People often complain about those annoying Facebook quizzes that promise to determine which television character is most similar to your personality. Yet, as your friends gleefully post the results on their profile, they still fill out the quizzes. Lots of them.
These quizzes give you two shots at user engagement. First, ask readers for help building a quiz. Then ask them to take it.
Our first Echo quiz asked “Which Great Lake are you?” Readers noted that the personality of Lake Superior was cold and inaccessible and, well, superior. And if your favorite beverage was Labatt Blue, your personality may be better suited to Lake Ontario.
That was fun, but it didn’t scream, “Take me!”
So we built another quiz around the question, “Which Great Lakes invasive species is your former significant other?” (As way of background: An invasive species is a plant or animal that shows up from an entirely different ecosystem. Without natural enemies, they may thrive, crowding out native species and wreaking destruction and vast changes on their new home – sound like someone you know?)
Readers sent some telling observations of an ex who left their home a mess, spread disease and had the bug eyes of a round goby (that’s a fish). Some were thoughtful comparisons such as the purple loosestrife plant that is beautiful but expensive to get rid of.
My favorite comment during this quiz-building phase: “My ex is definitely an Asian carp. He is huge, gross-looking and he frequently pops up when I least expect him to. I wish there was an electric fence to keep him away from Michigan.”
It connected with users, had them think about our content and drew them into the site for more.