Enhancing Shares app engagement

Shares is an innovative social investing app originating from the UK, designed to foster community-driven wealth-building. Beyond the conventional buy/sell interface, the app encourages users to tap into collective knowledge by starting discussions, learning from experienced investors, and accessing market intelligence data.

When Shares started expanding into Europe, it faced two key challenges:

• Testing the waters and generating interest in a saturated market with established players.
• Persuading potential users to download and maintain interest in an app that wasn’t fully operational.

To create an enticing proposition encouraging potential users to download the app, remain engaged, and spread the word within their networks.

During the ideation phase, a significant focus was on analyzing existing waitlist solutions across the market. Our objective was to understand current practices and their effectiveness and to identify potential gaps that Shares could exploit for better engagement and virality.

Observation of Current Practices:

• Pure Waitlist Systems: Many FinTech apps offer basic waitlist systems, showing user position and total users ahead. This gives a sense of anticipation but can lack continuous engagement.
• Referral Bonuses: Platforms like Robinhood and Monzo incentivize user referrals. However, its appeal has been declining for new users.
• Information Sharing: Some platforms provide market insights to users while they wait. While it's informative, it may not always retain user interest.
• Boosting Engagement: Compound loops can be effective for engagement because they create a virtuous cycle. The more engaged a user is in one loop, the more likely they are to participate in another loop. This cumulative effect can lead to higher overall engagement across the platform.

Identifying Gaps and Opportunities:

• Engaging through Identity: An onboarding-like flow was developed where we asked users to claim their usernames. The driving force behind this was to play on a user’s FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) — ensuring they secured their preferred username before others.
• Value Proposition in Sharing: We experimented with ideas, such as moving users up in the queue as a reward for sharing, but this didn’t resonate as a significant value proposition.
• Venturing Outside the Norm: Recognizing our primary audience's preferences, we decided to break the mold and develop a viral mechanic to offer a digital reward, leading us to the snake game concept.

Brainstorming Session:

• Introduction of the Snake game: Instead of conventional apples, our snake game would feature random stock tickers, offering an educational experience. This approach was intended to familiarize users with various stocks, preparing them for their use of Shares.
• Social connection: The game wasn't just for individual enjoyment. The main outcome was to encourage users to invite and challenge friends. These friends, once introduced, could later connect within the Shares app when it becomes fully operational in their country.

Prototype & Feedback

After prototyping the snake game with stock logos, it was tested on a group, and feedback was collected. The overwhelmingly positive feedback reinforced our confidence in this initiative.

The game was designed with specific objectives:

• Viral Element: Encourage sharing and challenging friends.
• Engagement: Ensure users continuously interact with the game.
• Education: Help users distinguish between stock prices and familiarize them with notable stocks.

Professional Resonance

The innovative approach wasn't only a hit among our user base but also resonated powerfully in professional circles. Many industry professionals took to LinkedIn, sharing their delight and surprise with this "hidden gem" of a feature in the Shares app. This professional endorsement amplified the credibility and attractiveness of Shares, further fueling its momentum in the European market.

Developer engagement

The snake game idea resonated so strongly with our development team that a wave of enthusiasm swept across them. This enthusiasm was not just in principle; it translated to action. A passionate group of developers voluntarily opted to work on this game in their spare time. Their dedication and excitement about the project accelerated its development speed by nearly five times. Their eagerness not only showcased the idea's potential but also dramatically fast-tracked the project's completion, ensuring that Shares could launch its unique feature in the European market swiftly.

While most apps relied on traditional waitlist mechanisms or referral bonuses, Shares stepped beyond the norm, offering a unique blend of education, entertainment, and social connection. This strategy, coupled with the extraordinary developer engagement and acclaim from professionals, set Shares apart, driving user engagement and facilitating its rapid growth trajectory in Europe.