What are Short Links? Short links are custom URLs that redirect to longer destination URLs. ProfilePilot's built-in URL shortener was designed specifically for reputation management - particularly for recovering unhappy customers through the Review Perks system.

Primary Purpose: Review Perks & Customer Recovery

When responding to reviews (especially 1-2 star negative reviews), you can include a short link in your response that directs the reviewer to a perks page where they can enter their email address. This allows you to:

• Follow up privately: Convert public negative reviews into private conversations via email

• Recover unhappy customers: Offer compensation, resolve issues, or provide special offers directly

• Collect contact information: Get email addresses from reviewers who want to be contacted

• Professional appearance: Use clean, branded links in public responses instead of long URLs

How Review Perks Work:

1. A customer leaves a negative review (1-2 stars)

2. You respond to the review and include a short link (e.g., `yoursite.com/s/review-help`)

3. The link directs to `/join/review-perks?reviewId=...` where the customer can enter their email (and optionally a mobile number and order/transaction number). The page also shows the original review and rating for context, but the internal review id is kept hidden from the visible form.

4. You receive the email and can follow up privately to resolve the issue

5. This turns a public complaint into a private resolution opportunity

Creating Perks Links from Review Responses:

When responding to a review in the Reputation section, hold Shift while clicking "Copy Review Link" to create a custom short link with a vanity slug. The system automatically creates a perks link that includes the review ID for tracking.

Perks links are generated using the app URL (NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL) so they work in production shares.

Perks page branding can be controlled from Settings > Review Perks Branding, including turning logo display on/off, choosing brand-domain logo vs account logo URL, applying account-specific overrides with organization-level fallback, and enabling Customer Satisfaction notification emails.

Customer Satisfaction submissions are stored in the `review_optins` table and can now trigger internal notification emails when enabled in settings.

Manual Short Link Creation:

Navigate to Admin > Short Links Manager to create links for any purpose:

1. Click "Create Short Link"

2. Enter the destination URL

3. Optionally customize the slug (or let the system generate one)

4. Optionally add an email for attribution

5. Click "Create" to generate your link

Link Management:

View all short links in the Admin panel with details including:

• Creation date and expiration (default 30 days)

• Destination URL

• Custom slug

• Email attribution for tracking

• Click performance (coming soon)

Why This Matters:

Negative reviews hurt your reputation, but many unhappy customers just want their issue resolved. By providing an easy way for them to contact you privately, you can:

• Turn critics into advocates

• Resolve issues before they escalate

• Show other potential customers that you care about service recovery

• Build a database of customer contacts for future engagement

Best Practices:

• Always include a perks link when responding to 1-2 star reviews

• Use friendly, professional slugs like `review-help` or `feedback`

• Respond quickly when customers submit their email through perks

• Be genuine and solution-focused in your follow-up emails

• Track which responses generate email sign-ups to optimize your messaging

Other Use Cases:

While primarily designed for review perks, short links can also be used for:

• Review request links in SMS or email campaigns

• Social media campaign tracking

• QR code destinations for print materials

• Email newsletter link tracking