Viewer engagement is a huge topic that’s difficult to cover all at once. You can read about gamification as an engagement method here, and in this article, let’s look at physical interactions that fans like: buttons and clicks.

Interaction with fans should be simple and straightforward. For example, think about interactive museums where, even without a guide, most visitors understand what to do. Viewers love buttons, whether it’s a physical or a digital one. If a button is visually appealing, intuitive, and active, viewers will be interested in pressing it. Buttons give a sense of control that engages viewers. Simply put, buttons embody the very idea of cause and effect: the user presses a button and gets a response.

This interactive technique has found its place in live streams. For example, on one esports broadcast, WePlay Studios integrated a comeback button that fans could click on to support their team. This unusual integration allowed to both amuse fans and collect additional metrics for better audience analysis in the future.

However, even without using hard-to-implement platform extensions, you can take advantage of this technique and attract users even more easily. The solution is simple — reaction buttons. The platform makes it possible for viewers to show what they think about the content; organizers just need to direct them. By encouraging them to press a button, organizers increase engagement without requiring viewers to do anything complicated to become active participants in the show.

A more complex way to achieve this is to ask viewers to leave a comment. It’s easy to press a button, but coming up with and sending a comment takes longer, and therefore, fewer users will reach the goal. Another way is to provide ready-made comment options. For example, you can ask viewers to drop a specific word or phrase in the comments and then draw a prize among them. You can also give several options and offer the audience to choose among them. For example, you can ask your fans to choose what they like best and provide an either/or option.

With the help of various activities, you can convey your vision and message. However, no matter how complex and richly layered your idea may be, the implementation should be intuitive for all viewers. Any action you want to get from the viewer should be quick and understandable. Think of it as a children’s game. An attractive and intuitive button already takes users halfway towards pressing it; you just need to remind them of it and maybe provide some guidance to get everyone on the same page.