Archive for gamification
Power Matrix: Raising Awareness About New Energy Through Gaming
I consider Siemens to be one of the most reputable and environmentally-conscious companies around. With their dedication to sustainability, it comes as no surprise that they would raise awareness and teach people about new forms of energy through a new, fun game called Power Matrix.
Category: gamification, News /
Is Gamification Just a Fad?
A term called gamification has taken UX by storm over the past few years, a trend likely spurred by Foursquare's success with badges. Whether they understand it or not, app designers desire to create a gamified experience, a supposedly sure route to the elusive engagement that makes free apps valuable. Even in the news business there is a hunger for gamification.
For those unfamiliar, gamification has little to do with game design.
More about Marketing, Product, Gamification, 30 Days Of Buzzwords, and BuzzwordAlso weird to see my book called "the bible of gamification".... that word appears exactly 0 times in the book. Game design /= gamification
— Jane McGonigal (@avantgame) May 2, 2013 Read more...
The Gamification of Experience
I like the idea of gamification…in theory. In its simplest definition, it is creating an action and reward system for members of your community. Humans like games because we get some immediate gratification. The gamification of experience, however, leads to some odd “rewards” for those who play.
Category: Behavior, Best Practices, community, Content, Engagement, gamification, loyalty, sales, Social Media Marketing, strategy, Yes /
Starter Guide to Setting Up Successful Facebook Contests
In order to engage fans, brands must organize frequent original campaigns, often in form of Facebook contests like photo and essay competitions. This will enable them to enjoy better mind share from competitors and increase the "Talking about this" metric on Facebook.
Social Media Morning Report
Twitter lets users claim their data, 2013's buzz words, Deloitte's success in gamification, and more.
Rewards and Reward Schedules in Gamification
One word of warning, rewards should not be used to try and “lift” people out of boring phases of their journey. If you switch the emphasis on working to get a reward away from getting a reward for achievements, you will quickly lose your employees trust. Rewards can not last forever, there comes a time where the system has to stand on its own two feet and be intrinsically engaging.
9 Fun Facebook Page Examples to Spark Your Creativity
Are you looking for creative ways to engage your Facebook fans?
Do you need some fresh ways to infuse fun into the Facebook experience?
This article will examine nine Facebook pages that bring excitement to their Facebook pages.
My hope is you’ll find inspiration for your own page.
NOTE: Many of these Facebook apps are developed by a third party and have a standard look and functionality. Other Facebook apps can be used to create a custom tab, but can have some limitations on how the tab looks.
#1: Seasons 52: “Mini Indulgence” Quiz
Seasons 52 is a restaurant chain with signature desserts called the “Mini Indulgence.” The restaurant has developed an interactive quiz that asks you questions to determine “which Mini Indulgence dessert is you?”
The reason this works is because it asks personal questions about things you like to do and “matches” those things with the type of dessert. Yes it’s kind of silly, but people love quizzes about themselves.
Take the quiz to find out which dessert matches you.
Key Takeaway: Create a quiz that is all about your customers.
#2: Grey Poupon Society of Good Taste
This is another interactive app that requires fans to “Apply” to be a member of Grey Poupon’s inner circle. You can like the Page freely (no one can restrict that beyond age or country) but this is a step above.
This app uses your personal profile information (where you have checked in, where you went to school, what pictures you’ve been tagged in) and creates a little movie that the judges use to “review” your qualifications and decide if you are in or out of their Society. The interesting thing is that many people aren’t immediately approved and they have to apply again.
But it’s so much fun to see what the reviewers say about your Facebook activity that it makes you come back again, hoping next time you’ll “cut the mustard.”
You must apply to get into the Society.
See a "movie" made from your Facebook activity complete with commentary.
Key Takeaway: Create a fun way to use someone’s personal Facebook information.
#3: ABF U-Pack Moving: U-Pack-A-Cube
This Facebook app is an interactive game that requires you to pack the items coming off of a conveyor belt into the moving van. You get a score at the end based on how many things you packed and the difficulty of each item.
Pack the van with boxes that come off of the conveyor and try to get a high score.
Key Takeaway: Create a fun game out of your product or service.
#4: Sierra Mist: Mixology
This app allows you to find drink recipes based on the occasion, ingredients or taste preferences. Fans can also submit their own recipes, which is a great way to get people involved.
Find some delicious drink recipes or submit your own.
Key Takeaway: Provide value based around your product and involve your audience.
#5: Dove: Dove Insider
This Facebook app is not that complex, but there are a number of reasons why it works well. First, the name itself is intriguing because people want to get the “inside” scoop. It also highlights a different fan each month with a quote about feeling beautiful.
You also get access to a coupon and a contest. A Facebook app does not have to be that complicated. Just make sure your app delivers value.
The Dove Insider includes a fan photo, coupon, contest and quiz.
Key Takeaway: Make your app about your fans.
#6: Ford Mustang: Customizer
The Customizer app allows fans to design their own Mustang from scratch. Then people can vote for designs they like and Ford even gives one of the designs away to a lucky winner each week. People get points for participating in the Customizer, which adds a gamification aspect to your marketing.
Customize your own Mustang and get points for participating.
Key Takeaway: Gamify your Facebook Page to keep people there.
#7: Gap: Pin to Win
Facebook contests are a great strategy to add life to your Facebook Page. What is great about this Pin to Win contest from the Gap is that it overlaps Facebook and Pinterest to give people a great way to browse merchandise on the Facebook Page and incorporates a Pinterest contest, which is so hot right now.
You can use the Facebook app to pin and thereby enter the contest on Pinterest.
Key Takeaways: Cross-promote your social platforms creatively.
#8: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: In Your Facebook
This is another simple app, but it is all about the fans. The Ellen DeGeneres Show is crowdsourcing their content to involve the audience in finding funny posts.
Ellen invites people to share funny posts.
Key Takeaway: Crowdsource your content.
#9: The Tooth Fairy Pillow: Find the Tooth Fairy
So far we’ve talked about large brands’ Facebook apps. Even if you are a smaller brand, you can get creative with your Facebook app. Think about what is going to be beneficial to your customer. The Tooth Fairy Pillow offers their fans something simple and easy to do, yet meaningful. The app itself doesn’t have to be overly complex.
Get a picture of the Tooth Fairy with your child in this simple app.
Key Takeaway: Make it meaningful.
Do you notice the trend in all of these apps? They are all designed to entertain, benefit or reward fans. That is what makes a good app. It’s not all about you; it’s about how you can help your fans. An app doesn’t have to be overly complex to achieve these goals.
How about you? Have you seen any interesting Facebook apps? Have your Facebook apps helped your business in some way? Let us know in the comments below!
Social Media Science: How Behavior Impacts Social Media Marketing
Want to understand the psychology behind why people interact via social networks?
During this fascinating interview I explore these very concepts.
To learn about the science and psychology of social media marketing, I interview Ric Dragon for this episode of the Social Media Marketing podcast.
More About This Show
The Social Media Marketing podcast is a show from Social Media Examiner.
It’s designed to help busy marketers and business owners discover what works with social media marketing.
The show format is on-demand talk radio (also known as podcasting).
In this episode, I interview Ric Dragon, author of Social Marketology and CEO of DragonSearch.
Ric shares tips on how businesses can build relationships on social media.
You’ll learn how relationships develop and why the concepts of gamification and gifting are important.
Share your feedback, read the show notes and get the links mentioned in this episode below!
Listen Now
You can also subscribe via iTunes, RSS, Zune, Stitcher or Blackberry.
Here are some of the things you’ll discover in this show:
Social Media Science
How to develop relationships via social networks
People look for other people like themselves, which is called group affinity. People want to find like-minded souls. It is much easier in this age of social media than ever before.
Ric shares insights into the importance of small-talk in building relationships. You’ll learn how small-talk is an extension of social grooming and how sharing a little about yourself humanizes you and makes it easier to grow your social networks. Ric talks about how people bring common salad to social media.
Here's an example of building relationships through small-talk.
Listen to the show to learn more about building relationships on social media.
What gamification and gifting bring to social media
Ric explains what gamification and gifting are and the different types of elements within social media. Learn why the most powerful rewards are the unexpected ones.
You’ll hear about different ways you can gift someone. Ric explains why it’s important to measure the depth of engagement and also how to measure the effectiveness of your company’s social media activities.
Listen to the show to learn why the need to reciprocate is very powerful and relevant to your social activities.
How communities develop via social media
Strong communities can form very quickly on social media and sometimes there are micro-communities. Ric talks about how strong communities can form spontaneously on social media. He also talks about how these communities form around hashtags.
You’ll learn why listening is important for both pre-existing communities and when communities are forming. Ric talks about online ethnography—the studying of people in an in-depth way online.
Listen to the show to learn about how communities develop.
How to craft the right brand voice on social media
People project personality onto brands and Ric explains why this is important to remember when you shape your brand voice.
Ric shares how brands can create the right voice. For example, you need to make sure that even though you want individuals to have their own voice when they speak for your company, you also want this voice to be consistent.
Craft a voice for your brand. Image source: http://www.istockphoto.com/
Listen to the show to find out why it’s important to be consistent.
The different subcategories of social media marketing
As social media evolves, the word community is thought of in different ways by different people. The expression social media also has different definitions for different people. Ric explains how there are at least five different types of social media projects.
You’ll learn why Ric believes brand management will experience the biggest area of growth. He says people are thinking most about brand management and when the brand has a really strong sense of purpose, it becomes a valued member of the community.
Listen to the show to discover more about brands using social media well.
Discovery of the Week
CScore is a free tool that allows you to analyze your Facebook page and provides you with data that give you useful insights into your Facebook marketing. You’ll get data including a conversation score, rank and star ratings in different categories.
Have a look at Social Media Examiner’s CScore here.
CScore rates Social Media Examiner's Facebook pages as a "Conversationalist."
Listen to the show to learn more about CScore and let us know how this works for you.
Other Show Mentions
We’re announcing our our new mega-conference—Social Media Marketing World—taking place at the waterfront San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina in San Diego, California.
As you’d expect, Social Media Examiner recruited the biggest and best names in the world of social media marketing for this conference. Only the best for you!
Here are some reasons you should attend:
Meet face-to-face with marketing experts you’ve come to admire. Presenters include Guy Kawasaki, Mari Smith, Jay Baer, John Jantsch, Michael Stelzner, Dave Kerpen, Lee Odden, Jason Falls, Mark Schaefer, Mario Sundar (LinkedIn), Cliff Ravenscraft, Joe Pulizzi, Marcus Sheridan, Ric Dragon, Brian Carter, Amy Porterfield, Nichole Kelly, Derek Halpern, Pat Flynn and experts from more than a dozen major brands—just to mention a few!
Network with 1,000 fellow marketers in an environment like no other. This is the event where you’ll make priceless professional connections. It includes structured networking after keynotes and lunch, and catered evening events at the historic San Diego Natural History Museum and the San Diego Networking Cruise aboard the largest private yacht in Southern California.
Take in highly valuable, pitch-free content—our trademark at Social Media Examiner—from 41 expert-led marketing sessions covering social tactics, social strategy, community management and content marketing.
Vacation in sunny San Diego, California. Social Media Marketing World starts in the evening on Sunday, April 7 and extends through April 9, 2013. Why not stay a few extra days and make a vacation out of your trip? The average weather in San Diego is 70 degrees Fahrenheit, year-round. San Diego also offers beaches, surfing, the world-famous San Diego Zoo, SeaWorld, LEGOLAND, San Diego Safari Park and tons more!
If you want to learn more visit socialmediaworld13.com.
Key takeaways mentioned in this episode:
- Connect with Ric Dragon on his website
- Check out Ric’s book, Social Marketology
- Check out CScore to discover your Facebook page ranking
- Take a look at Sharpie, Coca-Cola and Nike
- Check out Social Media Marketing World
Help Us Spread the Word!
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What do you think? What are your thoughts on how behavior impacts social media marketing? Please leave your comments below.
Images from iStockPhoto.
Badgeville Partners with PeopleBrowsr to ‘Gamify’ Twitter and Facebook Feeds
Brands that are unable to pry their customers away from social media to look at their websites can now give customers medals for talking about them behind their backs. Badgeville has partnered with PeopleBrowsr, the parent company of Kred, to bring its rewards system to Twitter and Facebook.
New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.
Category: Badgeville, facebook, gamification, Peoplebrowsr, rewards platforms, Social Media, social media analytics, twitter /
Enterprise 2.0 Highlights –
Luis has decided to follow a different approach to reporting on conferences - instead of keeping up with live blogging, or sharing rather lengthy blog posts with the highlights, he's going to tweet the action as it happens. He explains why.
