Invstr’s StockStars Mini Game Teaches Investing Basics On Snapchat

Launched on the social media platform’s Snap Mini ecosystem, which supports a series of mini apps from outside companies and third parties that are accessible and usable on Snapchat, Invstr’s StockStars provides its players with a $1 million virtual portfolio that they are then able to manage in a simulated environment that uses real-time data to mirror existing financial and alternative asset markets. Users of the mini game are able to buy and sell stocks, as well as cryptocurrencies, and can also challenge their friends to competitions to see who can execute the best trades and win the most money within set time periods. Invstr hopes to make the financial educational process fun through social gamification, and the Snapchat mini game also offers helpful educational resources to explain industry-level financial lingo and jargon through an exclusive glossary of over a hundred terms curated for Snapchat. 

By combining financial literacy with a social and gamified money management experience, both the Snapchat and Invstr app platforms hope to educate users while building a community of “investors” who are able to learn from each other. The StockSstars is Snap Mini’s first education experience dedicated to finance, although the platform boasts other educational tools such as BallotReady for voter information ahead of elections, and solutions from Headspace for meditation techniques and mental fitness. The goal of Snap Mini apps is likewise to create new social experiences and bring friends together. The Snap Mini ecosystem, which runs on HTML5,  allows Snapchat friends and their Bitmojis to join in on games and experiences seamlessly because Minis load on the fly and are deeply integrated into the Snapchat chat feature allowing seamless sharing and friends to talk with built-in voice and chat messaging features. 

These bite-sized educational and native micro-experiences are part of a larger trend PSFK researchers have been following around gamification as a tool to promote education and positive behavioral habits, whether it be investing and financial acumen or something like healthy eating. Digital platforms that balance instructional elements with accountability and rewards create a positive narrative that keeps consumers engaged and motivated. 

+++ 

This article originally appeared in PSFK’s research paper, Supporting Customers' Personal Growth