yazino ice: 5 lessons for building a social games business
DESCRIPTION
Real-world lessons in using social channels to attract, engage and retain users. Presented by Hussein Chahine at the ICE conference in London on January 26, 2012.TRANSCRIPT
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5 LESSONS FOR BUILDING A SOCIAL GAMES BUSINESSReal-world lessons in using social channels to attract, engage and retain users
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Hussein ChahineJanuary 26, 2012
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ImmediateReal-time synchronous social games
Cross-platformGlobal, instant, and accessible to play anytime, anywhere at the flick of a button (web and mobile)
IntimateCloser to people than anybody else
Invite and play with friends Meet new, like-minded people In-game chat and mentoring Create private tables and challenge in tournaments
INTRODUCING YAZINO
We call this in-sync gaming
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If Nintendo Wii was... Free Global On your computer or phone Anytime, anywhere Instant & bite-size
AN ANALOGY
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LESSON ONE: BUILDING BUZZ AND FANS
Communication should be topical and relevant to encourage activity
Ask for interactions that generate news stories: likes, shares, comments, sends. These boost reach and page impressions which create awareness and social influence
Allow fans to openly comment and interact
Combine traditional CRM with social media. Like-gated Facebook landing tabs grow fans quickly
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LESSON TWO: CREATING SOCIAL CONTEXT
Make use of the sense of belonging that communities inspire
Building a high degree of social context creates a much stronger intrinsic motivation in players and increases retention
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LESSON THREE: CHOOSING THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB
Define the role of each channel. Facebook users are different to Twitter users, who are different to Google+ users
We are building Yazino.com as a social channel in its own right
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LESSON FOUR: THE SOCIAL FEEDBACK LOOP
Communities are about two-way interaction. It’s not enough to just talk–social businesses need to listen
Leverage the community to develop existing and new products
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LESSON FIVE: ENGAGEMENT LEADS TO RETENTION
Creating a sense of belonging and status over time is an essential part of driving engagement
Reward investment in the community through product and social features: incentivised progress bar, avatar, leaderboards, achievements and chip bonuses
The power of recommendation is everything when creating a social destination
30% play for more than 6 hours
20% play for more than 16 hours
10% play for more than 31 hours
5% play for more than 46 hours
1% play for more than 72 hours
(per week)
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A STRONG COMMUNITY CREATES VALUE
By focusing on motivation a sense of belonging through positive game design, Yazino players play for longer and spend more
$0.30 $1 $1.50
Monthly ARPU for an average
performing social game on Facebook
Monthly ARPU for a high performing social game on
Monthly ARPU for a Yazino player
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SECRET SAUCE FOR A SUCCESSFUL SOCIAL GAMING BUSINESS
Advertising cost
Virality is dying
More acquisition channels
Relevance gives virality
Relatedness
Lack of brand loyalty creates churn
Loyalty to friends and community Reduced churn
Relatedness
Less emotional engagement
Heightened emotional
engagement Live experience
Mastery Autonomy
Reduced motivation Greater motivation driven by live play
Mastery Autonomy
Business Challenge Business Goal Asynchronous Synchronous Need Satisfaction
AcquisitionNo. of players
Cost per player
Retention Churn rate
Engagement Playtime
Monetisation Revenue
