SEC S17-W6 || User Engagement and Retention on Steem

---

Assalamualaikum steemians

---

User engagement and retention at steemit is a great topic to discuss for every steemian so I'm going to delve into this topic too.

Demographics always refers to major and main information, including basics(Name of person,his residence,his age etc)

Now I'm going to talk about demographics in context of STEEM blockchain.

Steem is a blockchain that is based on social media platform that has a wide user base, but its most active users tend to be:

1. Age: 25-45 years old age is mostly at steemit.
2. Gender: Male gender is more dominated according to my observation (60-70%)
3. Location: International with a high number of users from Asia, Europe, and North America
4. Interests: Cryptocurrency, blockchain, technology and art related topics.
5. Language: English is main language, but many users speak multiple languages like Spanish etc.

These are some of demographics that may influence user engagement strategies in different ways:

Content creation:

There would be some group of users that would focus on cryptocurrency and blockchain-related topics, some would be more focused with a technical and entrepreneurial related topics and some would be focused on expressing their talents in form of art or any thing they have so in this way it would provide variety of topics for writing content.

Community building:

Demographics are important for encouraging users to participate in niche specified groups and discussions by giving leverage to their shared interests and in this way demographics would also be very helpful in building a stronger community.

Language support:

Demographics would be helpful to provide multilingual support and tools used for translation for catering to diverse user base.

Incentives:

It would really offers crypto related rewards and importance for contribution of valuable content which foster a vibrant community and healthy ecosystem at steemit.

Steem has developed multiple strategies for driving user engagement. At first, the platform has its reliance at token-based reward system in which users earned Steem for creation and curation of content. This incentivized users to participating and sharing high-quality content.

With time, Steem have developed its strategies I'm sharing here;

Community building:

Steem has been an encouragement for the creation of communities that revolves around specific topics, so it fosters a sense of belonging and driving engagement by different important discussions and by sharing interests.

The "SteemFest" is a community that organize and arrange annual meetups for its steemit users so now it become a hub for user engagement and networking at steemit.

Content discovery:

Steemit has implemented multiple features such as "Trending" and "Hot" sections, so it make it much easy for users to seek,search out and to engage with well recognised and famous content.

The "Steem Digest" is an account that curates top content at daily basis and it has become a go-to source for users that are keep an eye on high quality content.

Gamification:

Steemit has introduced different games and challenges so its a way to leverage its token economy for encouraging participation of users and for friendly competition in between users

"Steem Monsters," is a blockchain based game that has attracted a high user base which is dedicated also,with players that compete and collaborate for building their monster collections.

Collaborations and partnerships:

Steemit has shown their partnership with other blockchain projects and platforms so it has made its reach more diverse and drive engagement through different initiatives and events.

Steem has shown its collaboration with Tron Foundation which has been lead to creation of the "Steem-Tron" community that drives cross-platform engagement and content sharing.

By adaptation and diversification of its strategies steem has maintained a loyal and diverse user base and has continued to attracting new users for foster a vibrant community and has drove more engagement at the platform.

Steem is a blockchain based social platform we all know so it also face several challenges for maintaining and growing its user base which includes;

User Experience

Steemit interface could be overwhelming for users that join steemit newly with a steep learning curve because of steemit unique features and blockchain terminology. In comparison with other platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are offering much user-friendly experience.

Scalability

Steem is a blockchain is less fast in comparison to other platforms which leads to delay transactions and delay post updates so it could be much disgusting for users that expect fast and real-time interactions.

Content Quality

Steem have open nature that permit for diverse range of content which includes low-quality posts.So it can make it tough for users that seek for valuable content so it leads to frustrating behavior of users and decrease in engagement.

Incentivization

Steem has a token based reward system which can create more focus at earning tokens instead of creating quality content so it leads to spam and low quality posts.

Competition

Steem also face a lot of competition from other blockchain based social platforms including LBRY and Minds etc as well as traditional social media platforms.

Regulatory Uncertainty

Steem is a blockchain which have token based nature that raise regulatory questions so it significantly a way of deterring users and investors.

Community Fragmentation

Steem is a community that is divided within multiple factions and interests and it could be a leading cause of conflicts and can also cause lack of cohesion.

For overcoming these challenges steem can do following improvements

• Improvement in user experience through more stable interfaces and guidelines.

• Implementation of more scalability solutions including sharding or off-chain transactions.

• Introducing content moderation and curation tools for overall enhanced user experience.

• Refining of the incentivization system for giving priority to quality content.

• Fostering of partnerships and collaborations for enhancement of adoption at steemit.

• Clarification of regulatory compliance and ensurance of user security is also crucial.

• Encouragement of community engagement and consensus building like initiatives and developments.

By keeping in mind these challenges Steem can enhance users experience can be attractive for new users, and can maintain more stronger and engaged community.

Reward mechanisms and economic incentives at Steemit have been moderately effective for encouragement of long-term engagement and retention in between users. Steemit have token based reward system and here users can earn Steem tokens for creation and curation of content and it has been a source of motivation of users for participating and contributing high-quality content.It can lead to following I have explained below;

Initial engagement

New users are drawn in more and more engagement due to the potential for earning more and more tokens and for building a reputation at steemit platform.

Short-term activity

Users are more incentivized for posting and engaging in regular way for maximization of their STEEM token earnings.

If I talk about effectiveness of these incentives in promotion of long-term engagement and retention then it is restricted by following;

Token inflation

When in constant way creation of new tokens would occur then if may dilutes their value which would minimize incentive for users for continue the contribution.

Overemphasis on token earnings

Users can be more focused on earning STEEM tokens instead of being focused in creation of quality content so it would lead to low content quality.

Lack of clear goals and milestones

Users may not have proper understanding of their working towards particular thing so it would lead to sense of less meaningfulness and disengagement.

Practical example

Suppose there's a user "Ali" and he joins Steem and in start he is motivated by token rewards for posting high-quality content at regular basis.

When time passes and the token value reduces, "Ali" would start to feel low incentivizes for continuing his contribution. Moreover lack of clear goals and milestones could be a leading cause to a sense of less engagement, and in this way"Ali" could stop posting and engaging at steemit platform.

For improvement in long-term engagement and retention Steem can consider to introduce more incentives and it includes following;

Much precise and well defined goals and milestones (e.g., "Steem Achievements")

Rewards that are non token based such as badges, recognition

Community driven initiatives such as user-led projects etc

Token burning like (BTC halving or burnsteem25 project) or buyback programs for reduced inflation

By diversification and refining of its reward mechanisms, Steem could betterly encourage long-term engagement and retention in between users.

Steem can integrate new technologies and tools for enhancement of user engagement and retention by the following;

Natural Language Processing

Implementation of AI-powered content suggestions, personalized recommendations, and sentiment analysis all are helpful in improvement of content discovery either it is of high or low quality and for enhancement of user experience.

If there's a user who receives personalized post recommendations depending upon their engagement history and interests.

Gamification and Social Sharing

Incorporation of interactive elements including quizzes, polls, and shareable content for encouragement of user participation and social sharing.

A user which is creating a poll on famous or trending topic for earning rewards of tokens and engagement with others.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Integration

Permitting users for leveraging Steem tokens for lending, borrowing, or yield farming, enhancement of token use and engagement of users at steemit.

A user that is earning interest at Steem token holding by participation in decentralized lending pool.

Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR/AR) Content

Enable users for creation and sharing quality content for enhancement of user experience and for attracting new users.

A user creating a VR experience showing his art and earning STEEM token rewards and engagement from others.

Machine Learning and Predictive Analytics

Use of machine learning algorithms for predicting user interests,for identification of trending topics, and for suggesting content, for enhancement of user experience and engagement.

Steem algorithm suggesting a post to a user depending upon his engagement history and predicted interests.

For enhancing active participation from new or inactive users, Steem can;

Simplify Onboarding

Streamlining of sign-up process and providing interactive guidelines for helping new users to understand the platform.

Welcome Challenges

Offering beginner friendly challenges and rewarding for encouragement of new users to show their good participation.

Community Outreach

Engagement with inactive users by personalized notifications and by other community initiatives leads to reactivation of their interest from steemit platform.

Content Curation

Highlighting of high-quality content and creators so it showcase platform value and encourage users for engaging and sharing.

Influencer Partnerships

Collaborations with social media influencers for promotion of Steem and for attracting new users.

By integration of these technologies and tools, Steem can improve user engagement and retention, attract new users, and enhance active participation on the platform.

I want to invite @aviral123,@paholags,@patjewell to participate

---

Thanks

---