Facebook algorithms are becoming increasingly harder to interpret. Organic results are ineffective in achieving goals established by brands, simultaneously, there is the need to earn engagement on social networks without making investments in Social Advertising.

To address these issues, we have one of the most important solutions offered by ROIALTY: Gamification.

A clear definition of gamification was given by Bret Terrill on his blog from 2008:

[Tweet “Gamification is the use of gaming mechanics in a web context used to increase the engagement among users and products.”]

There are more and more brands using gamification dynamics on websites to achieve digital engagement goals but with gamification it is also possible to influence other aspects linked to business such as:

  • Orient consumer behavior
  • Encourage community building
  • Build customer loyalty for specific products

Before describing the main goals achieved thanks to gamification, I would like to talk about some of the important elements that can be used to engage users in the brand communication process: values, brand identity, products, and playful dynamics fuse together to enhance a powerful customer experience.

What are some of the elements of gamification?

  • POINTS: Points are the base for all game dynamics. If we imagine basketball, soccer or volleyball we can understand that the points system helps to measure the performance of the players in comparison to the other players. To give points is a useful way to motivate people to engage with the website and move towards the next level of participation.
  • BADGES: Badges are a powerful system to recognise a particular skill or specific activities that the user has done on a website or a social network. Foursquare launched digital badges as a way to assign to every user a level of accomplishment. Since then, badges have come to be used frequently on many websites or projects in which gamification is used.
  • LEVELS: There are several types of gamification projects and different forms. A useful way to earn loyalty is with the levels system. The levels system can be considered as a transition from among different levels that the user is aware of and can participate in to acquire specific skills. To overtake a level is the event that creates user satisfaction.
  • LEADERBOARD: One of the most important incentives to increase user sign up and participation on websites is the presence of a leaderboard. This system is often used by big communities to support their users by ranking them and giving them rewards based on their positions.
  • CHALLENGES: Challenges ignite the competition and they can be transformed into missions that users must complete to unlock rewards or collect points. Missions can be trivial, quiz, or content creation to share on social networks: all these missions are finalised to engage the users in the co-creation of story content for brands.

What are the benefits of Gamification?

  • Customer Engagement: Gamification allows the user to have fun, encouraging one of the most important social KPI’s followed by brands: social engagement.
  • Customer Loyalty: When brands want to improve customer loyalty, gamification dynamics can be used to increase customer retention through the points system that incentivizes users to play on websites in specific ways, such as: collecting points with proof-of-purchase. For more insight on this, it could be helpful to read our Case History on Chicco Artsana, in which we created Chicco Club, a gamification project to address mothers’ needs.
  • Influencer Marketing: When gamification dynamics and gamification projects are highly successful, they are able to influence consumer behaviour by engaging the audience and the community to reinforce the values among consumers.
  • Learning Experience: This is the most suggestive part of gamification dynamics: we should think of gamification as more than just the game, it is the opportunity to improve the customer experience by getting useful information for meeting customers needs.
  • Viral Marketing: Apps, websites and other gamified platforms can increase participation through word of mouth: the results could be viral if the game dynamics are fun, stimulating and engaging.
  • In-depth Data: Gamification platforms usually start with social login, a form of user authentication that is used by brands. Social login plays a significant role in the customer segmentation solution because it unlocks the information base linked to the social interactions of the users, giving insights into their interests and passions.
  • E-Commerce Marketing: One of the most important ways to increase the ROI is the integration of gamification in the e-commerce site. The system based on rate, share and recension impact dramatically on the selling process. Giving points to incentivize the sharing of these activities could result in a winning digital marketing strategy.

Gamification is transforming business models by creating new ways to extend relationships, craft longer-term engagement, and drive customer and employee loyalty. It works because it leverages the motivations and desires that exist in all of us for community, feedback, achievement, and reward.

In the next article will discuss a current gamification case, brilliantly developed by ROIALTY, with an important client in the Italian baby care Industry.