Gamification is slowly becoming a force in digital marketing, but you may be questioning whether or not it is necessary for your company. Maybe you think it is too big of an investment, maybe you don’t have the resources you need to produce it. Whatever your reasons, you may want to reconsider.
Take a look at these five reasons why gamification is the future of digital marketing.
1. It Panders to the New Generation
You know Millennials? That generation we are all supposed to be paying attention to? That generation we are supposed to start considering? Some of them are in their 30’s now. Let that sink in.
Most people think of these digital children as being college age, but the majority of them are out of college and have careers and families.
What does this mean?
Digital marketing is changing. The digital era only begins with millennials. The generation after (sometimes referred to as Generation Z or the igeneration) will have even greater demands on digital marketing. It won’t be enough to simply engage in social media, we will have to adapt if we want to succeed.
Gamification could be that method of adaptation. Gamified content gives millennials a form of interaction that they don’t often see and it gives this new generation the interaction they will demand.
Don’t take my word for it, check out these examples of Gamified content and you’ll see what I mean.
2. It Allows for Continuous Interaction
One of the hardest parts of social media marketing is the continuous publishing that goes along with it. Gamification offers the same rewards and exposure without the constant publishing.
Let’s take a look at Nike’s “NikeFuel” Campaign to get a better idea of what this looks like.
On February 22, 2012, Nike launched its Nike+ FuelBand. The product is a wristband that tracks the users activity throughout the day by pairing with a moblie device. While a solid product on its own, it became revolutionary through Nike’s use of Gamification.
Based on their activity, users were able to unlock achievements, compete with friends, and share their progress. This lead to continuous engagement with the product and with the brand. Not to mention, that by encouraging users to excercise regularly, Nike promoted the use of their other products.
By essentially giving users a game to play while engaging their brand, Nike provoked continuous interaction. After playing once, users were enticed to keep going with no added effort by Nike.
3. It Offers Unique Promotional Opportunities
Promotional opportunities are endless with Gamifacation. Whether it’s pairing with new products, highlighting old products, or encouraging purchases through discounts and sales, gamification has the potential to increase brand awareness.
Forget the way Nike used it. There are a million other ways you can use gamification to promote your products and services.
Let’s start with something simple: Reward tracking.
Many companies have used point systems to get more products off the shelves. And the strategy is pretty simple. Give customers points for every product they purchase and when they reach a certain amount of points reward them with cash to be used in the store.
Getting a little more complex, let’s look at the U.S. Army’s recruitment game.
In 2002, the U.S. Army released its first game “America’s Army” to attract new recruits. The game is a first person shooter that allows users to navigate advanced Army maneuvers while gaining insight into the demands of life as a soldier. The game attracted millions of new recruits and continues to be the Army’s number one tool for recruitment.
From full blown video games to simple rewards programs, gamification is as unique as your company.
4. It’ s New
Compared to the others, this reason may seem insignificant, but trust me, being new is what gives gamification the potential to be the future of digital marketing.
Everything must come to an end. The days where we can skate by on minimal digital engagement are behind us. Soon everyone will have a presence in social media marketing and when everyone is doing it, no one is. We are going to need to differentiate ourselves and gamification is the key.
Not only has it gained popularity in the last 5 years, but it’s being used by many major companies. It has yet to become common practice on a large scale, but this will change.
Gamification is taking off and you do not want to get left behind!
With these 4 things in mind, you should have some things to think about. How could you use gamification in your marketing strategy? What campaigns might you be able to launch? How could gamification improve your reach?
Gamification isn’t the only thing you can use to help you improve your digital marketing efforts, marketing & sales automation can as well! Want to learn more about using Marketing & Sales automation in your marketing efforts? Check out our upcoming event, Hubspot on Tap!
