Gamification
One of the most popular marketing techniques is gamification. Many companies apply it in their marketing campaigns to get more interaction with their product, service or brand. When applied properly, gamification can motivate users and enrich the experience with the brand. Encouraging a certain type of behavior is what gamification is all about.
By capitalizing on intrinsic motivation of the target audience with a particular reward, behavior can be encouraged. This motivation can be status, recognition, learning or a physical reward.
Rewards Gamification
Despite talk of a reward, the most important aspect of gamification is the chase. Challenge, action and progression increase user motivation. After all, it may not matter how fantastic the reward is at the end. If the "game" does not excite the user enough, intrinsic motivation disappears. Conversely, this is also the case. So there is not necessarily a big reward attached if the game is well put together.
A good example is Pokémon Go, where there were no physical rewards. The app had a clever innovative way of playing that had almost everyone in the world outside hunting for Pokémon.
Rewarding users with prizes can stimulate short-term motivation. But short-term stimulation is dangerous, because intrinsic motivation can decline.
The "Dog Poo Lottery" in Taiwan is a case in point. People could email a photo to the municipality showing them cleaning up their dog poo. The photo was turned into a lottery ticket to win money. Even though the lottery was a great success, nothing changed. People weren't going to suddenly clean up their dog poop without prizes - why should they? That didn't happen before either.
Gamification - keep it simple
Gamification can also appear more subtle than a complete game. Simple gamification techniques can provide great results. A good example is the progress bar on social channels.
On LinkedIn, it shows what percentage of your profile is completed. It is much more satisfying to be at 100% in every section than at 5% or 25%. Completing the profile gives the user a sense of recognition.
Simple is an important word in gamification in multiple ways. Don't use too many game elements on the website or app. That can be too confusing for the user. It is also best to keep the game simple. Provide clear rules and a challenge, like Tetris or Pac Man. Make sure the game and/or game elements are a good fit for your brand and what you want to motivate. In this way, a little gamification can make a big difference.
