Gamification on the site | Is it necessary?

why is gamification necessary.

Currently, on a variety of sites, including business sites, you can find elements of the so-called gamification (gamification, gamification ) – a technique that turns user interaction with the site into an exciting game. But why is gamification necessary on different “serious” sites? What is it and how can it help business?

The main purpose of using various elements of gamification on sites is to engage potential customers in interacting with the brand, increase the motivation of site visitors to perform the actions necessary for the brand, and create a more vivid impression of contact with the brand. At the same time, game mechanics for gamification of sites can be used very differently – depending on the characteristics of the subject and the desired user actions.

When, say, on sites for printing on t-shirts, visitors are invited to create their own product design online from various elements online, when there are special online “dressing rooms” in online clothing stores, where you can wear different things on a virtual model and evaluate the result, This is manifested by gamification of sites. In these cases, quite trivial tasks – choosing the desired t-shirt design and choosing a fashionable “bow” – are presented in the form of an exciting game and increase the interest of visitors in achieving the ultimate goal of the visit.

Site users, almost regardless of age and level of well-being, love to play. So if you invite them to perform some actions in a playful way, the chances of success will be much higher. Only, of course, the mere addition of some “random” game mechanics to the site will not bring the desired result in the form of an increase in the number of customers and growth in profits. It is necessary to observe several basic rules for the introduction of gaming systems in sites for business in order to achieve success.

Set gamification goals correctly.

Before introducing this or that game mechanics to a business site, it is necessary to clearly understand what this will give and to know how to measure the result. It is important to remember that using elements of the game on the site makes sense only in situations where the target audience is ready to play.

Correctly determine the target user behavior.

Before adding a game mechanic to the site, one should determine what the target behavior of users should be, what specific steps users will need to take in order for the company to achieve goals set for gamification.

Give website visitors the right motivation.

To correctly determine which game mechanics are best suited for a site, you need to know how you can motivate users to participate in the game. For example, some users like to collect various achievements, for others, it is important that the results can be shared with friends, still, others want to enjoy the gameplay itself, and fourths will not play the game for anything unless they see a specific material benefit.

Define the structure of the game, the rules.

Before adding this or that game mechanics to the site, it is very important to think over its structure and determine a set of rules for players. It is especially important to correlate the difficulty of performing a given game action with the value of the final result: in order to compete for a real prize, website users are usually ready to make more efforts than, say, to receive virtual “badges”.

Gamification of sites for business is a popular method of increasing the loyalty of potential customers or customers to a brand, promoting specific goods and services, increasing conversion and stimulating repeat purchases or orders. It is worth noting that a similar technique can be applied not only directly on sites, but also on branded pages and company groups in social networks. For example, there are even special branded games for social networks in which participants, while performing game tasks, receive prizes or some kind of bonuses from the brand.