6 Benefits of an activity feed in your mobile game
Chances are you engage with several activity feeds a day. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. They are everywhere. How many countless hours have you spent scrolling down these feeds? We are naturally engaged with activity feeds.
However, it’s very uncommon to see activity feeds within mobile games. If activity feeds are known to increase engagement, retention and even revenues within apps, why not add one to your mobile game? Here are six benefits of having an activity feed in your game…
1. It increases player engagement
When a player has spent a good twenty minutes trying to pass a difficult level, this is generally the time when a player will close the game. However this can be avoided, take Adventure Smash for example. When their players are stuck on a level, they tend to open the game’s activity feed where they post statuses and connect with other players before returning to that difficult level again.
2. It’s a great way for developers to communicate with players
Players love to express their frustrations and brag about their wins. Unfortunately, the stranger sitting next to you on the bus does not care. That’s why the activity feed makes a perfect place for developers to comment on players posts with tips, encouragement and merit. Your players voices are finally heard!
3. It helps build communities
Sometimes, players don’t need their friends to play their favorite game with them. They just want to feel like they are not alone and can interact with like-minded players. Activity feeds help build communities by allowing players to communicate with one another. The most frequent post we see on game activity feeds are “Help, I’m stuck on level XX”, all of a sudden a community is formed as players reach out and offer their helping hand and tips.
4. It triggers push notifications, bringing players back for more
Players are more likely to react to a social push notification rather than a “come back and play” notification. When a player’s post is commented or liked, they’ll receive a friendlier push notification saying that friend John Doe commented on his post, enticing them to return to the game and continue the community engagement.
5. It will reduce negative app store ratings
This is one you probably didn’t expect. The truth of the matter is that players are lazy, and it’s never a smooth process to give appstore reviews. “Since implementing an activity feed into our game we have noticed a decrease in negative ratings”. Said by a GetSocial customer. Players would complain about crashes and bugs on the activity feed instead rather through the app store. These comments on the activity feed became invaluable for this developer’s games as they made it their number one priority to fix them
6. It offers innovative ways to increase revenues
Which players like to be interrupted by a full screen popup mid-way through gameplay? Finding non-obtrusive but effective tactics to increase revenue can be challenging. Activity feeds provide new real estate for the developer to post relevant activities. For example, a developer can promote in-app items such as “Today only, buy 100 gold coins for $1”. Not only can you promote your in-app items, but you can use the activity feed to cross-promote your other titles. Non-obtrusive advertising heaven!
Activity feeds are easy to integrate and you can get started by downloading GetSocial’s SDK. What’s in it for you? A fully customisable Activity feed, that will match your game’s look-n-feel and will also provide you with community management tools. Try it out!
Originally published at blog.getsocial.im.
