player about the awarded points.
Done! You have successfully set up welcome points for referrals. This action helps build a positive connection with new potential customers.
Protection against bot manipulation
Some dishonest players may use various methods to artificially increase their number of referrals and climb to the top of the leaderboard. We recommend implementing such checks in referral systems to prevent an influx of bots in your Telegram channel or Instagram account.
Real user verification: this condition is met if the ChatPlace Neural Network identifies the client as a real person.
When assessing a client’s account with the help of a neural network, an in-depth analysis is performed, capable of detecting bots with 99% accuracy.
If you have already added the checking for username step, include this condition as the next step, before checking for assigned tags:
If the condition is not met and the system suspects the client is a bot, it is possible to suggest that the client complete a verification, after which an operator can assign a tag to allow them to proceed.
If the client agrees to complete the verification, the operator receives a notification with the client's key information:
The operator can then review the potential player's account.
More details on setting up Telegram notifications.
You can also consider other improvements for this automation, but make sure there are no loopholes that could allow players to artificially boost their points.
After completing this automation setup, the final step remains: configuring the [Game in Telegram] Points for Referral template.