- How to People
- Posts
- On gamification
It’s Wednesday, March 6th, and today we’re talking about inescapable gamification and how to leverage it to get what you want (but not in a cult-leader way).
First time reading? Sign up here.
Gamification is super lame...
That's what I've always thought. Leaderboards? Whatever. Badges? Yawn.
The whole concept seemed silly to me. If I want to do it, I want to do it because it has value for me. You can keep your rewards.
I realize that there are two major problems:
I was confusing competition with gamification (I'm not competitive).
I was oblivious to how ubiquitous gamification is. I was participating every day—trying to close my Apple rings, filling out my journal goal graph, getting bummed when I break my Lumosity streaks.
Gamification was built into my every day, gently prodding me forward, and I was blind to it.
Which makes it one of the most powerful tools at our disposal. We're running businesses, which means we're always trying to influence behavior; we want people to stay longer, do more, and use more features. So we'd be fools to ignore the complexity and power of that which is seamlessly integrated into our lives.
Let’s get into it.
The Psychology Behind Gamification
At its core, gamification is a dance with the human psyche, a way to engage people on a level that goes beyond participation. It taps into our innate desire to compete, achieve, and be acknowledged.
Take Duolingo, for example. It's not just teaching languages; it's leveraging our love for recognition. Every streak, point, or badge is a pat on the back, a "well done" that keeps users coming back for more. It's a textbook case of positive reinforcement, where the reward system is carefully designed to trigger the release of dopamine, the "feel-good" neurotransmitter. This biochemical response is what makes gamified experiences so addictive.
But it's about more than addiction. By setting clear, achievable goals and providing instant feedback, gamification creates a sense of progress and accomplishment. It's akin to video games where leveling up brings a sense of achievement and, with it, the motivation to push further. This is where the magic happens—when users are so engaged that they lose track of time, entering a state of flow.
I learned this the hard way.
Hours of my life… lost.
Gamification also taps into our social selves. Leaderboards, team challenges, and social shares play into our built-in need for social validation and belonging. It's a powerful tool, using our desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves.
Understanding these psychological underpinnings is crucial for any leader looking to gamify their offerings.
The Octalysis Gamification Framework
In the quest to master gamification, one navigational tool stands out: the Octalysis Framework. Created by Yu-kai Chou, it's a compass that guides us through the complexities of human motivation, breaking down the essence of engagement into eight core drives:
Epic Meaning & Calling: This is about being part of something bigger than oneself. Like soldiers rallying to a noble cause, users are motivated by a sense of purpose and belonging.
Development & Accomplishment: The backbone of most gamification strategies, this drive taps into our love for progress, achievement, and overcoming challenges. It's the satisfaction of climbing a mountain, not just for the view at the top but for the sense of personal triumph.
Empowerment of Creativity & Feedback: Giving users the tools to express their creativity and then providing feedback on their creations. It's like painting a canvas where each stroke adds to a masterpiece.
Ownership & Possession: This drive motivates through a sense of ownership over things. It's the digital equivalent of having a piece of land to cultivate and grow.
Social Influence & Relatedness: Here, the focus is on social connections, competition, and mentorship. It's the warmth of sitting around a campfire, sharing stories and experiences.
Scarcity & Impatience: The desire for something because it's rare or because one has to wait for it. It's the anticipation of waiting for a special holiday.
Unpredictability & Curiosity: The thrill of not knowing what will happen next keeps users coming back. It's the mystery box that could contain anything.
Loss & Avoidance: The drive to avoid losing something or having negative outcomes. It's the careful strategy of a chess game, avoiding defeat at all costs.
What it looks like
The beauty of the Octalysis Framework lies in its versatility. By understanding which core drives are most effective in engaging your specific audience, you can tailor your gamification strategy to tap into these motivations. I’ve seen a myriad of these strategies:
Streaks
Badges and titles
Leaderboards
Progress bars and levels
Reward systems
Challenges and quests
Unlockable content
Social sharing
Personalization and avatars
There are dozens more, and endless variations when you start layering and combining, but there are also two major pitfalls: Context and User Experience.
Context
Duolingo accelerated growth by 350%, but not before making multiple failed attempts.
In particular, copying the gamification strategies of successful companies without considering how the context would translate.
Failed Attempt One:
First, they tried to copy a technique from Gardenscapes with abysmal results, noting:
"It became clear why the Gardenscapes moves counter was not a good fit for our product. When you are playing Gardenscapes, each move feels like a strategic decision because you have to outmaneuver dynamic obstacles to find a path to victory. But strategic decision-making isn’t required to complete a Duolingo lesson—you mostly either know the answer to a question or you don’t."
Failed Attempt Two:
Next, they modeled their referral program after Uber’s. Again…nothing.
"It also did not take long to understand why our referral program did not produce Uber-like success. Referrals work for Uber because riders are paying for rides on a never-ending pay-as-you-go system. A free ride is a constant incentive. For Duolingo, we were trying to incentivize users by offering a free month of Super Duolingo. However, our best and most active users already had Super Duolingo, and we couldn’t give them a free month when they were already in a plan. This meant that our strategy, which needed to rely on our best users, actually excluded them."
Bottom line: gamification is useless unless it’s in lockstep with your business model, outcomes, and customer behavior.
User Experience
The best gamification strategies are those that grow with their users. They're flexible enough to adapt to changing user needs and scalable enough to expand as the user base grows. This adaptability ensures that the gamification strategy remains relevant and engaging over time, much like a tree that grows and changes with the seasons, always providing shade and shelter.
There’s also the delicate balance between guidance and autonomy. Gamification strategies that don't allow users to choose their path or explore options can feel restrictive and patronizing. It's akin to being on a guided tour with no freedom to wander; the experience feels controlled and limited.
A last major pitfall is designing gamification elements that are too complex or demanding, resulting in user frustration. A game that's too hard to play is a game that's easy to quit. This is comparable to setting a treasure hunt where the map is overly cryptic; participants are more likely to give up than engage. Ensuring that challenges are balanced and achievable is crucial to maintaining user interest and satisfaction.
When looking at the overall picture of content and UX, there’s one question that emerges for me in all caps: WHAT ARE YOU INCENTIVIZING?
All action is not good action. I can think of a few problematic examples:
In certain platforms, such as Skool, resources are unlocked as members get more points. Members get points by commenting and posting. What are we incentivizing if we’re not careful? Volume. Not quality.
In multi-level marketing, the more downstream reps you get under you, the higher the income. In this case, we’re again incentivizing volume without quality, creating an ecosystem where people treat their friends and family as transactional means to an end:
Amazon workers were part of a program that rewarded them for things like returning early from lunch or bathroom breaks. Being given “points” for overworking not only is exploitative but also incentivizes burnout.
Testing and Measuring Gamification Strategies
One of the biggest arguments for integrating gamification slowly is that of measuring and testing. It’s not likely to work right away, so staying agile is key.
It’s also important that you choose initiatives that can be measured. Surprisingly, communities will often gamify something that they’ve no way of understanding the full impact of. In the case of earning points to unlock content, one can certainly see whether posts or comments go up, but it would be laborious and subjective to measure the quality of those conversations.
Analytics provide the why, offering insights into user behavior, engagement patterns, and the effectiveness of each gamified element. This data-driven approach ensures decisions are not based on gut feelings but on hard evidence.
If your idea is low-lift, it’s tempting to not take this part seriously, but you gotta remember: any gamification is another slice of bandwidth we’re extracting from our people. Attention is the rarest currency, so don’t squander it.
The key is to set clear objectives for what you're measuring. Are you looking to increase daily active users, enhance retention, gather more testimonials? Each goal requires its own set of metrics and KPIs.
The cycle of hypothesis, experiment, and refinement is a continuous one. Each iteration brings you closer to understanding what resonates with your audience. It's a process of discovery, where each test sheds light on the preferences and behaviors of your users.
Yes, This is for your business, too
Another reason I was dismissive of gamification is that it seemed like something that only applied to apps or SaaS products.
Here are three real-life experiences that make it clear that every business can benefit:
A gym I attended back in CA had a “Fall for the City” challenge. During the fall season, we would coordinate in groups to walk as much of the city as we could. A giant map of Riverside was put up on the lobby wall, which we got to color on to mark our territory.
A woman named Adrienne ran a wonderful boutique plant shop down the street from me. Every August they run a “Stem Drive”. People would prune their plants and bring in stems ready to be propagated for others to take for free. For every stem you donated, you earned credit toward a myriad of plants and plant supplies.
Compliance Training— the two sexiest words I’ve ever spoken. But Morf Media hunts down the most boring topics in the world and re-presents them in a shortened and more interactive game experience that allows people to have just enough attention span to grasp the key points.
It would be a bad idea to cover every aspect of gamification in one email, but if you’re looking to nerd out a bit more, here are a few useful reads:
Gotta go…my movement ring is looking paltry…
Onward,
April
We help subscription-based companies skyrocket retention by converting customers into a thriving brand community
Looking for help with yours? 👉🏼 Schedule a call here
Other options:
Just getting started? Here’s a free 7-day email course 👉🏼 Start your community
Check out the CommunityOS Masterclass, a pithy, low-cost video course covering all of the basics of community strategy 👉🏼 Get it here