[Issue 38] Is the Engagement Worth It?
Gamification: cheap engagement hack, or force for positive influence?
[Photo by Guillaume Coupy on Unsplash]
The Idea: Gamification is a powerful engagement strategy. Which means it can be abused (to manipulate and control behavior). Or leveraged as a force for good.
This potential puts a lot of power in the hands of the one who chooses to use gamification techniques in their business. To do so comes with an ethical responsibility - one that requires embracing your role as a courageous and visionary leader for your community.
Dive Deeper: Gamification has a long history of being used for nefarious purposes - to the detriment of broader society.
(From the introduction of Facebook’s “Like” button in 2009 - and all the social media toxicity that has followed since - to the use of a social credit score by the Chinese Communist Party.)
For a fascinating telling of the gamification “story,” check out this article:
The Problem: Gamification is increasingly pervasive. As engagement rates and interest drop and distraction spikes, gamification offers a fun way to slow down the decline.
However, this has its downsides:
As the article linked to above explores in such depth, even well-meaning gamification efforts can have unintended consequences.
A breadth of studies have demonstrated that motivation derived from extrinsic goals (such as rewards, scores, and leaderboards) is worse for your well being than that derived from intrinsic ones (such as growth, relationships, community giving, and health).
This begs the question: should we even be using gamification tactics in our businesses?
The Application: Gamification is not the same thing as game design.
But if you settle for surface-level gamification tactics, you risk focusing your audience’s attention more on hitting gamified targets than on the transformation and sense of belonging they originally came to you for.
This puts you in a position of power (if gamifying your business is something you’ve considered). Do you use that power to influence people for the selfish purpose of boosting engagement, improving your own metrics (possibly even sales) but potentially creating more noise and distraction for your people, rather than the progress they’re looking for?
If you don’t, others are, so maybe in the effort to avoid unintended consequences, you end up losing people to someone who is less concerned.
There’s an alternative:
Approach this like a game designer.
Be intentional about designing the entirety of the experience your audience receives. Input gamification elements, but with a view of the bigger picture.
Ask: how can this game you’re architecting help your customers make MORE progress, FASTER, towards their goals?
Beyond simple engagement hacks, you’re setting yourself up as a leader: one who takes responsibility for guiding your people to the Point B you know they need, protecting them along the way from the threats that can derail them.
If you can facilitate this progress more easily by gamifying the experience, and you can closely align intrinsic and extrinsic goals, then go for it.
A very simple example of this:
Without relying on cheap gamification tricks, Olly Richards’ StoryLearning language learning company structures their offers to create a “leveling up” experience.
Once a student has completed a 101 course, the next natural progression is 102. This continues up a few more levels until they’ve achieved a basic mastery of the language. They can stop at any point, but the “leveling up” experience is perfectly aligned with their goals.
Does turning your offer structure and customer experience into a game make sense for you? Hit “reply” and let me know.