What Makes Social Media Games Addictive? 3 Factors…
By Anna Johnson on August 10th, 2010As Internet marketers we have much to learn from successful social media game makers such as Zynga. After all, who wouldn’t want customers who are ‘addicted’ to our products or services in the same way people are addicted to social media games such as Zynga’s blockbuster success, Farmville? To that end, what makes social media games so addictive?
The question of what makes anything addictive is fascinating in itself, but when it comes to social media games, we are seeing a new phenomenon at work. Or perhaps an old phenomenon in a new context. In fact, my observation is that, among other things, addictive social media games tap into at least three (3) crucial human needs. They are the needs for:
1. Reward for effort
Firstly, there’s the reward for effort – when following a certain series of steps results in achieving a desired outcome or reward. For example, if we spend time planting seeds and toiling our patch of land in Farmville, we’ll eventually see our crops grow and be able to harvest them.
While deriving pleasure out of achieving a given reward might, in itself, incline us to play a game (or take any series of steps in any endeavor), social media games provide further fulfillment in the form of…
2. Social recognition
Not only does playing social media games let us achieve specific rewards, but they also let us share those achievements with others. For many of us, achieving a ‘victory’ of some kind just doesn’t generate as much joy as being able to show off that victory to others.
But what’s even better than achieving a hard won goal and then having that achievement recognized by others? It is:
3. Collaboration
There’s a reason why team sports are much more popular than solo sports: most people enjoy working with others to achieve a shared goal, and then to celebrate the achievement of that goal with each other (or commiserate together when we fail to achieve the goal).
So too, when it comes to social media games, we embrace the opportunity to work with others to achieve a reward, and then to celebrate the achievement of that reward together.
Social media games let us achieve rewards, garner social recognition and collaborate and celebrate with others. These three factors are a big reason why social media games resonate with so many people.
Of course, when it comes to creating a super-successful game, these three elements are necessary but not sufficient. Other considerations are genre, game world, game play and a host of other components. After all, who would have necessarily thought that a game about farms would have taken off?
More importantly for Internet marketers with products and services that are NOT games the question is: how can we integrate the qualities of reward for effort, social recognition and collaboration into OUR customer offerings?
