Gamification Overview - HL Vanilla Community
<main> <article class="userContent"> <p><strong>Gamification </strong>is a simple and effective way to increase brand loyalty and foster engagement. <strong>Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla) </strong>features a points-based reward system that incentivizes users to engage with others in the community by receiving points for performing various actions.</p><ul><li>These points are then used to reward users in a number of ways, each of which is outlined in the <strong>Gamification features</strong> section below.</li></ul><h2 data-id="benefits-of-community-gamification">Benefits of community gamification</h2><p>Gamification can help support your community goals by building <strong>brand</strong> <strong>loyalty</strong>, encouraging <strong>participation</strong>, and driving <strong>engagement</strong>.</p><p><strong>Brand loyalty</strong> is nurtured when a brand successfully develops an emotional connection with its customers: when customers feel emotionally connected to a brand, they’re more likely to stick with it, even as other factors may otherwise drive them to explore other options.</p><p>Four key emotions that evoke brand loyalty are:</p><ul><li><strong>Feelings of belonging</strong>: The person feels as though they are part of something larger and that they belong, are accepted and are not alone.</li><li><strong>Feeling of importance</strong>: The person feels as though they can contribute as a member of the social circle and have a voice. They feel as though they matter.</li><li><strong>Feeling of security</strong>: The person feels safe being connected to other like-minded individuals and doesn’t have to worry about being judged.</li><li><strong>Feeling of happiness</strong>: Last but not least is the feeling of happiness that comes with social connectivity due to the positive emotions noted above.</li></ul><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Learn why establishing a social connection with your customers can keep them invested in your brand and transform them into loyal, long-term fans.\n\n","photoUrl":"https:\/\/blog.vanillaforums.com\/hubfs\/May%202019%20%281%29-1.png#keepProtocol","url":"https:\/\/blog.vanillaforums.com\/how-social-connectivity-increases-brand-loyalty","embedType":"link","name":"How Social Connectivity Increases Brand Loyalty"}"> <a href="https://blog.vanillaforums.com/how-social-connectivity-increases-brand-loyalty" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://blog.vanillaforums.com/how-social-connectivity-increases-brand-loyalty </a> </div><p>Gamification directly impacts community <strong>participation</strong> since it gives users a <em>reason</em> to participate. Including game elements in a community acts as incentive to participate since it provides people with the opportunity to earn points, badges, etc.</p><p>It’s one thing to <em>participate </em>in a community, but it’s another to be <em>engaged</em>. <strong>Engagement</strong> is when a person participates in a meaningful way <em>over a long period of time</em>. One way to establish customer engagement in your community is by strategically implementing a gamification system that encourages participation.</p><p>In addition to these other elements, gamification boosts community engagement because it taps into one of humanity's most primitive ideals: the desire to compete.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Learn the 3 steps involved in designing a community engagement plan that fits the unique needs of your members.","photoUrl":"https:\/\/blog.vanillaforums.com\/hubfs\/RIGHT%20SIZE%20%281%29-5.png#keepProtocol","url":"https:\/\/blog.vanillaforums.com\/customer-success-3-steps-to-design-a-community-engagement-plan","embedType":"link","name":"3 Steps to Design a Community Engagement Plan"}"> <a href="https://blog.vanillaforums.com/customer-success-3-steps-to-design-a-community-engagement-plan" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://blog.vanillaforums.com/customer-success-3-steps-to-design-a-community-engagement-plan </a> </div><h2 data-id="gamification-in-vanilla">Gamification in Vanilla</h2><p>Ready to get started with gamification in your Vanilla community? Check out:</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"What is Gamification and why is it valuable to your community? Vanilla's gamification and reputation system is more than just badges. Our reputation engine is used to promote good content, grant member abilities, and help automate moderation. Get started here! Reactions Reactions are one-click responses to discussions and…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/341","embedType":"link","name":"Gamification - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/341" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/341 </a> </div><h2 data-id="gamification-features">Gamification features</h2><p>Let's take a quick look at each of the elements of Vanilla's gamification system.</p><h3 data-id="points">Points</h3><p>Members can earn points by answering questions, receiving positive reactions from their answers, unlocking achievements, earning badges, and other activities. You can choose how many points each action is worth in order to encourage the type of behavior that you want to see in the community.</p><h3 data-id="badges">Badges</h3><p>You can not only select from a variety of default, out-of-the-box badges but also create your own custom badges.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Higher Logic Vanilla (Vanilla) Badges are a great way to encourage and award desirable behaviours in users of a Vanilla community. Awarding a badge is not intended as an indicator of “the best.” Rather, badges should be one reward among many within a comprehensive gamification strategy that is designed to encourage…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/15","embedType":"link","name":"Badges - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/15" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/15 </a> </div><h3 data-id="reactions">Reactions</h3><p>Reactions are a feature that helps people build their reputation. With it, users can share how they feel about a post by giving it one of many reactions, such as Like, Agree, Disagree, and more.</p><p>While default reactions are available, administrators can customize this feature to suit the brand.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"What are reactions? Reactions are a 1-click response to discussions and comments. Using Reactions enables community members to indicate an emotional (“Awesome”, “LOL”) or empirical (“Agree”, “Vote Down”) response without typing a comment. This introduces feedback that is otherwise missing from a community when members…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/22","embedType":"link","name":"Reactions - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/22" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/22 </a> </div><h3 data-id="ranks">Ranks</h3><p>Ranks allow you to reward users for positive actions. By default, ranks are awarded based on points earned, but can be customized by time spent on the site, by a user's Role, and even a combination of these. Ranks can be used to limit abilities and/or reward members in your community based on Vanilla's reputation system.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"What is a Rank? A rank can be assigned to a user to grant or remove certain privileges on your forum. A rank is not the same as Roles & Permissions, which govern content access, moderation abilities, and administrator access. A user can only have one rank at a time. Typically, the user’s rank is displayed on their…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/21","embedType":"link","name":"Ranks - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/21" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/21 </a> </div><h3 data-id="leaderboards">Leaderboards</h3><p>Include a leaderboard that displays the names of the leaders and their points. With Vanilla, you’re able to have a leaderboard for “weekly” leaders, “daily” leaders, and “all-time” leaders.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Overview Leaderboards show how many points users got during the week, the month and\/or all-time. Users can earn points in a few different ways: Other users positively reacting to their posts Answering questions & having their answers accepted (if this option is enabled in Q&A settings) Receiving Badges Leaderboards are…","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/VWGAXAF5OFCO\/microsoftteams-image.png","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/91","embedType":"link","name":"Leaderboards - Vanilla Success"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/91" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/91 </a> </div><h2 data-id="gamification-strategies-article">Gamification strategies article</h2><p>Check out Vanilla's <em>A Strategic Guide to Community Gamification</em> for more great ideas on how to implement Gamification into your community.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"Everything you need to know about community gamification in 2019. Download your free ebook copy today.","photoUrl":"https:\/\/pages.vanillaforums.com\/hubfs\/Strategic%20Guide%20to%20Community%20Gamification.png#keepProtocol","url":"https:\/\/pages.vanillaforums.com\/guide-gamification-online-communities","embedType":"link","name":"A Strategic Guide to Community Gamification, 2019"}"> <a href="https://pages.vanillaforums.com/guide-gamification-online-communities" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://pages.vanillaforums.com/guide-gamification-online-communities </a> </div><h2 data-id="additional-resources">Additional resources</h2><p>Click the link below to access a video expanding on what you learned in this article.</p><div class="js-embed embedResponsive" data-embedjson="{"body":"For more information, please see:","photoUrl":"https:\/\/us.v-cdn.net\/6030677\/uploads\/GXW21TRYG1JP\/share-imagevanilla-community.jpg","url":"https:\/\/success.vanillaforums.com\/kb\/articles\/471","embedType":"link","name":"Gamification Overview [video] - HL Vanilla Community"}"> <a href="https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/471" rel="nofollow noreferrer ugc"> https://success.vanillaforums.com/kb/articles/471 </a> </div><p><br></p> </article> </main>