Similarly to leaderboards, badges can also be linked up using our API to automatically award community members with badges.

If you’ve gone through our Getting Started course, you should also be familiar with our custom badges, which also allow you to create more customized tasks that align better with your business goals. The way in which API-automated badges differ from custom badges is mainly in the logistics.

Custom badges, which require manual approval from moderators, are more appropriate for tasks that require a little more screening from your team. For example:

• Social Champion: Send 5 photos of you with other community members in one of our in-person events.
• VIP Members: Awarded to a specially selected group of users.
• Early Adopter: Purchase an item from our newly opened physical store and attach a receipt.

API-automated badges, which automatically award badges once a task has been detected to be completed on your system, are more appropriate for metrics related to system data. For example:

• Big Spender: Spend a total of $100 on our online store
• Power User: Log in daily for 30 consecutive days.
• Product Reviewer: Submit reviews for 5 different products purchased on the platform.

Using platform-linked badges is effective because it channels community engagement directly into valuable platform activities. By setting automated badges for key actions, members are naturally incentivized to complete tasks, make purchases, and engage more regularly to earn recognition.