EngageIQ
Sign inBook a Demo

Increase learner engagement through balanced leaderboards

Duolingo Duolingo engage

Overview

Duolingo uses weekly leaderboards with advancement mechanics to keep learners engaged by ensuring they never feel too far ahead or behind in the competition.
a screenshot of the engage flow explaining how to Increase learner engagement through balanced leaderboards

Business Outcome

User Retention and Engagement

By maintaining balanced leaderboards that foster healthy competition, Duolingo can increase user retention and engagement. Learners are more likely to continue using the app regularly when they feel motivated to improve their performance and maintain their position on the leaderboard.

Behavioral Outcome

Sustained Engagement

When learners perceive themselves as competitive yet not overly challenged or discouraged, they are more likely to remain actively involved in the gamified learning experience.

This sustained engagement leads to increased interaction with the learning materials, higher completion rates, and deeper learning.

The Behavioral Science

Self Determination Theory

The psychological principles behind balanced leaderboards are rooted in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Goal-Setting Theory. SDT suggests that individuals are driven by needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. By ensuring learners feel competent without being overwhelmed, the leaderboard supports their motivation.

Goal Setting Theory

Goal-Setting Theory posits that specific, challenging goals enhance motivation, but goals that are too difficult or easy can be demotivating. Maintaining a balanced leaderboard sets appropriate challenge levels to keep learners engaged.

How It Works

Duolingo's leaderboards are weekly cohorts of 30 learners who compete to earn the most XP. Each week, the top 10 learners advance to the next league, preventing any learner from getting too far ahead.

This "rubber banding" mechanic, borrowed from multiplayer video games, helps maintain competitiveness by giving advantages to players falling behind. Applied to the leaderboard, it ensures learners never feel discouraged by an insurmountable gap nor complacent from a huge lead.

How It Might Backfire

Feelings of Manipulation

If the leaderboard mechanics are not carefully tuned, some learners may feel the system is unfair or manipulative. Others may become overly focused on competition at the expense of actual learning. Leaderboards could also potentially discourage learners who consistently place low.

How To Test

A/B Tests

Run A/B tests comparing engagement metrics between groups with and without the feature. User surveys can provide qualitative insights into learner perceptions and motivations. Analyzing long-term trends in engagement and retention can reveal the mechanic's lasting impact.

Frequently Asked Questions

To enhance a product-led growth (PLG) model using Duolingo's engagement tactic, implement balanced leaderboards with advancement mechanics in your product. This approach can significantly boost user retention and engagement, key drivers of PLG success.

Create weekly cohorts of users competing for points or achievements, with top performers advancing to higher leagues. This 'rubber banding' mechanic ensures users never feel too far behind or ahead, maintaining motivation and encouraging regular product use. By fostering healthy competition and sustained engagement, you can increase user interaction with your product's core features, accelerating the time-to-value and improving key PLG metrics like user activation and expansion.

To improve conversion rates using Duolingo's engagement tactic, incorporate balanced leaderboards into your user onboarding and trial experiences. This can significantly enhance user retention and engagement, leading to higher conversion rates from free to paid users.

Implement a gamified system where new users compete in weekly cohorts, earning points for completing onboarding steps or trying key features. Use advancement mechanics to keep users motivated throughout their trial period. This approach taps into users' needs for competence and relatedness, as explained by Self-Determination Theory, encouraging them to engage more deeply with your product. The increased engagement can lead to better product understanding and perceived value, ultimately driving higher conversion rates.

To optimize your website using Duolingo's engagement tactic, integrate balanced leaderboards into your user experience. This can significantly boost user retention and engagement, leading to improved website performance metrics.

Create leaderboards for user activities relevant to your website, such as content consumption, community participation, or feature usage. Implement weekly resets and advancement mechanics to maintain competitiveness. Ensure the leaderboards are visible and easily accessible on your site. This gamification element can motivate users to interact more frequently with your website, increasing time on site, page views, and overall engagement. Remember to balance the competitive aspect with your core website goals to avoid users focusing solely on leaderboard positions at the expense of meaningful interactions.

To A/B test Duolingo's engagement tactic, create two versions of your product or website: one with balanced leaderboards (version A) and one without (version B). Randomly assign users to each version and measure key engagement metrics over time.

For version A, implement weekly leaderboards with advancement mechanics similar to Duolingo's approach. Track metrics such as user retention, session frequency, time spent in the product, and feature usage. Also, monitor long-term trends in user behavior and satisfaction. Complement this quantitative data with qualitative feedback through user surveys to understand the impact on motivation and perceived value. Analyze the results to determine if the leaderboard mechanic significantly improves engagement and retention compared to the control group.

Duolingo's engagement tactic improves user experience by creating a sense of healthy competition and progress, which can significantly enhance motivation and satisfaction. The balanced leaderboards with advancement mechanics tap into users' psychological needs for competence and relatedness.

By ensuring users never feel too far behind or ahead in the competition, this tactic maintains a consistent level of challenge and achievement. This balanced approach helps prevent discouragement or complacency, keeping users engaged and motivated to continue learning. The weekly reset and advancement opportunities provide regular goals and a sense of progress, contributing to a more rewarding and enjoyable user experience. Overall, this gamification element adds an extra layer of motivation to the learning process, making it more engaging and potentially more effective.

Reduce subscription churn through coupon offer

Puls offers a $100 coupon for all their services to customers who continue their subscription, leveraging loss aversion to reduce churn.

Recapture cancelled subscription with a time-limited discount

Bonsai presents a special one-time offer of 50% off the subscription for the next 3 months when a user attempts to cancel their account. This limited-time discount incentivizes users to reconsider cancellation and continue using the service.