How to improve the sign-in function and increase user stickiness?

One thing that people who work in operations love to talk about is "improving user stickiness," in other words, cultivating user habits. That is to let users develop a habit in the APP and gradually make it become natural. So how do we cultivate this habit?

The sign-in function is a good way to cultivate user habits. By signing in, users are attracted to open the APP every day. At the same time, embedding coupons, tasks, etc. in the sign-in function can also guide users to pay attention to new features recently launched on the APP.

Without further ado, let’s get to the point. Let’s first understand what the sign-in function is?

The sign-in function means that users "sign in" in the APP every day, indicating that the user opens or logs in to an APP and performs some operations on that day. Users can earn points, experience points, and redeem prizes by signing in, which is an effective added value for improving product experience and also increases product traffic . The greater the traffic, the higher the user activity. We usually use this indicator to measure the value of a product.

1. What are the benefits of the sign-in function?

When we design a certain function, we will think about what benefits this function can bring to our product from various levels. Below, we analyze from two levels: enterprise and user:

(1) Enterprises

On the one hand, it is to attract users at low cost, increase user stickiness, improve APP activity, and establish a good user system; on the other hand, it is to increase corporate revenue by rewarding users and motivating them to complete orders or product consumption behaviors.

(2) User

There are two main forms of profit: one is material rewards such as points, coupons, and gifts; the other is spiritual rewards such as the sense of honor and ceremony that comes with signing in.

2. What applications can the sign-in feature be used for?

Although the check-in function can effectively increase the number of times users use the app, not all apps are suitable for this function. So we can’t help but wonder, what products are the sign-in function suitable for?

(1) First, the newly released APP

When a new app is first launched, especially when its industry already has relatively strong competitors, the sign-in function can easily attract users to use the app, similar to the model of new user registration rewards.

(2) The second largest categories are content (novels, comics, information, etc.), e-commerce , and financial products.

These types of products attract users through content. Before users become loyal users, they can attract users through sign-ins and cultivate user habits.

In contrast, tool , antivirus and weather apps mostly complete their tasks in the background and mainly play a supporting role in users' lives. Users do not have repeated demands for such products, and over-emphasizing their presence may instead cause users to be bored.

3. What are the ways to play the sign-in game?

3.1 Psychological satisfaction

(1) NetEase Cloud Music “Music Signature”

NetEase Cloud Music’s sign-in system is very thoughtful, making users feel that they are not signing in just for the sake of signing in, because it displays a literary sentence on the daily sign-in page and recommends a song. Hezijun thinks this satisfies the bigger needs of some literary young people. Facts have proved that the effect of NetEase Cloud Music Signing is quite good. Many users said that they came to sign in just for the daily sign-in.

(2) Check in on Weibo Super Topic

The built-in check-in function of Weibo's super topics is usually more active under celebrity-related super topics, and the attributes used are manual continuous infinite cycle rewards: experience points and consecutive days.

The sign-in function of Weibo Super Topic is a really pleasing design for the fan group. Completing consecutive sign-ins not only proves one's love for the idol, but also creates a sense of identity among the same fan group. The psychological happiness and satisfaction are self-evident.

As long as you are still interested in your idol, Weibo can use the check-in function to keep you in the super topic, greatly improving user activity and stimulating the next-day retention rate . At the same time, the penalty of having your visa cancelled here is not unacceptable to you. After all, you can spend money to buy a visa replacement card. It is natural to recharge for love, isn't it?

3.2 Product-driven operations

The sign-in function is mostly combined with operational activities to attract traffic to the activities. At the same time, after signing in and getting rewards, users will feel that they can get other benefits, which will attract users to sign in continuously.

(1) Keep sports sign-in

After the user completes a training session, the APP will provide data analysis for this training session and prompt the user to share. If the user only shares to the Keep community, a page will continue to pop up, asking the user whether to share to other social platforms. At the same time, you can add topics initiated by operators to complete the clock-in.

This method of checking in by generating content can further activate users, boost the atmosphere of the entire community , and allow users to interact and produce content in this circle. Moreover, when other users open the community, they see that people around them are so persistent and they should not give up. It is this kind of psychological suggestion that motivates users. Fitness requires encouragement from others.

(2) NetEase Wugu’s “1 hour of free reading every day”

NetEase Wugou itself does not have a sign-in function, but it has a built-in "sign-in" feature. This is mainly due to the "1 hour of free reading every day" activity launched by the APP. Paid reading is required after this time. In this fragmented age, most people read for less than an hour a day.

Therefore, NetEase Wugu’s “free” reading product, which allows users to get 1 hour of free time by logging in, is the “sign-in function” of this product, which attracts many users to log in on their own every day.

This is what is called product-driven operation. The product itself has the genes to make you sign in every day. However, the prerequisite is that the product can meet one of your needs well and the user experience must be good, otherwise the built-in sign-in gene is worthless.

3.3 Combined Points System

It can be combined with the APP's own points system, and users can get more points by signing in. The points earned by signing in can be used to deduct cash coupons in other shopping malls. Stimulate users' motivation to sign in and guide them to sign in for a long time.

(1) UMeng "Sign-in Reward"

The sign-in activity of the Youmeng APP is in the form of a sign-in entrance that jumps out directly from the APP homepage and is displayed to users as the APP homepage entrance, which greatly improves the sign-in rate. Enter the sign-in page to display the number of days the user has signed in and list the rewards available for signing in, thereby increasing the user's sign-in activity. Users can also redeem points earned by signing in for items or discounts within the APP, making points more valuable to users.

(2) 36Kr "Morning Reading Check-in"

36Kr’s morning reading check-in function provides novel and interesting activities. Users pay one yuan and put it into the morning reading bonus pool to participate in the check-in. If they check in within the specified time the next day, they can randomly share the bonus in the bonus pool. The accumulated points can also be used in the points mall. This is the most interesting check-in function I have seen so far. It has a low threshold, is innovative, and interesting. It cultivates users' good habit of getting up early and checking in, while also cultivating users' habit of using the product.

(3) Meiyu “Yuzu Street”

Users can sign in at Youzi Street and get 1 point of Youzi coin for signing in every day. On the 7th day, they can get 4 points, which can be directly exchanged for goods.

Gaining points by signing in brings traffic and activity, allowing users to earn points, and the points can be converted into benefits. While highlighting the points earned by signing in, we also guide other ways to earn points, thereby boosting the activity of other functions. A closed loop has been formed of sign-in - points acquisition - points consumption - function activation - points acquisition.

3.4 Summary

The existence of the check-in function can not only increase user activity, but also stimulate users to complete specified behaviors, discover the value of the APP, and become loyal users of the APP. Why don't you try signing in? Don’t worry about not having experience in sign-in operations , because there is an APP event operation tool - Event Box to help you. It not only provides free check-in activity templates, but also has a series of activity settings, such as triggering behavior SDK tracking (the check-in entrance that pops up on the UMeng homepage), which provides a one-stop solution to the pain points of operators who have no resources and energy.

4. What kind of sign-in is a good sign-in?

(1) Taking advantage of people’s vanity and desire to show off

By checking in, users can develop something to show off, such as the cumulative number of check-in days, or the number of times exceeding others. Only after users have a sense of accomplishment will they share their achievements, which will ultimately bring new value to the product.

(2) Utilize social circles

By stimulating social relationships, friends can supervise and encourage each other, forming a check-in atmosphere, and ultimately helping users form a check-in habit.

(3) Satisfying user interests

It is recommended to increase rewards at different check-in nodes to stimulate users. For example, the reward value can be increased at 3, 7, and 14 days, and there can be special rewards on the last day.

(4) The design of the sign-in page should be simple and clear

The key to developing habits lies in simple operation and simple understanding.

Summarize

For the product itself, sign-in is a function that uses a sense of ritual to increase users' willingness to open products or functional modules. It may not determine the quality or life or death of a product, but if you use it well, it can definitely add icing on the cake for the APP.