Xenforo Gamification Possibilities?

[beanfan78]

Okay, I wanted to add that title so Google will provide this as the only thread for Gamification for Xenforo, since none currently exist. Now to the questions. We have been building membership really well from Twitter followers and traffic has been high. My concern is retention. With 3,500+ members, we average 100 people per day and the last 2 days have been about half.

I am wanting to find a way to continue the conversation and encourage people to come back. So I am turning to the other forums admins here. How do you do it? I put out a newsletter about every 2 weeks or so, we have a chatroom, I try to keep things lively and even built a special group for people who want to help out more than others.

I have built the trophy system out, keep new content flowing as much as one can, and I feel like the community is solid. Maybe it just comes down to time and content that matters. Anyways, I am looking for ideas that I haven't considered. What keeps your members coming back?

 

[erich37]

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/remind-users-to-return.113753/

 

[EQnoble]

What keeps your members coming back?

The content they need or the people they like.

 

[beanfan78]

https://xenforo.com/community/threads/remind-users-to-return.113753/

The last thing I want to do is add more emails and alerts, or at least I feel this way. Is there any study or reviews that this particular thing was the gem in making this awesome?

I am looking for ways to create a want to be there and not a reminder about them having an account or anything. There is a reason people join certain things and then continue to use them on a regular basis. It's because they are great, fun, or something else. I haven't found that sweet spot yet. I want to do it with less emails though, unless this truly works.

So I will tuck this away as a possibility, but I don't want to drive them away or risk being marked as spam.

 

[beanfan78]

The content they need or the people they like.

Those are probably good things to have. So what about everything before that question?

 

[EQnoble]

Those are probably good things to have. So what about everything before that question?

I guess what I am saying is that as a website user if the stuff I want is there and it is the kind of topic that needs me to come back I will. Outside of that and good people there is no way to make me come back to a site.

If it is hit and run type of members that your content draws then the only real thing you can do is facilitate an environment that hits something you said right on the head...

I am wanting to find a way to continue the conversation and encourage people to come back.

It's all about engagement really, people need to feel like it matters if they participate, it's the reason social media for all it's failings works because anyone and everyone can feel important or listened to and they get gratification without having to try hard.

Actually having people with an interest in your forum's life engaging with people in a way that provokes responses is pretty much it...people like rewards and gratification...some want a trophy, some want to speak to a real and decent human on the other end.

And to bring it up again...the kind of crowd that your site's purpose attracts plays a part in it...if you have a forum on poetry or creative writing you will undoubtedly have a different kind of participation than you would on let's say a gaming site and the key to improving your returning viewership would undoubtedly differ greatly between the two.

 

[beanfan78]

I can't argue any of those points because they are valid. I get the content, the audience, and how the general notion of what makes a good forum in that sense. I am looking for the odds and ends. Those small things that most people wouldn't think about like karma or flair on Reddit. I am not here to debate the benefits of great content and people, but try to find the nuggets. If there isn't any, then I will accept that as well.

I want to know the creative things other forum admins employed that their audience enjoyed and before you say it, yes, I get that my audience might not like the same as someone else's...but I want ideas. I want a basket of "I added a certain color to this group and all of the sudden people asked to be a part of that group" or "We added XYZ and saw a 10% return rate" ideas. Again, if they don't exist it's okay. I just want to do some brainstorming

 

[EQnoble]

Totally understand your point but if you are asking not in general but to specifically aid your site it might be beneficial to give a general idea as to the nature of the specific site so that if someone who knows of something existing (mods or addons) which could help your kind of site you have a chance to trigger a thought in them which may lead to a hard resolution that they feel is an answer for you.

I myself enjoy a good brainstorming session for a random scenario (maybe that's what keeps me here posting ?-| ) but I personally couldn't offer a generalized one size fit's all thing from thought alone on this. Sorry I can't be of more help at the moment.

I apologize and gracefully bow out.

 

[beanfan78]

I appreciate the effort and I completely dig you. The forum is cannabis related. Brainstorming is always a fun time if there is a connection, but text is always difficult because you can't read emotion very well or hear the tones. If nothing comes from this thread then it's no big deal. I work with several communities to help them grow and This one has been a bit tricky, but I have zero doubt that it will out right fail. I am on the hunt for that look, feel, or little tacit that makes the community even a small bit better.

 

[EQnoble]

I am going to sleep in a few minutes but if you want to start a convo I can give you a short list of things I considered doing for my own cannabis site project which I most likely have to abandon for the time being.

I also know you didn't mean offence...I just felt like I was derailing your thread bit here .