How To Gamify Your App Using Firebase

How to Gamify Push Notifications to Increase App User Retention

No gamification in your app? No problem — Use recurring notifications in Firebase Cloud Messaging.

Day 1 user retention is one of the most important metrics for app marketers. It's also one of the most important days for an app user. Whatever happens in the first moments of an app can dictate whether a user sticks around long-term. So how can we make things better for the user and for our stakeholders on Day 1? The answer is gamification.

Apps that don't use some method of g a mification are missing out on possible revenue and giving users a poor experience. Most gaming apps inherently come with a reward driven experience. But I want to encourage those non-gaming apps to make use of this completely free method of adding gamification. You don't need to get a developer and set up a complex database with user profiles or track progress, or design badges. Even non-gaming apps can implement gamification in a way that is engaging for users by making use of notifications.

Using a notification and some built-in data on day 1 can increase engagement and keep users active.

Most app retention charts look similar, day 1 has the highest retention rate and then drops a little each day. Unless it's seasonal content, the retention will hopefully come to a level plateau eventually so the users didn't leave the app completely. So if retention drops a little over time, this means that the higher your day 1 retention rate, there is a better likelihood of having a higher retention rate overall. Using a notification and some built-in data on day 1 can increase engagement and keep users active.

Gamification Explained (+5 points)

To "gamify" something is to use elements found in actual games within non-game environments. Sports and arcade games have points and rewards that add to the experience. The same elements can be included in placements that have no competition to encourage a similar sense of satisfaction.

Example of Gamification (+25 points)

One of my favorite apps that uses the gamification method in a clear way is Duolingo. Beyond the great owl character and a countless number of designed badges, they have a simple points system. Using the app earns you points, XP is what they call it. The points have absolutely no real world value. You can't take your Duolingo points to the bank and trade them for money. The points only serve to satisfy a feeling of accomplishment within the app.

Duolingo also backs up their gamified points system with recurring notifications. When you meet certain goals, you can get a notification to celebrate. Some users may find these notifications annoying, while others may find them encouraging. The goal of a points notification is to communicate with users in a helpful manner. In a sense we are saying, "Hey, we are happy for you." But this also means there is opportunity to raise the lifetime value and keep the stakeholders happy as well.

So that's one way to use gamification. But I want to share a way that doesn't involve as much work as Duolingo, and it immediately increased my own app's day 1 retention by 5%. It's all starts with using the free platform by Google, Firebase.

Firebase is Free and Easy to Implement (+40 points)

Firebase is a free MMP (Mobile Measurement Platform) for web and app teams. Of course after a certain amount data is sent or received there are costs. But it is a lightweight and simple platform to integrate into any app with plenty of data-storage to get started. The out-of-the-box features such as Cloud Messaging, In-App Messaging, Machine Learning, Audiences, and Crashlytics, make this MMP stand out as a perfect analytics and engagement solution when compared to AppsFlyer or Adjust.

Illustration of two mobile devices and user profile avatars.

https://firebase.google.com/use-cases

Each Firebase "product" such as Cloud Messaging, or In-App Messaging is easily added by loading a single library to the app. Once the core Firebase SDK has been added, new libraries can be included at any time to start using more of Firebase.

In fact many app teams I talk with have been using Firebase Crashlytics, but no other Firebase features. This ease of implementing new features means it only takes minutes to start engaging users with tailored notifications and increase retention.

The benefit of setting up these gamified notifications in the Firebase platform is so that they can be easily changed without the need of a developer.

The Cloud Messaging platform already comes packed with default metrics to target users with notifications. We know we need to increase day 1 user retention, so we will select "First open" is "less than" 1 day(s) ago. Then schedule them in the next step, you can select a daily recurring send to eligible users. Now we can begin to craft a welcome message that required no programming by a developer.

Screenshot of the targeting step in the Firebase platform for messaging. — Screenshot of the Firebase Messaging Platform

"First open" is only one of the default options to choose from. I prefer to select a combination of "First open" and "Last app engagement" to build a series of notifications based on the user's time and use of the app. The benefit of setting up these gamified notifications in the Firebase platform is so that they can be easily changed without the need of a developer.

As I shared before, Duolingo has notifications like these already programmed into the app. But if they wanted to make a change to the messaging, it is likely they would need a developer to work the code, release a new app version, then wait for users to update. Gamification can happen in an agile environment and without the need for programming.

For Realistic Proof, Here is My Data (+30 points)

It was a recent priority of my team to increase day 1 user retention. But our developers needed to work on bigger priorities at the time. So I turned to recurring notifications to help increase our retention rate. The app I am using in this example is not a gaming app, it's within the book, reference, and lifestyle categories. It has notifications programmed into the app for users to select as reading reminders, but no welcome series or gamification.

If a user of this app were to have any notifications at all, it would have been related to the specific choice they made to receive a reading reminder type of push notification. Within the first week of this new gamification campaign, I did a few tests of messaging to see what got the best open rate, and eventually settled on essentially this,

Way to go! You have 1 day in [app name]. Now check out today's [content]!

I also started including a green check-mark notification image. By the way, you can host images free in Firebase storage up to a certain amount of space. Plenty of storage room for a couple notification images to further test user engagement with a series such as this.

So here are some results of the first two weeks of gamified push notifications.

Chart graph of data, showing one line growing over the other line.

The chart shows the retention rate of users for two weeks in a month without gamified push notifications (in blue). Then the same two weeks in the following month include the gamified notifications (in red). Before the inclusion of gamification, there was an average day 1 retention rate of 27%. After gamified notifications were included, the day 1 retention rate increased to 32%.

Try to lay aside biases that make you think things like, "Wow, only a 30% retention rate on day 1. That's awful." Let's focus on the fact that retention on day 1 was increased by 5% with a completely free platform and can now be edited at any time without the need of a new app version or a developer. Users are in the app more, and stakeholders are pleased to see growth.

Well done! You Made It to the End! (BONUS +20 points)

My reward to you! If you have read this far you should have racked up some points from each section.

+120 Points!

Increasing app retention doesn't have to be a complicated puzzle to solve. It doesn't need to happen with a team of designers, developers, or marketers. You just need to look at the tools you have in hand, and find a way to get the job done. App marketing involves thinking critically and sometimes you may not be able to make the best choice. But it could still be the right choice, especially if it works.

I demonstrated Firebase in my example, however this method can be done with many MMP's and messaging platforms that work with apps. I encourage you to try and beat your previous retention rates with some tailored gamified notifications.

Even if you're already doing these things or you will pass on the advice. Don't you feel at least some tiny sense of accomplishment for finishing this article? After all, you have 120 points that most people do not ;)