17 Examples of Gamification in Social Media Apps

This post is part of a series on how gamification mechanics are used effectively in various types of consumer apps. You may find these gamification examples helpful if you are looking to incorporate gamification into your product strategy.

Social Media Apps and the Role of Gamification

Social media apps are platforms facilitating communication, content sharing, and community building. They are interesting because they connect people globally, offer diverse perspectives, and provide avenues for self-expression. Gamification, using game-like elements, boosts engagement by offering rewards, challenges, and status indicators. These mechanics encourage consistent use and foster a sense of accomplishment, adding value by enhancing the user experience and creating a more compelling online environment. Now, without further ado, here are 17 social media apps that use gamification to create engaging user experiences.

17 Examples of Gamification in Social Media Apps

ClassDojo

ClassDojo connects teachers, students, and parents through a classroom management platform with points and rewards for positive behavior and participation.

ClassDojo uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Students receive points for positive behaviors and skills, such as teamwork, hard work, and participation. These points are customizable by the teacher.

• Badges: Teachers can award badges to students to recognize specific achievements, positive behaviors, or skills demonstrated in the classroom. These badges act as visual acknowledgements of student progress.

• Rewards: Teachers can give rewards to students using points that they earned.

Codecademy

Codecademy provides interactive coding lessons and uses points, badges, and projects to motivate users to learn programming languages.

Codecademy uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for completing lessons, exercises, and projects. The points contribute to their overall progress and can be a measure of their activity on the platform.

• Progress Bars: Codecademy uses progress bars to visually represent how much of a course or module a user has completed. This provides a clear sense of accomplishment as the user moves closer to finishing the content.

• Badges: Codecademy awards badges for completing courses, projects, or achieving certain milestones. These badges are displayed on a user's profile as a form of recognition.

• Streaks: Codecademy uses Streaks to motivate users to learn every day. The app tracks the number of consecutive days a user spends learning and encourages them to maintain their streak.

• Levels: As users accumulate points and complete courses, they advance through levels that reflect their proficiency. Higher levels often unlock access to more advanced content or features.

Dribbble

Dribbble uses a system of invites and showcases to gamify the process of sharing design work and getting feedback, fostering a competitive creative community.

Dribbble uses the following gamification features:

• Rewards: Dribbble uses a 'Like' or 'Appreciate' system represented by a heart icon. Users can 'Appreciate' shots they find inspiring or well-designed. This serves as a form of positive reinforcement and a simple reward for creators.

• Progress Bars: Dribbble showcases the number of views, likes ('appreciations'), and comments a shot receives. This provides a public display of a shot's popularity and engagement, which can motivate designers to create more appealing and engaging content.

Duolingo

Duolingo is a language-learning platform that uses gamification to motivate users to learn new languages through points, levels, and streaks.

Duolingo uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn experience points (XP) for completing lessons and activities. These points contribute to their daily progress and ranking on leaderboards.

• Progress Bars: Duolingo uses a progress bar to visually represent a user's advancement within a lesson or course, indicating how close they are to completion.

• Challenges: Duolingo offers daily or monthly challenges to encourage consistent learning and engagement. Completing challenges often yields rewards.

• Streaks: Users maintain streaks by using the app daily. Duolingo visually represents these streaks and rewards users for maintaining them.

• Leaderboards: Duolingo has implemented a league system where users are placed in leaderboards with other learners and compete for top positions by earning XP.

• Achievements: Users can earn achievements and badges for completing various tasks and milestones within the app, such as completing a course or reaching a certain streak length.

Fitbit

Fitbit tracks activity levels and offers badges and challenges to motivate users to reach fitness goals.

Fitbit uses the following gamification features:

• Badges: Fitbit awards badges for various achievements, such as reaching step goals, climbing a certain number of floors, or maintaining activity streaks. These badges provide a sense of accomplishment and encourage users to continue engaging with the platform.

• Challenges: Fitbit uses challenges to motivate users to be more active. Challenges can be solo or group-based and often involve competing with friends or other Fitbit users to reach a certain step goal or activity level within a specific timeframe.

• Leaderboards: Fitbit allows users to form groups and compete on leaderboards based on daily step count or other metrics. This fosters a sense of competition and encourages users to increase their activity levels to climb the ranks.

• Streaks: Fitbit tracks streaks for consecutive days of meeting step goals or activity targets. Maintaining a streak provides a sense of accomplishment and motivates users to stay consistent with their fitness habits.

• Progress Bars: Fitbit uses progress bars to visually represent a user's progress towards their daily goals for steps, distance, active minutes, and sleep. These progress bars provide immediate feedback and encourage users to complete their goals.

Forest

Forest is a productivity app that helps users stay focused by planting virtual trees that grow while they avoid using their phones.

Forest uses the following gamification features:

• Rewards: Users earn virtual coins for successfully growing trees by staying focused. These coins can be used to plant real trees through Forest's partnership with Trees for the Future.

• Streaks: The app tracks how many days in a row you have successfully planted trees. Maintaining a longer streak increases your in-app rewards and signifies consistent focus habits.

• Achievements: Users unlock different types of trees to plant as they use the app, adding a collection aspect to the focus timer.

Habitica

Habitica is a habit-tracking app that turns real-life tasks into a role-playing game, where users earn rewards and level up by completing habits and tasks.

Habitica uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users gain experience points (XP) for completing tasks and lose XP for failing to complete tasks, simulating character progression in a role-playing game.

• Levels: As users accumulate XP, they level up, unlocking new features, quests, and customization options.

• Rewards: Users can earn gold by completing tasks, which can then be spent on rewards, such as equipment, pets, or custom rewards they define themselves.

• Streaks: Habitica tracks how consistently users complete their daily tasks. Maintaining streaks provides bonus XP and gold.

• Challenges: Users can join challenges created by other users or the Habitica team. These challenges provide a set of tasks and rewards for participating and completing them.

Headspace

Headspace uses a progress system, badges and streaks to help users learn and practice meditation techniques to improve mindfulness.

Headspace uses the following gamification features:

• Badges: Users earn badges for completing various milestones, such as meditating for a certain number of days, completing specific courses, or reaching overall meditation time goals. These badges are displayed in the user's profile as a visual representation of their progress and achievements.

• Streaks: Headspace uses streaks to encourage daily meditation. The app tracks how many consecutive days a user has meditated, and displays this as a streak. Users are motivated to maintain their streak by meditating each day to avoid breaking it.

• Progress Bars: Headspace visually represents the user's progress within a course or meditation pack using progress bars. This provides a clear indication of how much they have completed and motivates them to finish the entire series.

• Rewards: Headspace rewards users with access to new content and features as they progress through the app and achieve milestones. For example, completing a certain number of meditation sessions might unlock a new meditation pack or a new feature within the app.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy provides free educational resources and uses points, badges, and progress tracking to motivate users to learn various subjects.

Khan Academy uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for completing exercises, watching videos, and mastering skills. These points contribute to their overall progress and can be seen on their profile.

• Progress Bars: Khan Academy uses progress bars to visually represent a user's progress within a specific course or skill. This helps users understand how much they have completed and how much is left.

• Badges: Khan Academy awards badges for achieving specific milestones or demonstrating mastery in certain subjects. Badges are displayed on a user's profile as a symbol of accomplishment.

• Levels: As users accumulate points and demonstrate mastery, they advance through different levels. These levels provide a sense of progression and accomplishment.

• Streaks: Khan Academy tracks streaks for consistent learning activity. Users are encouraged to maintain their streaks by engaging with the platform regularly.

Memrise

Memrise offers language learning courses with gamified elements like points, leaderboards, and virtual gardens.

Memrise uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for learning new words and reviewing previously learned material. These points contribute to their daily, weekly, and all-time scores.

• Levels: Users advance through levels as they learn more words and concepts within a course. Completing levels unlocks new content and features.

• Badges: Users earn badges for achieving certain milestones, such as learning a specific number of words or reaching a particular level in a course. These badges are displayed on their profile.

• Streaks: Memrise tracks the number of consecutive days a user spends learning on the platform. Maintaining a learning streak motivates users to engage with the app daily.

• Progress Bars: Memrise uses progress bars to visually represent a learner's progress within a course or learning session, indicating how much they have completed and how much remains.

• Leaderboards: Memrise has leaderboards where users are ranked based on the number of points they've earned, fostering a sense of competition and encouraging users to learn more to climb the ranks.

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal tracks calorie intake and exercise, offering personalized goals and rewards to help users achieve weight loss and fitness milestones.

MyFitnessPal uses the following gamification features:

• Badges: Users earn badges for achieving various milestones, such as logging meals for a certain number of consecutive days, completing workout routines, or reaching specific weight loss goals. These badges provide a sense of accomplishment and encourage continued engagement.

• Progress Bars: MyFitnessPal uses progress bars to visually represent a user's progress towards their daily goals for calorie intake, macronutrient balance (protein, carbohydrates, and fat), and water consumption. This feature helps users quickly understand their current status and motivates them to stay on track.

• Streaks: The app tracks and displays a user's streak for logging their weight, food intake, and exercise. Maintaining a streak motivates users to consistently engage with the app and adhere to their health and fitness plans.

Nike Run Club

Nike Run Club tracks runs and provides challenges, badges, and leaderboards to encourage users to achieve their fitness goals and compete with friends.

Nike Run Club uses the following gamification features:

• Badges: Users earn badges for completing specific running milestones or challenges, like running a certain distance, achieving personal bests, or participating in special events. Badges are displayed on a user's profile, providing a visual representation of their accomplishments and encouraging further engagement.

• Challenges: Nike Run Club offers various running challenges, both individual and community-based. These challenges motivate users to reach specific goals, such as running a certain number of miles in a month or completing a particular race distance. Users can track their progress and compete with friends or the broader NRC community.

• Streaks: The app tracks running streaks, rewarding users for running consistently week after week. Streaks are prominently displayed, encouraging users to maintain their running routine and avoid breaking their streak.

• Progress Bars: Nike Run Club provides progress bars to visually represent a runner's advancement toward their goals, such as weekly mileage targets or challenge completion. This visual feedback helps users stay motivated and informed about their progress.

• Levels: The app offers different levels that runners can achieve based on the total number of kilometers they've run. As users log more runs, they accumulate mileage and progress to higher levels, earning recognition for their dedication and progress.

Quizlet

Quizlet is a learning tool that allows users to create and study flashcards, with points and badges awarded for mastering different subjects.

Quizlet uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Quizlet awards points for completing study activities like flashcards, learn, and test modes. These points contribute to a user's overall progress and can be a motivational factor.

• Streaks: Quizlet tracks the number of consecutive days a user studies. Maintaining a streak can motivate users to study regularly to avoid breaking their streak.

• Progress Bars: Quizlet uses progress bars within different study modes to visually represent how much of the material a user has mastered. This provides a sense of accomplishment and encourages them to complete the set.

• Challenges: Quizlet offers challenges where users compete against themselves or others to achieve the best score in a learning activity. This adds a competitive element to studying.

Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow uses a reputation system and badges to encourage users to contribute to the community and provide helpful answers to programming questions.

Stack Overflow uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for asking good questions, providing helpful answers, and participating in the community. These points contribute to their reputation score.

• Badges: Users are awarded badges for specific achievements, such as asking a well-received question, providing a highly upvoted answer, or consistently participating in the community.

• Levels: Users earn reputation points through their contributions, and their reputation determines their level of access and privileges within the community.

Strava

Strava is a social network for athletes that tracks activities and allows users to share progress, join challenges, and compete on leaderboards.

Strava uses the following gamification features:

• Challenges: Strava offers various challenges, both recurring monthly challenges and limited-time challenges sponsored by brands. Users can join these challenges and track their progress against the challenge goals, earning a digital badge upon completion.

• Leaderboards: Strava uses leaderboards to rank athletes based on their performance on specific segments (sections of roads or trails). These leaderboards foster competition and encourage users to push themselves to achieve better times.

• Badges: Strava awards badges for achieving certain milestones or completing specific activities. These badges serve as virtual rewards and recognition for users' accomplishments.

• Streaks: Strava tracks activity streaks, such as consecutive weeks or months of running or cycling. These streaks encourage consistent activity and provide a sense of accomplishment for maintaining a regular exercise routine.

• Achievements: Strava provides achievements for personal bests and top performances on segments. These achievements offer immediate positive feedback and incentivize users to improve their performance.

Todoist

Todoist is a task management app that rewards users with points and levels for completing tasks and staying organized.

Todoist uses the following gamification features:

• Points: Users earn points for completing tasks, and the more complex or important a task, the more points it's worth. These points contribute to the user's Karma score.

• Streaks: Todoist tracks the number of days in a row a user has completed their tasks. The app displays the current streak to encourage users to maintain their task completion habits.

• Levels: As users accumulate Karma points, they advance through different levels. These levels are indicated by titles (e.g., Beginner, Intermediate, Expert) and are visually represented within the app, signifying progress and achievement.

• Badges: Todoist awards badges for achieving specific milestones, such as completing a certain number of tasks or using specific features of the app. These badges serve as visual acknowledgements of progress and encourage continued engagement.

Untappd

Untappd is a social networking platform for beer enthusiasts. Users can rate and review beers, earn badges, and track their beer-drinking experiences.

Untappd uses the following gamification features:

• Badges: Untappd awards users badges for trying different beers, styles, locations, and completing various in-app activities. These badges often have multiple levels, encouraging users to explore more beers and engage with the app frequently.

• Streaks: Untappd allows users to earn streaks by checking in beers on consecutive days. This encourages daily engagement with the app.

• Levels: Untappd has a leveling system that is based on the number of unique beers that a user has checked in. The more unique beers you try and log in the app, the higher your level will be.

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of how gamification can be used effectively in social media apps. We hope you found these examples inspiring and that they help you think about how you can incorporate gamification into your own product strategy.

If you're looking to build gamification into your app or platform, we encourage you to check out Trophy, a set of APIs and tools that make it easy.