By Chris Lee

According to recent estimates, Internet users spend three billion hours a week playing online games. Another report from this spring from Forrester found that online gaming is highly appealing to women. While two-thirds (65 per cent) of Xbox gamers are male, 59 per cent of so-called “social gamers” are women.

So, just what is “gamification”, how did it come about and why are brands so keen to get involved?

What is gamification?

For Dr. Michael Wu of social customer relationship management networking firm Lithium, at its most fundamental level, gamification is the use of game mechanics to drive game-like engagement and actions. The logic is very simple; people love to play games, but in everyday life we are often presented with activities we hate, whether it is boring chores or stressful works. Gamification is the process of introducing game mechanics into these abhorred activities to make them more fun and rewarding so that people would want to proactively take part in these tasks.

“Game mechanics – principles, rules, and/or mechanisms that drive a behaviour through incentives, feedback, and rewards with reasonably predictable outcome – are the basic building blocks that make gamification work so well for social media,” he told NMK. “A well designed gaming dynamic brings players to the next stages at the right time so the players feel accomplished. On the other hand, poor gaming dynamics tend to lose players along the way, either due to boredom or creating overly-complex challenges, and therefore make the game less engaging.”

Gamification as a business strategy

Is gamification a genuine business strategy or is it just another shiny object drawing otherwise right-minded marketing managers in? For Andrew Hewitt of social networking software company Global Dawn gamification has become something of a buzz word in the last year and, while he expects the buzz to die down, gamification techniques – such as the badge system offered by geosocial network Foursquare - are here to stay. This brings both benefits and potential pitfalls.

“One of the biggest mistakes that companies make is thinking that it is simply about handing out badges. It isn’t. Because of this simplified view, many businesses who try to implement gaming techniques will fail,” he warned. “Without solid understanding of game mechanics, a differentiating factor and brand relevance gamification becomes pointless. When done correctly, adding a gaming element to social media marketing will encourage users to participate and share content. As a result, brands can gain insight into what users are responding to – allowing them to gather data about an audience and tailor content and experiences accordingly.”

Gamification ethos

While enjoyment is hardly a new and innovative online concept, it is rarely built into the foundations of websites and it should be, according to Alex Blaney, creative director at Session Digital, a creative agency.

“Making people enjoy something more – no matter how mundane – will ensure they invest more time and thus more money into it. They’ll revisit and re-buy. It’ll also ensure true advocacy with genuine referrals based on trust and sharing, rather than for personal reward or disingenuous incentivisation,” he concluded. “For me enjoyment is the spirit of ‘gamification’. But it’s not new; it’s pretty old and pretty permanent.”

Blaney summarises good gamification in four stages:

Engage: Engage your user base in the most relevant context. Not just through any touchpoint because it is available (and because you can). This way you can ensure cohesive brand authenticity as you are operating through the most appropriate channel.

Enhance: Broaden the brand and its message via innovation, insight and creativity. Enhance the user experience beyond expectation, but never forget to keep it relevant. Reward your users in the right places with the right type of awards. Money-off or discounts should not be option one.

Expand: Expand the network through participation and enjoyment. Extend the brand reach through true user advocacy. Let them do the talking, don’t shout or interrupt them. Listen and learn.

Enjoy: Do it right and you’ll all enjoy once. Then keep enjoying.