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Increase user motivation through the hero's journey

Fabulous Fabulous engage

Overview

Fabulous uses the hero's journey framework to guide users through the app experience, relying on intrinsic motivation to keep users engaged and progressing through their personal growth journeys.
a screenshot of the engage flow explaining how to Increase user motivation through the hero's journey

Business Outcome

User Engagement

By leveraging the hero's journey framework, Fabulous aims to increase user retention and engagement. Users who feel a sense of progress and personal growth are more likely to continue using the app and remain committed to their self-improvement goals.

Behavioral Outcome

Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy

The hero's journey framework taps into users' intrinsic motivation by presenting challenges and opportunities for growth. As users progress through the stages and overcome obstacles, they develop a greater sense of self-efficacy and belief in their ability to make positive changes in their lives..

The Behavioral Science

Self Determination Theory

The hero's journey, as described by Joseph Campbell, is a universal narrative structure that resonates with the human psyche. It involves a protagonist who embarks on a transformative journey, faces challenges, receives guidance, and ultimately emerges transformed.

Self-Determination Theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, posits that intrinsic motivation is driven by three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. When these needs are met, individuals are more likely to engage in activities for their inherent satisfaction and personal growth.

How It Works

Engagement

By presenting the user journey as a narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end, narrative framing captures users' attention and maintains their engagement throughout their interaction with the app. The storyline creates a sense of progression and momentum, motivating users to continue their journey and explore new features or content.

Emotional Connection

Narrative framing fosters an emotional connection between users and the app by tapping into universal themes, such as personal growth, overcoming challenges, and achieving goals. Users may identify with the protagonist of the story and feel invested in their journey, making them more receptive to the app's messages and interventions.

Guided Progression

Narrative framing provides users with a clear roadmap for their journey of behavior change, guiding them through sequential steps and milestones. The narrative structure helps users understand where they are in their journey, what challenges lie ahead, and how they can overcome them, leading to a sense of direction and progress.

How It Might Backfire

Loss of Authenticity

Over-emphasizing the hero's journey narrative may lead to a loss of authenticity or credibility if the user experience feels contrived or overly scripted. Users may perceive the approach as manipulative or insincere, undermining trust in the product or service.

Limited Relevance

The hero's journey narrative may not resonate with all users or may not accurately reflect their experiences or motivations. Users from diverse backgrounds or with different goals may struggle to connect with the narrative, leading to disengagement or alienation.

Overwhelming Challenges

If the tasks and challenges presented in the app are too difficult or overwhelming, users may become discouraged and lose motivation to continue their journey.

Insufficient Feedback and Rewards

If users do not receive adequate feedback on their progress or feel sufficiently rewarded for their efforts, they may lose interest and motivation to continue using the app.

How To Test

A/B Tests

To test the effectiveness of this tactic, run A/B tests comparing user retention and engagement metrics between versions of the app with and without the hero's journey framework. Conduct user interviews and surveys to gather qualitative feedback on how the framework impacts motivation and self-efficacy. Analyze user behavior data to identify potential drop-off points and areas for improvement in the user journey.

Frequently Asked Questions

To enhance a product-led growth (PLG) model using Fabulous's engagement tactic, implement the hero's journey framework throughout your user experience. This approach can significantly boost user engagement and retention, key metrics in PLG models.

Structure your onboarding and feature discovery processes as a narrative journey, presenting challenges and opportunities for growth. This taps into users' intrinsic motivation, encouraging them to explore and engage with your product more deeply. By framing the user's experience as a transformative journey, you can increase the perceived value of your product and drive organic growth through increased user satisfaction and word-of-mouth referrals.

To improve conversion rates using Fabulous's engagement tactic, incorporate elements of the hero's journey framework into your user acquisition and onboarding processes. This approach can help increase user motivation and commitment, leading to higher conversion rates.

Present your product as a solution to the user's 'call to adventure' or challenge they're facing. Guide them through a narrative that showcases how your product can help them overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. By tapping into intrinsic motivation and self-efficacy, you can create a more compelling and engaging user experience that encourages users to commit to your product and complete desired conversion actions.

To optimize your website using Fabulous's engagement tactic, structure your site's content and user flow around the hero's journey framework. This can enhance user engagement and guide visitors towards desired actions.

Create a clear narrative arc across your website, from the homepage to product pages and beyond. Use storytelling elements to present your product or service as the 'mentor' or tool that will help users overcome their challenges. Implement guided progression through your site, with each step building on the last to create a sense of momentum and achievement. This approach can increase time on site, reduce bounce rates, and improve overall user satisfaction with your website experience.

To A/B test Fabulous's engagement tactic, create two versions of your user experience: one incorporating the hero's journey framework (version A) and one without it (version B). Randomly assign users to each version and measure key metrics such as user retention, engagement, and conversion rates.

In version A, structure the user journey as a narrative with clear stages, challenges, and rewards. In version B, present information and features in a more traditional, linear format. Track user behavior within each version, noting how users progress through the experience and where they might drop off. Complement this quantitative data with qualitative feedback through user surveys or interviews to understand the perceived value and emotional connection in each version. Analyze the results to determine which approach leads to better outcomes for your specific product and user base.

Fabulous's engagement tactic improves user experience by leveraging the hero's journey framework to create a more engaging, motivating, and emotionally resonant interaction with the product. This approach taps into users' intrinsic motivation and enhances their sense of self-efficacy.

By presenting the user's journey as a narrative with clear stages, challenges, and growth opportunities, the tactic creates a sense of progression and purpose. This can make the experience feel more meaningful and rewarding. The framework also provides a clear structure and guidance, helping users understand where they are in their journey and what lies ahead. This can reduce uncertainty and increase user confidence, leading to a more satisfying and effective user experience overall.

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