Seven ways to engage app users
Seven ways to engage app users
If you don’t care, your customer never will
ChatGPT is one of the fastest growing apps in history. In the first 100 days after launch, it gained 100 millions users. I use it every day for research, writing and coding. It was very quick and easy to get up and running with it. The onboarding process was intuitive, it’s fun to use and it seems to be improving rapidly. OpenAI, its creators, are doing an amazing job.
Ways to engage users
The customer’s perception is your reality. – Kate Zabriskie
In my experience, OpenAI are doing a great job to engage users by doing the following well:
Onboarding: The first few minutes a user spends with an app are critical to their ongoing engagement. The onboarding process needs to be concise and engaging.
Purpose: The purpose needs to be clear and the way to achieve useful tasks well signposted. Well considered placeholder values play an important role here.
Personalise. Users like to feel special. A personalised experience helps. Use data to understand users' interests and preferences. Tailor content and recommendations accordingly.
Updates: Let users know about new features, updates and content. Push notifications, in-app messages and blog posts facilitate this.
Sharable: Make it easy for users to share their app experiences with others. This helps reach a wider audience and drive more engagement.
Fun. The experience should be fun. Gamification elements, social features and other interactive elements entertain users.
Feedback. User feedback is a strong indicator of engagement. Acting on feedback builds lasting relationships.
Applying engagement tips
The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them - preferably in unexpected and helpful ways. – Richard Branson
Scarper (Tetris meets Candy Crush) is my grid based mobile game. Here’s how I plan to make it engaging:
Onboarding: A straight path to value is provided by enabling users to start playing within two clicks. No sign-in steps get in the way.
Purpose: The purpose is to have fun, develop skills and engage with fellow players. The game mechanics are simple, but hidden complexities reveal themselves as players progress.
Personalise: Users can create their own grids for others to play. The best will make it into the main game and creators will be recognised.
Updates: Game updates will be posted via social media, including X, Facebook and Reddit. Most new grids will be generated by users themselves.
Sharable: A couple of clicks will enable users to share their progress and grid creations.
Fun: Scarper has elements of Tetris and Candy Crush, both fun and massively successful games.
Feedback: Players can provide feedback and suggestions in the app, via email and on social media.
Those on the Scarper waitlist will be informed when it’s available to play.
Other resources
How to Talk to Users Talk by Y Combinator
How to Trigger Users to Act post by Phil Martin
Help App Users See Value Quickly post by Phil Martin
Shortly after I joined a large corporation, I noticed that many colleagues started using a financial model I had developed. It’s was a fantastic feeling. I love creating things for people to use.
Have fun.
Phil…
