Introduction
If you have been following my recent posts, you know how much I emphasize the importance of retention as a core metric for app growth. But let's get real—retention is just the tip of the iceberg. It's engagement that drives the magic. Think of retention as the destination and engagement as the journey.
Why Engagement Matters
Retention is simple: a user either returns or doesn't. However, engagement offers a much more nuanced, richer picture. Consider two users: User A orders an Uber twice weekly, while User B orders once. By the end of the week, User A will engage more, but both users will be retained. It's this depth of engagement that distinguishes power users from casual ones.
Thanks for reading Sneha’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
How do we encourage this kind of engagement? The core concept behind this is habit loops.
The Anatomy of a Habit Loop
Habit loops are the secret sauce behind successful apps. They consist of three key elements: cue, routine, and reward. This framework, popularized by Nir Eyal's Hooked and Charles Duhigg's The Power of Habit, is all about embedding your app into the user's daily life.
- Cue: The trigger that kickstarts the habit. It could be a feeling like hunger, boredom, or a desire to connect socially. The cue prompts the user to take action, often without much conscious thought.
- Routine: The action taken in response to the cue. This action becomes a behaviour that turns into a habit over time. It could be as simple as opening an app or as involved as completing a task. The routine is the core of the habit loop, where the user engages with your app.
- Reward: The benefit received from the routine. It reinforces the habit loop, providing satisfaction or pleasure that makes the user want to repeat the behaviour. Rewards can be tangible, like discounts or points, or intangible, like a sense of accomplishment or relaxation.
- Take Swiggy as an example. The cue might be hunger, prompting the routine of ordering food. The reward? A delicious meal delivered fast, plus the bonus of earning loyalty points.
Types Of Habit Loops
Organic Habit Loops - Foundation Of Engagement
Organic loops are the bread and butter of engagement. They arise naturally from your app's core value proposition. If your app solves a real, frequent problem, you're halfway there.
Let's take a look at a few examples.
Instagram:
- Cue: A moment of boredom or a desire for social connection.
- Routine: Open the app and scroll through the feed.
- Reward: Entertainment and social validation from engaging with content and receiving likes or comments.
Duolingo:
- Cue: The motivation to learn a new language, perhaps for travel or immigration purposes.
- Routine: Completing a language lesson or quiz.
- Reward: Progress in language skills, a sense of achievement, and a learning streak.
To build organic loops, identify the problems your app solves and ensure the triggers, actions, and rewards align seamlessly with user needs.
Manufactured Habit Loops: Enhancing Engagement
Once you've nailed the organic loops, it's time to sprinkle in some manufactured ones. These are additional triggers that enhance engagement without feeling spammy. Let's explore the different types of triggers and the channels you can use to deliver them effectively using apps we all know and love.
Types of Manufactured Triggers
- Time: Notifications sent at specific times can encourage users to engage with your app. For example, the Calm app might send a reminder in the evening to meditate and unwind before bed.
- Location: These alerts depend on the user's location. Starbucks might send a notification when you're near one of their stores, offering a discount on your favourite drink.
- Change: Updates when something significant changes in the app. Spotify could notify users of a new playlist curated just for them, encouraging them to explore new music.
- Network: Social triggers involving friends or community. Facebook might inform you when a friend has tagged you in a photo or event, prompting you to check out the post.
- Programmatic: Automated triggers based on behaviour. Netflix might suggest new shows or movies based on your viewing history, encouraging you to keep watching.
Channels
- Email: Emails can be personalized to keep users informed and engaged. LinkedIn might send a weekly summary of job opportunities or network updates, while Amazon could email you about deals on items you've browsed.
- Push Notifications are short messages sent directly to the user's device. Twitter might use push notifications to alert you to trending topics or tweets from people you follow.
- In-App Messages: These appear while the user is actively using the app. Duolingo might use in-app messages to congratulate you on a streak or suggest a new lesson.
- Advertisements: Ads can promote app features or special offers. Uber might display ads for discounts on rides during peak hours, while Headspace could highlight new meditation courses.
- Direct Messages: Direct messages are personal messages sent to users via post.
By strategically using these triggers and channels, you can effectively enhance user engagement and create a more interactive and rewarding experience for your users.
Environment Loops: Integrating Your App into User Routines
Environment loops are about embedding your app into the user's natural surroundings and routines. It involves understanding their journey and identifying moments where your app can naturally fit into their habits. Here are some examples of how popular apps use environment loops effectively:
Examples of Environment Loops with Popular Apps
- Google Calendar and Zoom: You might use Google Calendar to schedule meetings when organizing your week. The Zoom integration automatically adds a Zoom link to your calendar invites. This seamless integration means you don't have to switch apps or manually add video conferencing details, making Zoom an effortless part of your scheduling routine.
- Spotify and Waze: You likely use Waze for navigation on your daily commute. Thanks to its integration with Spotify, you can control your music without leaving the Waze app. It makes Spotify a natural part of your driving experience, allowing you to enjoy your favourite playlists while focusing on the road.
- Yelp and Search Engines: When looking for a place to eat, you might start with a quick search online. Yelp's strong SEO ensures that its reviews and listings appear prominently in search results, even if you didn't initially visit Yelp. It makes Yelp a go-to resource for discovering restaurants and services, seamlessly fitting into your search habits.
Supplemental Loops: Deepening User Engagement
Once your app has a solid foundation of organic, manufactured, and environment loops, you can introduce supplemental loops. These additional triggers further deepen user engagement, ensuring that your app remains relevant and valuable over time. Finding supplemental loops is identifying and establishing new triggers that complement existing ones. It involves revisiting the processes around manufactured loops and prioritizing environmental triggers and visual cues within your strategy.
Consider how some popular apps utilize supplemental loops:
- Spotify: Beyond the core loop of listening to music, Spotify uses supplemental loops like personalized playlists and release radar. When a new playlist tailored to your tastes is ready, you receive a notification, prompting you to explore fresh tracks. It keeps users returning to discover new music, deepening their engagement with the app.
- Instagram: While the primary loop involves scrolling through the feed, Instagram uses supplemental loops such as story mentions and direct messages. When someone tags you in a story, it encourages you to view and interact with it. Similarly, receiving a direct message prompts you to open the app and engage in conversation, creating additional layers of interaction.
- Amazon: In addition to the primary shopping loop, Amazon introduces supplemental loops like "Customers who bought this also bought" recommendations. After purchase, these suggestions entice you to explore related products, potentially leading to additional purchases and engagement with the platform.
By identifying and implementing supplemental loops, you can enhance user engagement and ensure that your app continues to provide value. These loops create additional pathways for users to interact with your app, reinforcing existing habits and encouraging new ones.
Conclusion
Building engagement through habit loops is not just about getting users to open your app more frequently; it's about creating meaningful interactions that enhance their lives. Understanding and implementing these loops can transform casual users into loyal advocates, driving engagement and retention. Remember, the key is to focus on creating value for the user, which ultimately leads to sustained growth and success.
