Building User Habits with The Hooked Model
#44: How the Hooked Model helps in designing for habit-building and increasing engagement
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Building User Habits with The Hooked Model
What is The Hooked Model?
It is a framework that helps capture users' attention but, more importantly, builds their habits and engagement with a product. It is based on four key stages: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment.
The Hooked Model was created by Nir Eyal and is thoroughly described in his book, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.
The four stages of building a habit
1. Trigger
The first stage in The Hooked Model is the Trigger. At the beginning, we need to encourage the user to engage with the product, and this can be done through both external and internal triggers.
External triggers are various cues from the environment that lead the user to the product, such as notifications, emails about a new article, ads, recommendations from friends, or icons showing unread messages.
Internal triggers, on the other hand, are situations that naturally trigger the user’s desire to use the app. These can stem from emotions or be linked to routines. Boredom, loneliness, the need for answers, or stress are triggers that direct the user to specific products aimed at alleviating these states.
Ultimately, the Hooked Model aims to build habits in users so that internal triggers become the primary drivers of their interaction with the product.
2. Action
After receiving the trigger, the user must take some action. The model suggests that the action should be as simple and quick as possible, so the user receives immediate gratification.
According to BJ Fogg’s model, three conditions must be met for the user to take action:
Motivation
The user must be motivated to take the action and see the value it will bring.
Ability
The action must be as easy as possible to perform, requiring minimal effort from the user.
Trigger
The appropriate trigger, as described in the first stage, must occur.
If any of these conditions are not met, the user may not take the action, which disrupts the habit-building process.
Examples of such simple actions include scrolling a feed, clicking the play button, liking a post, taking a photo, or typing a query into a search engine.
3. Variable Reward
After performing an action, the user receives a reward. It is important that the reward is variable and unpredictable, as such rewards increase user engagement and encourage repeated actions, unlike repetitive, predictable rewards, which quickly become boring
The Hooked model identifies three types of rewards:
Rewards of the Tribe
Rewards that are related to social needs, belonging, acceptance, or recognition. These include likes, comments, shares, or an increase in followers.
Rewards of the Hunt
Rewards tied to the need for acquiring resources, information, or opportunities. These include discovering new content in a feed, finding special offers, news aggregators, and even gambling games.
Rewards of the Self
The final type of rewards is related to the sense of competence, being good at something, self-improvement, and completing tasks. This includes achieving new levels, earning badges, rewards for daily learning, or completing a course or challenge.
Receiving a reward is meant to encourage the user to return, perform the action again, and receive the reward once more. For example, liking or viewing content on social media causes the user to receive more new and exciting content within their interests, mixed with new and less predictable content that may also capture their attention.
4. Investment
The final stage is Investment. We want the user to invest their time and effort into our product, which increases the likelihood of them returning. This also relates to the sunk cost fallacy, a cognitive bias where people are more likely to continue an activity if they have already invested time, energy, or resources into it. It also ties into the IKEA effect, which suggests that we become more attached to things we've created ourselves.
Investment can involve inputting data, creating content such as posts, photos, or reviews, building a network of connections on social media platforms, or creating playlists in music apps. It can also include the time spent configuring a profile or learning how to use the app.
User investments in a product increase its value for them and reduce the risk of them abandoning it in favor of a competitor. For example, if a user creates multiple diversified playlists in one app, switching to another app may be too difficult, so they may abandon the idea (unless the competitor offers a smooth transition). This also leads to the highly valued user personalization, as the app displays exactly the type of content the user expects.
User investments also lead to the creation of additional triggers. For example, if the user creates and shares content or uses a messaging service, they will receive notifications about likes, comments, and new messages, which will prompt them to return to the app again.
Why is it important in design?
The Hooked Model helps create products that engage users, making them return without external triggers. This allows us to retain users without constant effort, which is especially crucial for products focused on high retention. It also reduces churn rate, positively impacting business outcomes.
It also helps in designing solutions that provide real value and solve user problems. If a product lacks value, it will not be able to engage users or create a habit of returning. However, it is not just about forming a habit but about building a long-term relationship with the product. This approach encourages a deeper understanding of users, their problems, behaviors, goals, and motivations, which ultimately leads to a better product.
The Hooked Model also emphasizes that user actions should be as simple and fast as possible. This is a positive aspect, as it drives the design of intuitive and easy-to-use interfaces, optimizes forms, streamlines user flows, and reduces unnecessary clicks.
A highly engaged user base also provides valuable insights into behaviors, needs, and pain points, allowing for continuous product improvement.
Ethics of the Hooked Model
The ethics of the Hooked Model is a complex topic. On one hand, it is a great framework for building user engagement in our products. On the other hand, as we see in the case of social media, it can lead to strong addictions and manipulation of users.
Excessive user engagement can negatively impact mental health and social relationships. Users may lose control over their time and lives, spending too much time on products with the feeling that they must use them, often driven by the fear of missing out (FOMO).
As designers, along with others involved in product development, we have a responsibility to create solutions that encourage continued use without harming users. Overusing gratification, relying too heavily on external triggers, or exploiting negative emotions and user vulnerabilities all contribute to an unethical application of this model.
A well-designed product should help users solve problems and achieve their goals, rather than pulling them into a dangerous cycle of addiction.