What makes Foursquare so addictive? Game mechanics—those charming sets of rules built into games to make them fun to play. Implemented strategically at a website, game mechanics can help you engage both passive visitors and enthusiastic users.

How might you add game mechanics to your marketing site? Craig Ferrara, Gigya's gaming/UI expert, offers five tips for incorporating gaming principles into site design:

Increase user-generated content. When you encourage content creation, Ferrara says, the user becomes more engaged, "thereby making your site richer and more dynamic, as well as improving its SEO." Try rewarding top commenters or enabling ratings or reviews.

Enable easy sharing. Let users work toward a goal or ranking when they share—showing them that sharing is valuable at your site.

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