Fan app: the importance of gamification
Fan apps are considered an important part of the digital ecosystem of every sports entity. But why do fans need the app? We answered this question in our previous article and today we want to get deeper into the gamification process that makes fans entertained and engaged in the app, which brings value to the app so they interact with that space and not the social media, for example, to communicate with the club.
Gamification is a process when you basically propose tasks or missions as we call them to the users and for completing them we offer a reward, that’s how gamification works in simple words. But how it can be managed by sports brands inside their app and how they can motivate users to take part in missions? In our apps, we use the fan points redeeming system, that’s how it works: when you enter the app as a user — you are proposed to take your first fan mission, to fill in some information in your account, and you will receive some fan points and your place in fan rating. Fan points are the internal currency of the app — you can exchange those for any digital or physical benefits depending on each club or organization’s strategy. Fan rating is a rating of all app users depending on the points they earned for completing fan missions. Every club can define a strategy to use, so fans can also receive rewards for earning 1st place or top-3 in a fan rating.
It sounds complex in the beginning but it is similar to a sports competition for example football. To be the first one in the championship you need to earn more points than your competitors, to earn points you need to win games. The same here to earn rewards you need to be among the best in fan rating, to be the best you need to earn points, and to earn them you need to complete fan missions. And here I think we should concentrate more, on fan missions and any functions of the app that can be used. For example, leave your e-mail, take part in predictions, take part in 3 polls, write your first message in chat and etc. The more activity you do in-app, the more interesting missions you can present to the fans.
So we understand how fans can be engaged, but how brands can leverage this activity to earn revenue — the answer is simple, all brands want to interact with the active audience not just the numbers but people who are engaged. Today people look not only at the number of subscribers but the engagement rate which is even more important. If you have an active audience you can present this number to your partners or find new partners and launch marketing campaigns in-app as well as sell your merchandise physical and digital in-app. Gamification opens up huge opportunities for brands and we provide the technology and full support with content, strategy, and any necessary activity — it is here to use it you just need to take this opportunity.
