How to Inspire Your Online Community

No matter how loyal a participant in your online community might be, there will come a point where he or she simply does not have the time or patience to take another online survey. Regardless of if this “survey fatigue” is temporary or permanent, the fact remains the online community management must lean on inspiration to keep its members fresh to keep the information flowing.

We have talked before about the strategy of Gamification as far as community management goes, but using the strategy to reach an audience of video gamers presents an interesting case for gamification to be used more often.

Gamification, as defined by Badgeville, is “...the concept of applying game mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals." As far as online community management goes, gamification can be used to stimulate participation by giving participants certain goals that they can meet by frequently participating in studies.

The use of badges can inspire engagement, while increasing competition to participate more, all while acting as an added incentive for participants to participate in online surveys. The badges provide an added sense of fun to the equation that can prove to be the difference between getting a participant to continue their longterm cooperation with market researchers.

Gamification is a proven productivity booster due to its casual incentivization of tasks that take time and effort. However, the online gaming community can be a difficult group to reach, as they can display an air of defiance not conducive to getting actionable data from. But when properly incentivized and motivated, gamers can provide information that is exactly what market researchers are looking for.

Using gamification in conjunction with a structured loyalty program, an informed array of surveys, and relevant rewards that would appeal to gamers would create the proper incentives needed to tap into the fiercely opinionated group of gamers. The gamification aspect, in particular, appeals to a video gamer’s passion for achieving goals in an informal and fun setting, while gift cards to electronic stores, or for in-game purchases meet their desires as gamers. Want to know more about how to inspire gamers? Click below to watch a quick video.