User Engagement – Betting for More than Just Prizes

Clients often ask us what level of user engagement is reasonable to expect and how that level can be sustained over time. This isn’t a challenge unique to prediction markets – it’s a challenge for all applications that depend on user-generated content. Twitter is incredibly successful, but there is a huge gulf between the number of registered Twitter users and the number of active users.

Prediction markets ask participants to give: they have to place bets, share their knowledge. The key to user engagement is to make sure that users get just as much as they give. One of our clients, a large consumer products company, has struck this balance, achieving record levels of participation. Your first assumption might be, participants are actively betting so they can win prizes — but this is not the case. In a recent user survey, only 4% of respondents said they participated because of the opportunity to win prizes.

Instead, here is what these participants “get” out of being active in the prediction market:

Share valuable information with participants. 88% of survey respondents said that one of their favorite aspects of the market was learning about the innovation opportunities being explored by the client. 55% liked that it was an opportunity to learn about others’ points of view. One comment: “It is a good way to connect product development with the marketplace. I love it!”

Demonstrate to participants that their voice is being heard. The survey also found that sharing personal insights was a key motivator of participation for 40% of respondents. One comment stated: “With this tool, I feel like a part of the company as a whole, not just a member of my specific department. I hope this tool continues to be of value to the company in the future.”

Have fun. It’s no secret that games are a great way to engage people AND teach (it’s not all fun and games). That’s why casual games, such as Farmville, have taken off. And it’s why the military uses gaming to help prepare for combat. In addition to Crowdcast, our client also uses ideation software. However, the ideation software does not have nearly the same participation levels as Crowdcast. One reason for this is because Crowdcast provides a fun, competitive game experience, whereas the ideation software doesn’t. 42% of survey respondents liked being able to see how they performed relative to other employees. One participant’s comment: “I love having a friendly competition with my colleagues – we stop by each other’s desk all the time to compare how we’re doing!”

To find out more about how Crowdcast technology works, please contact us here: info@crowdcast.com.