Gamification in Marketing: Tips to Increase Engagement

Did you know that 60% of consumers are more likely to buy from a brand if they enjoyed playing a game with it?  

Games, in general, have a mass appeal. They're fun, interactive, and challenging. Some people even find them relaxing! That's why many consumers prefer to engage with interactive content over still pictures and posts.  

Right now, online gaming is incredibly popular. There are currently about 1 billion online gamers worldwide, which is projected to reach 1.3 billion in 2025. Video games also capture 52.9% of the digital media market and are growing an average of 11.9% per year.  

If you haven’t tried gamifying your marketing, now is the best time to consider creating more immersive experiences. Gamifying your content and incorporating it into your Miami web design can help attract new customers. It can also keep your existing ones loyal by creating a fun experience they want to engage with.  

But before we jump into that, let’s first define what gamification in marketing is.  

What is Gamification Marketing?

Gamification is a marketing strategy that uses game-like elements to promote products and services.  It grabs attention, encourages engagement, and drives sales.  

People are driven to play because reward and competition excite them. So, you'll want to make sure you have a valuable offer at the end of your game or a worthwhile experience. This will motivate visitors to keep coming back for more.  

You can create games for all kinds of campaigns, product launches, discount offers, and brand promotions. It is as simple as "spin to win" and interactive quizzes, or something more complex like an actual mobile game.  

Below are some simple game elements you can include in your gamification marketing campaigns:

• Badges – Reward your customers for shopping or accomplishing something with a badge they can collect and share on social media. The fact that they can brag about their level motivates people to engage even more and share on social. This in turn motivates others to participate and share their achievements as well.  
• Points – Allow your customers to collect points by winning a game or every time they buy from you. They can use the points to redeem free stuff or to access discounts and special offers.  
• Levels – Offer bigger rewards to customers with higher levels. The more they play or engage with you, the more rewards they can get in return. It works because it appeals to people's sense of achievement. Think about offering free delivery to Gold-level members only.  

• Leaderboards – Post visitors’ names and scores on your site or social media to encourage others to play and compete.  
• Challenges – Get your customers to complete a task within a certain timeframe to access rewards.  
• Progress – Motivate users to keep on playing by showing them their progress toward reaching the next level.  

How Can Gamification Marketing Benefit Your Business?

Gamification delivers valuable data. By offering exciting rewards in exchange for a visitor’s name and contact info, you can build your email list. This allows you to keep in touch with them, and send badges, newsletters, and coupons until these leads convert into sales.

Gamification also inspires users to create and share user-generated content. When people share their scores, badges, and how much fun they’re having on your branded game, it can inspire others to join and share their experiences too. It’s priceless word-of-mouth marketing.  

6 Easy Gamification Ideas for Your Small Business

Gamification can be expensive, especially if you want to develop an actual video game specific to your brand. However, there are other ways you can incorporate gamification into your marketing efforts and web design in Miami without breaking the bank.  

1. Virtual Scavenger Hunt or Peek-a-Boo Game

A virtual scavenger hunt is a simple way to get your web visitors and followers to pay close attention to what’s on your site. It also keeps them on your page longer, which increases their likelihood of buying something.

These types of games can begin as soon as someone selects play when they land on your site. If you want to take things to the next level, you can make this game more immersive by combining offline and online experiences.  

When participants find the treasure or decode your message, you can offer them discounts and special offers they can use in their purchases.  

Image via going

Tips for a successful treasure hunt or peek-a-boo game:

• Start with a creative idea and a storyline that takes your audience on a truly immersive journey with your brand. People love stories, especially ones they can relate to.  

• Get people curious and excited about joining your game by offering valuable rewards.
• Use social media to create a buzz around your games and encourage others to join or give them a try.  

2. Gamify Your Loyalty Program

Over the years, loyalty programs have always been every company’s go-to scheme to gain repeat customers. According to eMarketer, 58.7% of users believe that earning rewards and loyalty points is one of the most valuable parts of the shopping experience. 70% of consumers are also more likely to recommend a brand to others if it has good loyalty programs.  

However, loyalty programs have become mainstream. It’ll take more than just a basic point-based loyalty program to stand out against your competitors and keep your customers engaged.  

It’s crucial to incorporate game mechanics into your loyalty programs, like virtual rewards and goal-setting to triple your customers’ enjoyment and engagement. According to AP News, when users feel like they’re working towards a goal or reward, they’re more likely to stay loyal to a brand and spend more money on its products.  

Make sure you reward your customer for their loyalty in a meaningful way. Don’t reward them only when they buy something. Non-transactional engagement is crucial for building loyalty and lasting relationship with your customers.  

Gamifying your loyalty program gives your customers more incentive to stick around and stay invested with your brand. Here are some gamification ideas you should consider adding to your loyalty programs:

• Use "code words" that consumers can use in-store to earn a special discount or reward. This is a great way to transform online interactions into offline sales. You can send customers the code word via email, push messages or social media.  
• Incentivize your members to refer you to friends with a Friend referral challenge. This is a great way to keep your existing customers loyal and attract new ones.  

• Award non-transactional actions, such as completing a profile and leaving a review, with badges and trophies.  
• Give your members a reason to keep checking their emails with a scratch-to-win game. You can reward them with points, a special coupon, or even a free gift!
• Challenge your customers to level up to access more prizes and rewards.  
• Incorporate leaderboards for your gamified quizzes and polls. Reward high scores with prizes to make participation worthwhile. You can even provide gamers the option to share their score on social media. This creates a buzz around your campaign and reaches new leads.  

Your customer base is your bread and butter. Reward them for their loyalty with gamified loyalty programs.  

They're an effective tool for engagement and growth. It's also a way to turn one-off clients into repeat buyers and advocates for your brand.  

Here are some tips to keep in mind when building your loyalty programs:

• Ensure your customers feel good about being a part of your loyalty program. Develop rewards and prizes that are valuable to them, which they can’t get elsewhere.  
• Let your customers know what they need to do to level up or get their next reward. The challenges should also be easy, so they're motivated and keep coming back for more.  
• Come up with something new to keep your gamification experience from getting boring. Keep your customers on their toes with surprise rewards and bonuses.  

3. Spin-The-Wheel on Your Homepage

Photo from Wisepops

Engage users the moment they land on your page by greeting them with a spin-the-wheel game.  

You can also use it to surprise customers during checkout. You can give away free shipping, discounts for their next purchase, or additional discount for the current purchase.  

Spin-the-wheel is a useful tactic to try and get visitors to notice your special offers and deals. It also helps put them in a good and happy mood This can influence their buying behavior and get them to stay on your site longer.  

Who wouldn't be motivated to buy when they just won a $20 coupon or free shipping? Wouldn't that get you excited and somehow create the urgency to buy NOW?

Here are some tips to keep in mind when designing a game experience for your web design in Miami or marketing campaign:

• Hire professionals. Designing a game is tough. If you want something more complex than a spin-the-wheel game, hire a developer.  
• Promote the experience on social media. Create a buzz about the spin-the-wheel and scratch-to-win on your Miami web design on social media to drive traffic and get more people on your site.
• Ensure you’re creating a fun experience by asking for feedback and reviews.  

4. Score Leaderboard on Your Site

If you want to tap into people's competitive sides, you want to use leaderboard games.  

Examples of these types of games you can add to your web design in Miami are trivia questions, memory games, spot the difference game, and many more.  

When you display results on a leaderboard and allow them to share them on social, they're incentivized to engage and even invite others to join or challenge them to beat their score.  

Other Ways to Implement Gamified Elements in Your Marketing:

5. Run Contests and Offer Exciting prizes.  

Contests are naturally fun and exciting to take part in. You don't need to give away anything major, just make sure the prize is something they're interested in.  

Here are some tips for a successful contest:

• Generate hype on social media, through announcement blogs, and emails. Let your customers know about your up-and-coming contest so they can join.  
• Make it easy for people to join and participate. If people can't join your contest on social media, let them join something else on your site instead.  
• Keep your audience updated about who won and post pictures. Doing this will help get people excited for the next contest.  

6. Tap Into People’s Sense of Competition

Along with prizes, another way to motivate your audience to compete is by tapping into their sense of competition.

A great example of this is Nike teaming up with the Run Club app to motivate users to live an active lifestyle. The app enables users to customize and build their workout program based on their athletic level.  

It also rewards them with badges and trophies they can share with their community. The more you take part in challenges, the more you can win.  

Here's how to successfully use competition in your gamification strategy:

• Enable users to share their achievements and progress. When users can show off their achievements, they're inclined to get involved.  
• Offer a prize your audience wants to make people want to participate and win.  
• Inspire people to keep playing to reach their goals by showing them how close they are to achieving them.

Take Your User and Brand Experience to The Next Level with Gamification!

Now that you know how to engage consumers with gamified marketing strategies and incorporate gamification elements into your Miami web design, you can start experimenting to see what works best for your business and with your audience.  

Don’t forget to use the UGC these games produce and enable participants to share, like, and brag on social to spread the word and get more people to join. It's also important to create a branded hashtag to maximize the reach of your campaigns.  

Need help gamifying your marketing efforts or incorporating gamification elements into your site? We can help! At Digital Resource, our digital marketing specialists and web designers will work with you to create gamification marketing campaigns and a bespoke web design that will boost your engagement and bottom line.  

Contact us today to get started!

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