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Custom Social Media Earning Rule
Overview
Custom Social Media Earning Rules let you create your own social-media-style earning rules in addition to the fixed list of Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest. Pick any of 14 supported platforms (LinkedIn, Discord, Threads, Snapchat, Reddit, Telegram, WhatsApp, Twitch, plus the standard six) or choose Custom for any other link, set a points value, and the rule appears on the storefront, the launcher widget, and the Customer Accounts page exactly like the built-in rules.
Why use custom social rules?
Brands rarely live on just six platforms. With custom rules you can reward customers for joining your Discord, following you on LinkedIn, signing up to a Telegram channel, or visiting a specific Instagram post — without waiting for an app update.
What You Can Do
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Pick a platform | LinkedIn, Snapchat, Threads, Discord, Twitch, Reddit, Telegram, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, X (Twitter), TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, or Custom |
| Custom title | "Follow us on LinkedIn", "Join our Discord community", anything you want — translatable per locale |
| Any URL | Point at a profile, post, channel, group, or referral link — must be HTTPS |
| Points value | Any value between 1 and 1,000,000 |
| Multiple rules per platform | Two LinkedIn rules pointing at different URLs are both supported and tracked independently |
| Enable / disable | Toggle a rule off without deleting it. Disabled rules are hidden from the storefront immediately |
| Delete | Permanently removes the rule. Already-earned points stay with the customer |
Point Award System
Like the built-in social rules, custom rules are self-attested. We cannot verify whether customers actually complete the follow/join action. Points are awarded immediately when the customer clicks Claim and the URL opens.
Setting Up a Custom Social Media Earning Rule
Step 1: Open the Earn Points page
- Open Keystone Loyalty Rewards from your Shopify admin.
- Navigate to Loyalty Program → Earn Points in the left sidebar.
- Click Create earning rule in the top right corner.
- In the modal, choose Custom social media earning rule.
Step 2: Configure the rule
The Create page presents five inputs and a live Summary card on the right:
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | The headline shown to customers (e.g. "Follow us on LinkedIn"). Supports translations — click the locale switcher to add per-language values |
| Social media platform | Drop-down with 15 options. Determines the icon shown on the storefront. Pick Custom if your platform isn't listed — a generic link icon is used |
| Points | Number of points awarded to a customer when they claim the rule |
| URL | Where the storefront opens when the customer clicks the card — must start with https:// |
| Enable | Whether the rule is visible on the storefront. New rules default to enabled |
The Summary card mirrors the current form state so you can preview the resulting reward before saving.
Step 3: Save
Click Save in the top save bar. The rule is created and you're redirected back to the Earn Points list, where the new rule appears alongside the built-in social rules.
Editing or Deleting a Rule
From the Earn Points list, click any custom rule row to open its edit page. The same five fields are editable.
| Action | Where |
|---|---|
| Save changes | Save bar appears as soon as any field changes |
| Discard | Reverts the form to last-saved state |
| Toggle status | Use the Enable switch on the right; remember to press Save |
| Delete | Click Delete in the page header — a confirmation modal appears with the rule title; confirm to permanently remove the rule |
Note
Deleting a rule does not refund or remove points from customers who already claimed it — their transactions remain untouched. The rule simply disappears from admin and storefront.
How It Appears to Customers
A custom rule shows up in three storefront surfaces — anywhere the existing social rules appear, custom rules appear too.
| Surface | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Theme App Extension — Earning Rules block | Card with platform icon, rule title, points value, and Claim button |
| Keystone widget (launcher) | Listed in the Earn page social-media section; up to 3 unclaimed rules appear in the Home page "Ways to Earn" preview |
| Customer Accounts UI Extension | Listed in "Ways to earn" with platform icon and platform-specific subtitle (e.g. "Follow us on LinkedIn", "Join our Discord") |
When a customer clicks Claim on any surface:
- The rule's URL opens in a new tab.
- The points are awarded immediately (no manual verification of follow/like).
- The card switches to a Claimed state. The same customer cannot claim the same rule a second time.
- The transaction shows in the customer's points history as "Custom social media bonus" (translated per locale).
Can a rule be claimed more than once?
Each rule can be claimed only once per customer. But two rules of the same platform with different URLs count as two separate rewards — a customer who claims the first can still claim the second. So if you run, say, two LinkedIn rules pointing at different pages, customers can earn points from both.
Supported Platforms
Each platform shows its own recognizable icon on the storefront, so customers instantly know where the link leads. The following platforms are available in the drop-down:
Instagram · Facebook · X (Twitter) · TikTok · YouTube · Pinterest · LinkedIn · Snapchat · Threads · Discord · Twitch · Reddit · Telegram · WhatsApp
If your platform isn't in the list, pick Custom — the rule works the same way and shows a generic link icon.
Languages
Rule titles use the same translation system as the rest of the app. Add a title for each language you sell in, and customers see the rule in their own language. If you only set the default language, customers in other languages simply see that default title. The "Custom social media bonus" label shown in a customer's points history is already translated for every supported language.
Best Practices
| Practice | Why |
|---|---|
| Use the platform field for visual identity | Even if your URL is a custom landing page, picking the closest platform (e.g. LinkedIn) gives customers an instant visual hint of where the link goes |
| Use Custom platform for off-list cases | Affiliate sites, review platforms, niche communities — pick Custom so the link icon makes it clear this is a generic page rather than a known social profile |
| Be explicit in the title | Customers respond better to "Follow our LinkedIn for product launches" than "LinkedIn" — use the points value as a sweetener, not the headline |
| Disable rather than delete during seasonal campaigns | If a rule is tied to a holiday post, disable it when the campaign ends. You can re-enable next year without losing analytics |
| Translate titles for multi-language stores | Customers see the rule in the language they shop in — untranslated rules fall back to the default locale |
Frequently Asked Questions
Do custom rules verify the customer actually followed/joined?
No — same as the built-in social rules, custom rules are self-attested. The customer clicks Claim, the URL opens, and points are awarded. Real verification (e.g. via OAuth on each platform) is not part of this feature.
Can a customer claim the same rule twice?
No. Each (rule, customer) pair is one-time. If you create two rules of the same platform with different URLs, those are independent — the customer can claim each once.
What happens to existing earned points if I delete a rule?
Nothing changes. The transactions stay in the customer's history; the rule disappears from admin and storefront. Customers keep their points.
Can I create a rule without picking a platform?
Pick Custom as the platform. The rule is treated normally and shows a generic link icon on the storefront.
Is there a limit on how many custom rules I can create?
There is no hard cap, but for storefront UX we recommend keeping the total number of social-style rules (built-in + custom) under ~15. Beyond that the earning-rules block becomes visually noisy.
Do custom rules work in Customer Accounts?
Yes. Custom rules appear in the Customer Accounts UI Extension exactly like the built-in social rules.
Related Social Media Rules
Summary
Custom Social Media Earning Rules extend the fixed list of social rules to 14 named platforms plus a generic Custom option. Pick a platform, set a title, URL, and points value, and the rule behaves exactly like a built-in social rule across the storefront, launcher widget, and Customer Accounts — with per-rule deduplication and full localization support.