If you think about some of the addicting games out there like Call od Duty 4 or some of the popular social networks like linkedin, you will notice that they a unique way of rewarding and encouraging their users.  In Call of Duty, the more you play the more you can upgrade your character rank and weapons, in linkedin you are cotinuously reminded of how complete your profile is (until you get to 100%).  Why is this important?

It creates a feedback mechanism for the users.  If Call of Duty didn’t allow people to upgrade then most folks would probably play a lot less often (the consoles themselves also have their own feedback mechanisms with “game points” or “trophy’s”), if linkedin didn’t remind me that I needed to completel my profile, then I probably wouldn’t do it.

The truth is we all like to be rewarded and encouraged, it makes us feel good and it gives us something to work for.  Rewarding and encouraging your users doesn’t need to be too complicated either, just take a look at the above examples.  The point is that if you have an user base you should be rewarding them for continued active participation, why? Beecause your users are the one’s who drive your business and it’s important to reward them for it.

What are you doing to reward your users?

Thanks for reading

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