Gamification and Brand Engagement on Facebook: An Exploratory Case Study

In recent years organizations have recognized the indirect value customers add to a brand through their engagement online in word of mouth, product ideas, and increased interactions with the business and other consumers. This has sparked a focus on methods for increasing this customer value by encouraging brand engagement on social media. One method increasingly used to encourage brand engagement is the use of game elements, or gamification. Despite its popularity, the majority of gamification strategies fail. Our research investigates the use and efficacy of gamification elements (challenge, curiosity, fantasy, and control) by organizations in their efforts to promote brand engagement on social media. We find that although gamification elements in general are associated with greater brand engagement, a successful social media strategy will carefully consider the type of elements they use in order to achieve the highest value.