metrics for social games

metrics for social gamesdavid kinggreen patch

siqi chenserious business

metrics are a force multiplierbut you need to have something to multiply!

can’t replace a good product

can’t replace creativity, art, design

can’t replace qualitative metrics (user sentiment, net promoter score, etc)

the business of social games

(life time value - user acquisition cost) X scale = profit*

* these variables are not independent

user acquisition costsvirality, retention, cross promotion, marketing etc

life time valueretention, quality, flow, mechanics, theme, payments, etc

3 ‘A’s of metrics

actionable, accessible, auditable

actionable

build a framework for experimentation, not vanity

emphasis on split testing and actionable insights

accessibleon demand experimentation capabilities

timely, transparent and accessible reporting

separate metrics infrastructure as much as possible

auditablesanity check against other data sources: db, google analytics, facebook

why companies are metrics focusedsimple math: linear improvements yield non-linear results

k = (infection rate) * (conversion rate) [summed across all channels]

VisitProduct quality

New user experienceSocial proof (friends)

Key Metric: activation rate

Activation

InfectionInvite flowsRetention

Call to actionsGame mechanicsSelf expresssionAllocation tuning

Key Metric: infection rate

Conversion Copy writing

Persuasion psychologyDemographic targeting

Key Metric: click through rate

Revenue

the “viral loop”

virality discounts user acquisition costs (potentially, down to $0)

user acquisition:

user acquisition cost:

user acquisition cost discount:

infection rateviral flows, calls to action, product quality, game mechanics, allocation tuning

conversion ratecopy writing, persuasion mechanics/psychology, demographic targeting

viral channelsrequests, notifications, feed forms, email, profile box, share link, email, app tab, etc.

brief overview of facebook rpgs

metrics can help with game flowthis affects retention, virality, and everything else

metrics can help with revenuegain actionable insights on virtual goods behavior

that’s it. questions?