You heard it right – “gamification”. The term has been thrown around every so often in the past months but it hasn’t gained enough ground to sustain a discussion. Well, not anymore. Online marketers are now picking up on the “gamification” technique for their content marketing efforts.
“Content Gamification” is not a new concept. Forbes identified Charles “Chuck” Coonrandt as the “grandfather” of gamification, having written The Game of Work in 1984 in response to a charge that US productivity was not world class. Since then till present times, more companies have embraced game elements and mechanics as a means to market content that will attract and engage consumers.
In essence, content gamification is the integration of interactive elements to online content in order to increase user engagement and eventually boost traffic and page ranking. This process may be considered an art and science of invoking the competitive nature of consumers or,the need to reach the next level or obtain reward for completing a level.
For us online marketers, gamification translates to turning inbound marketing into a game form where the audience engages in some kind of a game in order for them to win something. And in return the marketers get something from the audience.
The process of gamification works with consumers because it elicits immediate feedback. And it’s in every nature of human being to crave for feedback. In gamification, the points and badges are indicators of how a user performed.
Gamification used as a marketing strategy is everywhere. One of the best example is Nike’s “Nike+ program” where the company rewards participants with text messages, bars and graphics on their mobile devices. A special wristband is given out to participants when they achieve their exercise goals. What this brand got from incorporating gamification to their marketing plan are repeated visits with an increased number of visitors and greater exposure of their brand.
Importance of Gamification
The fact that almost every company is implementing their own content gamification just goes to show how effective this strategy is for content marketing. Hence, for every opportunity that presents itself, you should integrate gamification to your content marketing. By doing this you:
- Are able to engage your audience and tap into their competitive nature to follow your “gamified” content.
- Can influence your user’s actions. If you create a unique content with point-earning features, more people will be visiting your site. You are effectively influencing them to engage your pages.
- Earn loyalty from your audience or users. If the audience finds your content gamification unique, genuine and honest enough, they will prefer your brand over your competitors.
- Can have a “gamified” content that can go viral. This will earn your pages more exposure and increased readership.
By tapping into the users’ competitive streak and corresponding need for reward or recognition, shifting your marketing strategy into content gamification will most certainly provide you with significant positive results on leads and conversions. Content gamification, if done right will hold a huge future for your marketing efforts and enjoy a loyal following who find your content fun, unique and interesting.
The post What is Content Gamification? appeared first on Tinzly.
