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Looking to integrate the branch.io in such a way that the admin gets the deep link at web end where he adds the content. And then he manually post the link to some social media say Twitter,Facebook etc. then user clicks on that link and it will take the user to app or app store. Is it possible, please guide how to handle this. I am quite confused about branch.io. As far i understood branch.io creates the link send via sms and user clicks and gets redirected to app or app store. Is my requirement valid? How to achieve this please guide. Already spent more than a half day on it.

JAY RAPARKA
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iPhone 7
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  • To clarify: you (the admin) will create a link using the Branch web dashboard, and when someone opens that link you want to send them to the app or the App Store? – Alex Bauer Apr 28 '16 at 15:13
  • @AlexBauer Yes, exactly. – iPhone 7 Apr 29 '16 at 10:02
  • @AlexBauer Let me clarify better, i as a admin put content at web end, that will be displayed in app. So, when i enter a content at web end a deep link url should be generated that i should be able to copy and paste it anywhere say on twitter. So when user clicks on the link then (exactly as you said). Hope i am able to clear the things. – iPhone 7 Apr 29 '16 at 10:14

1 Answers1

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(Full disclosure: I am on the Branch.io team)

This is actually a very common Branch use case, so it's fairly straight forward to implement.

1. Sign up for Branch

Easy step!

2. Integrate the SDK into your app

This is a fairly simple process that should take less than half an hour, and the latest step-by-step docs for doing this are always at the link above. I won't include the full instructions in this answer because Apple creates new roadblocks fairly regularly, and we often have to make small tweaks to the guide.

After you complete this step, any time a user opens a Branch link associated with your app, either your app will launch (if installed) or that user will be sent to the App Store page to download it.

3. Create your marketing link

The link above takes you to the Branch dashboard. From that page, you can create a new Marketing Link, and use the Deep Link Data section to specify a key/value pair. For example, you can set a key of content and assign it the value mycustomvalue:

enter image description here

When your app launches after a user opens this link, the content : mycustomvalue pair will be magically returned to you.

4. Configure Deep Link Routing and Universal Links.

These methods are what actually call back to the Branch API every time your app opens, returning the content : mycustomvalue pair that you encoded in the link. You can do whatever you like with these values, but here are two common approaches:

  1. Route the user to the content that you specify corresponds to mycustomvalue.
  2. Use the values directly to display something customized (for example, if you encoded content : You've been sent a special invitation!

5. Share the link wherever you like!

The link you created can be put anywhere. Email, Twitter, Facebook, paid Google Ads, etc.

Alex Bauer
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  • Thanks for the response, but i am able to create the link and open the app. The problem i am facing is how to redirect to content in the app. I am not getting do i need to put some checks and send the user to the content in app manually, or this is handled by branch.io automatically. I want to know how to redirect to content what is the right approach to follow. Hope i made my query clear, if any doubt please feel free to ask. Once again thanks for the response. – iPhone 7 May 06 '16 at 06:29
  • @iPhone6 this is actually exactly what is covered in step 4 of the above: [Deep Link Routing](https://dev.branch.io/getting-started/deep-link-routing/guide/ios/). After you have finished that guide, you'll have automatic deep link handling by the Branch SDK. If you want to build your own checks to do it, the general approach is covered [here](https://dev.branch.io/getting-started/deep-link-routing/advanced/ios/#building-a-custom-deep-link-routing-method) – Alex Bauer May 06 '16 at 13:55
  • thanks. And one more query i have, if the app is not opened or not running in background, branch.io link opens the app and redirect to empty content but if app already running in background it is working fine. – iPhone 7 May 09 '16 at 09:31
  • Awesome! I see your [other question](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/37112732/branch-io-redirects-to-empty-content-in-app-if-app-is-not-running-in-background) about the background issue, so I'll jump over there – Alex Bauer May 09 '16 at 15:06