For a few years, the gamification concept is very fashionable within the companies’ strategy and has also slowly conquered the academic establishments (universities, business schools, engineering schools…) priorities. Indeed, the gamification is the art of using the gaming methods with strategic purposes.
By creating some scenarios relevant with your users’ profile, you will spontaneously motivate and convince your members to take part in your projects. Motivated and boosted in this new gaming environment, your students won’t hesitate anymore in participating to your school activities. Gamification rewards participants and deeply stimulate the initiative lead. If you provide your members with positive emotions, they will be seduced by your cohesiveness desire but almost all, they will understand all of what their school is doing for them. They will naturally become your future ambassadors and the human window to your establishment.
If you want your gamification strategy to be a success, you need to take time to build it upon three steps. First, you will regularly write feedbacks in order to show everyone’s visibility and progression. Then, propose your members situations that present a real challenge, that will trigger their want to be in and overpass themselves to collect the most points. Last but not least, don’t forget to reward them with any kind of present, so they feel like what they did was worth it.
How to boost your gamification strategy?
For a gamification to be a success, you need to build it on three steps:
- Let the ranking be viewable by everyone in order to boost and value the most active members of your alumni network.
- Propose to your members challenging scenarios that will push them to overpass and invest more to collect points. N.B. The challenge must be reachable otherwise it will discourage.
- Don’t forget to have a reward according to the level of implication (eg: free membership fee, free entrance to the gala…).
Online, your gamification will pass through a badge system, also known as “with points”. For every posted publications, register to a specific event or mentoring advice given, your members will earn badges and their level of enrollment will be classified and rewarded. To create a ranking system viewable by everyone, will give your members the opportunity to align themselves and compare with the others. This will boost everyone’s participation because nothing better than competition to lead to actions.
Don’t forget that physical presence is a must-do in the loyalty strategy. Insert gamification during your events and for instance, reward your participants with some points. However, do not use gamification too much and do not invite your members every two weeks to take part in an event, it has to be a pleasure. Find a good balance and stand out!
Don’t forget, do not solicit your members too often otherwise they will be weary of all those requests. Find a good balance and stand out!
Gamification is nowadays a brand new federating solution that cannot be neglected. By organizing new less formal events -but still serious-, you will succeed in gathering your community. You will also prove that it is also possible, for a superior academic establishment to gather, entertain and maintain its genuine and own spirit.
