Have you ever wondered why we get so addicted to some apps like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter & Instagram, to name a few? Not just social apps but some video games and movies as well.
These apps & games have become part and parcel of our daily routine and have gone to an extent where they can make or break our habits. What gives these tiny app logos installed on our mobile the strength to control our daily life?
Are these apps solving a real pain point or providing avenues to kill time?
Are these apps programming human behaviour? If so, what is the benefit to the business of doing so?
I didn’t have precise explanations for all these questions until I chanced upon this amazing book called –
“HOOKED” – How to build habit-forming Products by Nir Eyal & Ryan Hoover.
It reveals some mind-boggling facts about how these apps have mastered user engagement by understanding human psychology.
Nir Eyal spent years in the video gaming and advertising industries, learning these techniques to motivate and influence users. He has taught courses on applied consumer psychology at the Standford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and Fortune 500 companies.
Ryan Hoover is the Founder of Product Hunt, a company that has been described as ‘the place to discover the next big things in technology.’
As Product Managers, we always believe in enhancing the product from the following dimensions, not an exhaustive list:
- Acquisition
- Activation
- Engagement
- Retention
- Revenue
- Referral
While acquiring customers for the product is the foremost challenging task, engaging and retaining them is equally gruelling. In this book, the author demystifies some exciting realities about building habit-forming products that engage users without spending much on advertisements. The author uses the term “Unprompted User Engagement,” a concept that exploits users’ habits to keep them hooked to the product. Habits are behaviours done with no conscious thought.
The author talks about the “HOOKED MODEL” – a framework for building habit-forming products.
Is this model a glorified Ph.D. thesis?
Not at all; this is a practical model being employed by many industries – Video gaming, advertising, Movies, and technology companies like Google, Amazon, LinkedIn, Twitter & Instagram for years to build and improve their products. The model has roots in human psychology, human-centered design & Technology.
The four steps of the Hooked model are:
- Trigger
- Action
- Variable Reward
- Investment
The model is exhaustive, with numerous real-world examples that readers effortlessly follow. Let me attempt to summarize the model below:
Trigger:
The habit-forming products start by creating triggers that nudge users to take action and are the first step in the Hooked model. These triggers can be external, like email, advertisements, etc., and internal, like emotions (Fear, Happiness, Sorrow, etc.).
External triggers call out what to do next by placing information in front of the user (Like a CTA button), while internal triggers use associations stored in the users’ memory.
Action:
Action is the second step in the Hooked Model. Action is the response to the trigger in anticipation of reward. For any action to take place, three elements are required – Trigger, Motivation & Ability. Additionally, heuristics – cognitive actions are used to nudge users to take quick actions.
Variable Reward:
A reward is the third step in the Hooked Model. Three types of variable rewards exist – The Tribe, the hunt, and the self. Some examples of rewards -are social likes, customized feeds, mentions, etc. Variable rewards must satisfy users’ needs while leaving them wanting to reengage with the product.
Investment:
Investment is the fourth step in the model. This phase concerns the anticipation of rewards in the future.
Examples – Setting user preferences, referring others, followers, reputation, etc. Investments increase the likelihood of users iterating the Hook cycle again by loading the next trigger to start the process again.
This is how the iteration continues. Over time, the external trigger slowly gets converted into internal triggers associated with the user’s habits, and this cycle repeats over and over involuntarily.
These steps are detailed with practical examples to solidify the understanding. At the end of each section, a chapter summary helps us pause, reflect and reinforce what we have read. In addition, you can find “Do This Now” exercises at the end of each chapter which give us direction on how to build such products ourselves.
The author beautifully addresses the morality aspect of building such habit-forming products. He tries to distinguish between manipulation and engagement with a 2x 2 matrix. He says as long as our product can materially improve people’s lives, we are on the right track and have the highest chance of success.
The author leaves with a couple of real-world case studies at the end to solidify the learnings.
This book is undoubtedly a gold mine for Product Managers, a must-read for everyone who cares about driving user engagement. Go grab your copy at Amazon.in.