Is your lead generation strategy starting to feel a bit flat? Not getting much luck moving leads through the funnel? Gamification can be a highly effective way to power up your lead generation campaign, adding extra incentive for leads to enter your funnel and refreshing your current campaigns significantly.
While there is no doubt that lead generation offers one of the most powerful ways to bring in new customers, the growth of this channel has made consumers a little wary. When visitors are bombarded with lead forms, landing pages, pop-ups, and freebie offers on almost every single website they visit, there is a very real risk of boredom and irritation. Although opting for a simple, more user-orientated approach can help, gamification goes one step further by making lead nurturing fun for everyone.
To help you get the most from your gamified lead generation strategies, we’ve put together a list of ideas that will shake up your strategies and add more value to potential leads at all stages of the sales funnel.
Gamify Your Lead Generation Campaigns
If you are already offering incentives, such as content upgrades or any other type of offer, you are on the right track. With that said, there are many ways to go one step further – not only offering free content but also offering an experience that can be enjoyed by leads. When you make the entire process of lead generation something fun and interesting, there is far more chance of growing your funnel. When the process is much the same as it would be on any other website, you have more chance of leads shutting down before you’ve had a chance to begin nurturing.
Gamification uses interactive methods, particularly quizzes and similar games, to prompt engagement from leads. Rather than being shown a standard lead generation form or offer, potential leads have the chance to complete a carefully targeted quiz relating directly to the current product, service or offer they are viewing. Some of the ways that you can gamify your campaigns include the following:
Revitalise dull content
Updating content you already have on your blog or website can be one of the simplest ways to increase engagement. There are many ways to do this, from adding a carefully designed quiz that relates directly to the topic of your blog post to adding a loyalty points system that encourages specific actions. This could include something as simple as earning points for sharing the content, points for subscribing to your mailing list or earning points for referrals.
Adding a quiz to existing lead content can help you gain further insight into your audience. If you tie in the quiz to the topic in a way that is subtle and not intrusive, you could also offer more value to your readers as well. For example, a blog article on home decor trends could include a quiz that helps your audience find their home decor style or a quiz that helps them choose a colour scheme for their bedroom/living room/entire home.
Make video interactive
Video is already a powerful way within your lead generation toolbox. You can gamify your video content by making it interactive. Use video tools such as Facebook Live for direct interaction or take the time to gently prompt interaction during regular YouTube videos. You could ask questions relating to the video or tell views to enter their email to get specific tips, for example. Using our home decor website from above, at the halfway mark of your spring home decor video, you could prompt viewers to enter their email address to get the best room colour ideas for spring.
Despite its growth in recent years, video remains a strategy that is often underused. Rather than churning out boring videos that offer little to no benefit to viewers, it is better to skip video altogether unless you are able to craft interactive videos that add genuine value. There are many channels within any good lead generation strategy and video is only one of these channels. If, on the other hand, you are able to craft videos that already engage your audience, take it one step further by making your videos interactive.
Test your audience’s progress
Just about everyone loves progress tests… if they are done right, of course. These don’t have to be school-like. Instead, aim to make progress fun. You could plan a lead funnel that takes potential leads on a mini-journey, tracking their progress and offering mini incentives along the way. Leads can be given easy test questions as they move to the next level.
A great example of this, using our home decor business, could be to plan a virtual room. Leads enter an email address to begin, with each stage having a question or two before the next stage can be reached. Questions do not have to be complicated – something easy that relates to the current stage is best. Keep it light and get creative to make this even more fun for leads.
Source relevant information
Think carefully about how you can tailor your audience’s experience even further. The more information you have on your leads, the more value you can offer and the more easily you can craft highly relevant campaigns. Personality quizzes may seem silly – they can be a great way to get a deeper look at the people you are attracting to your lists. You can do these in many ways, including social media, landing pages, and blog posts.
To get the best results, make sure that you get as specific and targeted as possible. Know your audience very well. Think about what your primary audience wants, how they think, how they purchase, and anything else that helps you get a clear picture of your ideal audience. Lead profiling can help with this, making it easier to define your target lead.
Incentivise task completion
Finally, there is something to be said about incentives. Similar to testing your audience’s progress, incentivising the completion of tasks can also help to motivate leads to get to the next level (or stage in your lead funnel, in this case). Incentives don’t have to be massive. You could look at something simple such as points that tie into your loyalty programme. You could also look at offering rewards for filling in additional forms within your lead nurturing sign-up. You could offer rewards for referrals as well.
To make this work, it is best to offer incentives that your audience will actually want to earn. Overly vague rewards or incentives that are too broad may not have the same impact. If our home decorator were to have a chance of getting free paint samples or expert tips from an interior designer, they are very likely to want to complete a small task. If they are offered a gutter repair assessment, they may not be quite as interested.
Take Your Lead Generation Strategy to the Next Level
Gamification has many advantages, making it ideal as part of your multi-channel lead generation strategy. Letting your strategy stagnate can be one of the worst mistakes you could make. Looking at new ways to reach leads is always essential to ensure that your lead generation campaigns continue to stay fresh, year after year.