Hi guys! Continuing our big week of guest posts today is Brianne Walters who is writing on the fascinating subject of Gamification. This will be of special interest to bloggers and web entrepreneurs who wish to engage their audience in new and interesting ways 
Enjoy the post, and take it away Brianne!
Six Foolproof Gamification Strategies for Content Publishers
People mistake gamification as plug and play. Gamification is a fascinating strategy that makes us understand what works and what doesn’t. For gamification to be successful, you need to understand what keeps your readers engaged and encourage your users to perform specific actions and depict specific behavior to help you accomplish your objectives. Check out these tips to design your own custom gamification strategy.
1. Keep your users in mind
A user that visits your site because he loves your content isn’t going to be impressed by a gamification solution that is not related to the content. Similarly, a user that visits your site for some intrinsic value or status may not show interest for physical rewards. Take some time and find out what your site offers users, gamification can enhance your site’s value and boost user loyalty, but it doesn’t work when your site has nothing that line up with what your user wants. If users are not aware of your gamification mechanics, they won’t participate in your community.
Once you’ve figured out the needs of your users, think if gamification works for you. Make sure your users are aware of the actions to be taken to earn different badges and proceed to the next level. Effective gamification program requires you to know what keeps them engaged.
For example, some of your users may get attracted to social rewards while others are motivated by achievements only.
2. Make sure to onboard new users
Average users coming to your site may or may not be aware of the fact that you have gamified your site. Publishers should inform their first time visitors of their loyalty program as well as outlining its benefits. Will the gamification program help their audience achieve their goals? Will they get access to exclusive content or tips or free ebook? No matter what your audience needs, it should be clear that your loyalty program can help them achieve it.
Make it easy for visitors to register. They shouldn’t wait for more than a few seconds deciding and signing up your program. The registration process must be simple so that users can start participating in your loyalty program while they are still thinking about what the program can offer.
Onboarding; users should not wonder what to do after completing the registration process. Publishers must clearly explain newly registered users about their reward program, how the loyalty program works and how to go about.
3. Hire a professional for badge design
When it comes to game design, picking a badge is one of the important elements in gamification. People often fail to realize the significance of attractive badges.
Design your badges the same way as you design medals. In addition to making your badges attractive, you should make them meaningful and be chosen carefully. Using poorly designed badges can doom a game play.
4. Your game play should be fun
“Games are attractive because they’re fun.”
Your audience won’t bother about your goals. Your game design must be fun to keep them engaged throughout the game and never make them feel bored. Gamification isn’t all about earning rewards; how a user will reach a goal is what will make him a brand evangelist. A well-designed game can enhance the whole experience.
5. Analyze User behavior before you start
Don’t apply gamification just because others do it. Think before you leap. First, define your goals that you want to gamify? Know your readers, how long they stay on your website, what makes them stay on your website or using your application and so on. Once you identify the areas to be improved, you can work on how to improve it with gamification. The more you analyze your users, the more easily you can gamify in a way that speaks to them.
Once you are clear about why you want to gamify and what your goals are, you are ready for designing a winning gamification strategy.
The main purpose of gamification is to induce positive behavioural changes by engaging readers in non-gaming scenarios and driving them to take specific actions.
For example, your readers are interested in sharing your content, but there is no such option on your site. So, you need a gamification strategy that makes it easy for your loyal readers to interact with your content as well as with other members in the community.
6. Go social
Make sure to integrate social media because people love to share their achievements and use the power of their existing networks to enhance their status in the program, as well as recommend their friends to participate. For publishers, this means their content is exposed to a wider audience, more people participating and more people discussing about their content on and offline.
Related Articles:
- Enterprise Gamification Case Study
- Can Games Improve Education?
- How six global brands use gaming for recruitment
- The Value Of Work
- Is Gamification Serious Business?
