User Growth Formula: Pinduoduo’s Growth Game Thinking

Nowadays, we can often see some gamification settings on many platforms, such as the common Alipay Ant Forest, Pinduoduo's variety of fruits, etc. These are all based on gamification thinking. Games can tap the tremendous spiritual power brought by fun.

"It's fun, this is quite interesting" is the most successful recognition of a game or activity.

Nowadays, we live in an age of gamification, but we who are in the middle of it have not noticed it at all; gamification thinking has already penetrated into every aspect of our lives. When we are eating, shopping, traveling, or even educating our children, these seemingly impermanent scenes actually involve the application of gamification thinking.

Playing games has always been a form of entertainment that people never tire of. In the game world, you can experience all kinds of instant feedback, establish social relationships with strangers, and form teams at will; you can use various props effects to repel and kill enemies, so that you can pass levels smoothly, win growth and feedback, and enjoy the happy experience that the game brings.

In addition, various reward mechanisms have been set up in the game, allowing you to feel the satisfaction of "completing a task" and the positive feedback of "I am gradually becoming stronger" during the experience.

When we are immersed in the world of games, the most obvious manifestation is the "flow" feature. We will find that time passes very quickly and unconsciously, and this behavior is what psychologists call "flow" . Although flow only comes from games, it is not limited to games, but also exists in many other scenarios. For example, when we work seriously, we find that time goes by very quickly; when we read seriously, time passes very quickly; when we eat quietly, we find that time passes by in a trance.

In Internet products, gaming thinking is infinitely magnified, and every aspect of your experience is attracting you into the infinite gaming black hole.

01 Think about a question, why do we need to set a like button in the comment section?

When you contribute content but no one pays attention to it, does your motivation to contribute change from being full of energy at the beginning to gradually doubting your own creative ability, and thus starting to become lazy? In the end, they will begin to question their own abilities and may even leave the platform and stop posting any content.

If a like button is added below the content, a positive feedback mechanism will be formed, in which the created content is evaluated. The number of likes determines the popularity of the content, and also represents the popularity of the content. Under such a feedback mechanism, creators will be more willing to produce content, while also expecting the like rate of their content to "change with each passing day." In such a cycle, the model of gaming thinking will be produced.

WeChat’s reading app was revised again some time ago, which also has wonderful meanings. WeChat’s reading app has been revised several times in succession, from the initial “like” to “good-looking”, and then upgraded to “reading” from “good-looking”.

In the early days, the number of likes and the number of readings were synchronized. Likes were just encouragement for the content being really great. Later, after WeChat launched the "Take a Look" function, it also launched "Haokan". The revision of the function at that time may have been to focus the content on the "Take a Look" product; based on acquaintances and the six degrees of social connection rule, content distribution and recommendation were done.

As the number of subscription accounts and authors continues to increase, the amount of reading is decreasing. This function may change the status quo, but this step cannot trigger the fun of gamification thinking.

When "good-looking" changes to "reading", the mood of expression will also change. "Reading" tends to emphasize that the user is reading and what he is reading at the moment. This can effectively release the psychological pressure of users when they click "reading" and increase the possibility of users clicking, which will bring three benefits: activating articles; activating reading; activating users - this is like satisfying the user's desire to show off and the social gaming thinking attribute.

02 Pinduoduo’s growth-oriented gaming thinking

Pinduoduo is one of the most discussed products in the past two years, whether in the venture capital circle, marketing circle, or operation circle; keywords such as hundreds of billions of subsidies, counterfeit goods, cheapness, and fission are also the hottest topics. Pinduoduo was able to rise rapidly and surpass JD.com in a short period of time to become the top player in the e-commerce category. All this lies in the growth formula of gamification thinking.

The rise of Pinduoduo has led to the success of fission methods such as group buying and Kanyidao. Since then, all social networks and friend circles have seen a high frequency of various links and various ways of asking others to "cut" their products, and everyone has been tirelessly enjoying the feedback from Kanyidao.

Mass invitations, random bargaining amounts, and feedback on reaching the target like a progress bar will trigger a large-scale fission effect.

When you invite your friends to bargain with you, you don’t know how much you can bargain for with the next cut. The random reduction in the amount makes your sweat glands tense with every bargaining. You are always looking forward to the increase in the next amount and always paying attention to the progress bar towards reaching the goal. This uncertainty makes your mood fluctuate and you are deeply immersed in the sense of participation. Only when you reach the target requirements can you get the prize for the level.

In the bargaining method on Pinduoduo, the game thinking used includes: clearly wanting a prize = prize, inviting friends to bargain = cooperation, activity progress = feedback, continuing to invite = rounds, getting a prize = feedback, winning or losing.

If you want to organize or split a successful event, you must first clarify the target rewards of the event, the progress of the event feedback, and how to enhance and stimulate event participation.

For example: if you invite others to bargain successfully, you can get a free laptop, and if you successfully bargain, you can get an 800 yuan discount immediately; use visual effects or other notification methods to inform the current progress of the activity; if the task is stuck or the user participation is not high, you should remind the user of the skills to participate, or provide ranking incentives for the overall participants.

03 Applying this fission method will quickly lead you to the shortcut.

Gamified thinking is composed of many different system pillars, such as challenge, competition, cooperation, feedback, acquisition, transaction, rounds, victory and defeat, simulated props, rules, and strategic skills .

Among the rules described above, many modular functions have appeared in the products we have experienced in the past, causing changes in our inner fluctuations; such as the mixed feelings caused by waiting for flash sales, the addiction-triggered mechanisms such as always wanting to check Douyin and post on Weibo when having nothing to do; and the timely feedback rewards for instant discounts when finding others to join a group purchase, etc., which are all manifestations of our deep involvement in gamification thinking.

04 The ranking method is enduring

Behind every successful gaming product, there will be phenomenal dissemination, just like Tencent’s gaming products in recent years, such as Honor of Kings, PUBG Mobile and other games; the reason why these products can be successful is that they all have a certain “routine” gaming thinking formula; the random matching and team formation within the game, the upgrade of proficient skills and equipment over time, the linear feedback growth mechanism, and the hard-earned victory.

Reduce the difficulty of early participation and increase the fun of early participation. It should be easy but not boring. If you can retain users within one round or within 3 minutes, users will be retained for a long time.

The reason why those who continue to enjoy it and persist in it day and night and are active in the game is actually relying on the in-game rankings: gold, platinum, diamond, and king.

Wherever there are rankings, there will be competition, and now, rankings are sweeping all Internet products; for example, we often see airline mileage, annual taxi fares, listening time and songs, number of Starbucks stars, etc.; there are shadows of rankings in these products. Although there is no strong social relationship in these software, this method is the best way to keep users active and give them identity symbols.

05 Random fission red envelope

In the process of splitting the game, we are familiar with the random dropping of props and the random feedback that always brings unexpected joy to people; applying randomness to growth will make your fission and activity more interesting.

The most successful example of random feedback is WeChat red envelopes.

WeChat red envelopes are no stranger to everyone. Before promoting its own payment system, WeChat made precise use of the right time, place and people.

In 2015, WeChat cooperated with CCTV Spring Festival Gala and distributed red envelopes to the audience watching the Spring Festival Gala through the shaking method. The red envelopes issued by the shaking method were random, and the amounts of the red envelopes varied. It was precisely because of the randomness that WeChat Pay became famous overnight. Now, the red envelope grabbing in the community is also random, with red envelopes of different amounts and the one with the best luck. These are all pushing the activity and atmosphere to the top.

Among the other random cases, they are taxi-hailing platforms, such as Didi, Kuaidi and the life group buying platforms at that time, such as Meituan, Ele.me, Koubei and other platforms that randomly provide a series of discount coupons, cash coupons, etc.; if I remember correctly, Didi is like the "ancestor" of the red envelope game. After the Didi payment is completed, a sharing link will be generated, which can be shared with friends or communities. Friends can randomly receive taxi red envelopes of varying amounts; by filling in the registered mobile phone number, you can receive random amounts of varying amounts (you can also receive it yourself) and use it as a discount coupon the next time you take a taxi.

It is precisely by relying on this random method that the deduction red envelopes can generate benefits, drive user registration, increase the frequency of taxi rides, and boost operational data; in the subsequent process, various takeaway restaurants and group buying platforms all adopt this method. After payment, you can share the page to randomly get a deduction red envelope.

06 Definition of Gameplay

Gameplay, or playability, is a term for electronic games that reflects the impact of all the inherent components of a game on the player experience; components can include game rules, interaction between the game and the player, the challenge of the game and the difficulty of passing the game, that is, "what the player can do"; in general, high gameplay means that players have a variety of things to do.

French sociologist Roger Kairos defines games in his book Lesjeux et les hommes as activities with the following characteristics:

• Fun: Games have a relaxing quality
• Independence: There is a special place and time
• Uncertainty: The outcome of an activity cannot be predicted
• Unproductive: Participants cannot receive substantial compensation
• Bound by rules: Games have their own rules, which are different from those in daily life
• Fiction: Participants know this is different from reality

07 The emergence of game thinking

Relax and read a novel, or play a few small games. Don’t say you don’t like it, and don’t say it’s a waste of time. Once you are immersed in it, review what you have seen and played, and think more about it, you will find it wonderful.

No matter it is a novel or a game, human nature is utilized to the fullest extent. You will naturally find yourself addicted, which is a very interesting thing. The success of a product absolutely caters to the masses and is interesting. Products with gamification thinking can produce more fun and drive higher growth.

Author: Post-95s Talking About Technology

Source: Post-95s Talking About Technology