July 3, 2018

Top event apps draw a broad audience through a variety of appealing features. Read on to learn the best gamification features you can include to activate more of your attendees.

Everyone loves a good game. They satisfy basic psychological needs such as connecting with others, exercising free choice and enjoying personal achievement. It’s no wonder event app gamification is one of the fastest growing methods of boosting attendee engagement.

Succeeding with event app gamification requires more than just adding a checklist of to do’s in your app though. For the best ROI, be sure your gamification includes the following elements. 

endowed progress

Endowed Progress

Nothing is more motivating than progress! Research shows people will initially engage with a game if they are given a head start toward achieving the initial reward. Endowed progress leverages our inclination to pay more attention to tasks that are underway than tasks not started.

Give users some progress toward earning an achievement just for opening up your event app.

Abstract Rewards

Rewards deliver in-the-moment motivation to get attendees exploring everything your app has to offer. Consider all the actions you’d like users to engage in through your event app and associate each step with an abstract reward. Gems, points, or credits that participants can accrue are all effective.

Earned Achievements

Once involved in a game, people experience an innate desire for advancement.  This includes learning the rules, accomplishing tasks and demonstrating mastery.

Inspire users to try out more complex tasks by offering exclusive badges or trophies upon completion.  Then let them showcase their mastery by displaying these earned achievements on a public profile or avatar.

earned achievements

Real-Time Leaderboards

For about fifteen percent of attendees, the opportunity to win out over others motivates participation more than anything else. Engage the competitors in your crowd with a real-time leaderboard that displays top participant scores. Competitors love to see exactly how their performance stacks up against peers, and many will go to great lengths to attain top standings.

attainable levels

Attainable Levels

When an activity seems too easy or too hard we usually won’t give it much attention, but an attainable challenge inspires us to action.  More attendees will participate in your game if offers multiple levels of play. For example, attendees at different stages of their customer journey could be challenged to master and show off new learning with beginner, intermediate and expert leveled content quizzes.

Virtual Goods

Virtual goods offer every participant in a game an outlet for self expression. Let users trade their accrued points in for their favorite tools, powers or profile embellishments. Everyone is motivated to earn more points so they can buy the goods that meet their desires.

Attendee Benefit

For best results, your end goal in event app gamification should always be attendee-centric.

People know when they are being manipulated. Instead of pushing a sales agenda, focus on helping attendees enjoy more of what they came to your event for – learning and connection.

attendee benefits

Share your experiences with event app gamification in the comments below.

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