Influence levels: recognising the hosts who bring people in

A live app usually has two well-known ladders: a rich level for the people who send gifts and a charm level for the people who receive them. Both are about money moving. An influence level measures something else: how many people a host brings into the app and keeps there. It is the ladder that rewards a host for building an audience, even before that audience starts spending.

What influence should measure

Influence works best as a mix of signals that are hard to fake:

• Followers gained, counted only from accounts that have been active for a few days.

• Unique listeners in the host's rooms each week.

• Return visits, the share of last week's listeners who came back this week.

• Time on the mic while at least a few people are listening.

Gifts received can play a part, but if they dominate, influence becomes a second charm level. Keep it about reach and loyalty, and it will reward a different group of hosts: the ones who are good at keeping a room company.

Ten levels, silver to rainbow

The Influence Level Pack has ten levels, each in its own colour, starting with silver at level 1 and ending with a rainbow finish at level 10. Ten levels give enough room for a long climb, which suits influence because audiences grow slowly.

Six files per level

Each level has three animations and a PNG still for each one:

Ten levels times six files makes 60.

The tag: next to the host's name

The tag is the piece people will see most. At 228×80 and 30 fps it is small and smooth, made to sit beside a host's name on the mic seat, in the room list and on the profile. Because it is so light (under 80 KB), it can animate on the mic seat without worry; in long lists, the 33 to 40 KB still is the better choice.

The badge: the profile

The badge goes on the host's profile and their room info page. It is the piece a new listener will look at when deciding whether to follow, so show it large and animated there.

The banner: the level-up

The six-second banner is for the moment a host reaches a new level. Play it in the host's room so their audience can celebrate with them, and send the still version as a notification to followers.

Three ladders side by side

If your app already has rich and charm levels, an influence tag will sit next to them on the same profile. A few rules keep three ladders readable:

1. Different shapes. Users should tell the ladders apart without reading. The influence tag is a slim 228×80 strip; keep your rich and charm badges a different shape.

2. A fixed order. Always show the ladders in the same order on every screen.

3. Hide zero levels. A new host with no influence level should show no influence tag at all, so the first level is a visible achievement.

The store's Rich Level and Charm Level packs, 101 PNG badges each, are built for the other two ladders.

Next step

Pick the three or four signals your influence score will use and set thresholds so that a steady host reaches level 3 in their first month. Check how the ten tags look next to a host name in your seat layout in the free viewer. The Influence Level Pack holds all 60 files and is sold as one pack.