Imagine that you are using Facebook or another social media network. You just got a new notification on your profile, and you want to know who posted the update. While scrolling down, trying to find this new post on your feed, there is nothing more annoying than not seeing your friends’ posts because the newsfeed is flooded by sponsored content.
It is a common problem for social media users who have to be exposed to a continuous flow of advertisements to support the free services they enjoy on these platforms.
The result? People spend less time interacting with each other and more time being exposed to countless ads, which are much more likely to be ignored than in the past. But what if there was a way to change this?
What if, instead of putting your energy into trying to avoid ads, you could actually get rewarded for having fun while browsing social media?
Fortunately, gamification is here to help users like us.
What is Gamification?
Gamification is the process of applying game-design elements to an activity outside of gaming. There are many examples across all kinds of apps like interactive IG filter and services that use game design strategies without explicitly calling themselves “games”. Even if you’ve never heard the term, you’ve probably seen gamification in action.
There are three key drivers of engagement: curiosity, competition, and collaboration.
Gamification uses these drivers to increase user activity and participation by offering rewards for completing tasks. Social media is all about human interaction. That’s why it makes sense that social networking sites would be interested in gamification. It helps to transform these sites from mere repositories of information into actual communities, which in turn can improve relationships between people.
Gamifying your website rewards users and gives them an incentive to come back.
If you have a website, most likely, there’s a way for users to subscribe and an email form so they can be updated on your newest posts.
Most sites have these options with no reward system, but what if they did? What if when the user subscribes or fills out the email form, they get points added to their account that they can use to redeem prizes? This way, users feel appreciated for their interest in your site and are more likely to subscribe.
Gamifying social media updates makes them more fun and appealing.
Not only is gamification a nice addition to a website, but it’s also great on social media platforms! If you have a Twitter account, Facebook page or Instagram, try adding the ability to “like” individual updates. Then make it with a point system where users are allowed to redeem prizes for their social media activity after they reach a certain number of points.
For example, if you have an Instagram and want users to like your photos, allow them to like your photos and then give them the option to redeem points for prizes.
Gamifying social media interactions makes users more likely to engage.
When using Instagram, make your followers post photos using different IG filter to get points added to their account instead of simply liking a photo. The same goes for tweeting or retweeting. With every action on social media give users the chance to be rewarded.
Gamifying your contests gives participants more incentive and excitement.
Another great way to use gamification with social media is for contests! Everyone loves a good contest, but the problem with most of them is that there’s usually no prize at stake, which means they get little to no participation. Gamifying your contests with social media will make them more fun and exciting!
Let’s say you run a clothing company called Pants Party, and you want users to tweet about what their favourite pair of pants are so you can create one just for them. Instead of followers simply tweeting about their favourite pants without anything in return, give them points for tweeting to earn a chance to win the pants they want! If users tweet for prizes, they’ll definitely be more willing to participate.
Gamifying your follower milestones adds friendly competition and makes users feel special.
The final reason that gamification is the perfect match for social media marketing is that it gives followers something to work for! Everyone likes feeling special and feeling like they accomplished something. With social media, you can do this by adding the option to “level up” your follower milestones.
For example, if you have a Twitter account with 10k followers, let users know that when they reach certain milestones (100 followers, 1k followers, 5k followers), you’ll give them points to redeem prizes. This will get your current followers more excited about hitting milestones so they can be rewarded, and it will get new users following because they know the reward is worth it!
Takeaway
Gamification has proven to be an ideal solution for social media users because it’s fun and easy. Moreover, it rewards them with points or virtual goods that make them keep coming back for more. Brands are incredibly wise in turning to gamification as their go-to way of engaging customers. They know that people love games, and they’re willing to give them a try, which is exactly what brands want.
