Day 3 | web2.0 EXPO| Mastering Game Mechanics for Community Building
From Foursquare to Farmville, there’s been a strong push to implement game mechanics for things that are otherwise, well, lame. This obsession has entered into pop culture and has established a firm presence within our social networks and interactive entertainment. Large organizations like Chase and US Army are also getting on the bandwagon, offering loyalty programs and game experiences that pay out in points and virtual rewards of all kinds.
Bottom line, game-based marketing is becoming a growing component of our digital consumption.
For the last session of Web2.0 Expo , Gabe Zicherna, author of Game Based Marketing, wraps up the week among a packed room of eager listeners.
SHORT SUMMARY:
What? Gamification is the process of using game thinking & mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems
Why? Growth, strengthen community engagement and increase customer loyalty.
Basics:
- Theme & fun are not correlated
- Fun & work are not correlated
- Four reasons why users play, power, access, stuff and status (the best incentive)
- The gamification loop is your guide (see slideshare below!)
- Games always favor their creators
- Fun is the future!
THREE PERFECT BULLETS
Point break
- XP, not redeemable. THINK ABOUT EXPERIENCE POINTS, score never goes down and everything makes that score bigger but you can never really get there
- Reputation matters
- Put your priorities first. List the value of the actions of the user, completing the profile, suggesting to friends, creating content
- Redemptions suck! You are subject to gift card regulations and you can depress your users if the items aren’t that good
Badgenfreude
- Social update, social proof
- Design matters. Must be unique and what people want to share
- Bad badges not bad badging–important to reward people who spread you word
Leader-bored
- You are not normal (achiever) | They need to be socialized
- Socializing matters
- Remember the Arcade (top scores always shown)
- Good design, show your score and your friend’s
QUESTION OF THE SESSION
A lot of this applies to B2C, but what about B2B?
Middle aged women are the biggest cohort of game players, and same with white guys.
What’s a cheap way to get gamification?
Design and implementation. There are a couple of companies that make implementing easy but I think everyone should be more concerned with the design concepts.