Something got you here. But how do I pull you in? What can I do to make you read further? That should be the most important question people should ask themselves regarding to Gamification and many other area’s for that matter. Get noticed, that’s what the first step is all about. That is a huge challenge, because we have less than 10 seconds before a visitor decides to board. At this point I am already exceeding the 10 seconds limit. Everything I am writing from now on doesn’t influence the decision of you, “the visitor”, to stay. That decision is already made a couple of seconds before, within what I like to call: “the golden seconds!”

What you present, tell or do within these seconds is of utmost importance. It is the first step to get you on board. Without getting your attention, everything else I want to tell you has become useless. Obvious? Yes, it is! Probably so obvious that it is neglected in many cases. From now on, don’t neglect it. Take the challenge and make an appealing appearance.

How to get noticed

 There is no recipe that suits all needs. Every situation is different and you’ll always have  competition. This makes the challenge even bigger. In the gaming industry competition is killing. Every month hundreds of casual games are released and game developers need their game to stand out. No matter what! That pressure forces them to be original. The icon, the intro screen, the characters people see first and the intro text are made with care and tested before launching the game. It has to be original but not too exotic or the target audience might not like it. It is a delicate process.

Now back to Gamification. Getting noticed is the first step. How to accomplish that? First ask yourself the question: “Why do I want attention?” The why in this question makes you think broader, you will automatically narrow it down to your specific need. But the “why” will first take you back a few steps, which creates a nice overview. You want something to be noticed with a particular goal in mind. In this case I want people to read this post to create awareness for my site. I am using words to get noticed and need to find a matching image to get even more attention as soon as I have done my writing. This approach is accepted by the majority of people for a post. The title is one of the most important parts of this post. Hope mine will stand out. When you want your website noticed, try to think like a game developer. Use elements that fits your needs. Might be text, photo’s, video, mechanics, the overall look and feel, or a combination of these elements. It depends on the organization you represent. Originality is appreciated, be careful however, overdoing it might scare visitors of, because they don’t get it. It is a thin line! Try adding fun stuff into your experience. There is one huge advantage, with an online presence there is always a second chance. Allow yourself to fail. A big tip if you don’t know how to start. Just step back and think about the qualities your organization has. Are those presented correctly within the site? Do you see, in a split second, what your company stands for. Probably not. Now think carefully what would be the best way to change that for the better, without losing track of your goal. Allow yourself to be open about it, tell people how it is.

If you do a good job, you will turn those first seconds into real gold!

I intend to make a series of posts within the same context as this one. Taking my readers step by step through several Gamification phases.

Sharing your thought with me is much appreciated.