Designing and developing your game is often the easiest part. Getting your brand noticed and standing out among the backdrop of others in a very competitive industry may be harder. Using social media is often where gamers will start, but making the most of what you have available to you may increase your chances of drawing investors and other interested parties in. Launching a tireless self-promotion strategy means using every available trick to highlight the unique characteristics of your product and sell yourself and your backstory.
Develop your social media pages for both your game brand and yourself.
Initiating and maintaining a high social profile is key to getting noticed. Platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram can help you broadcast your ideas and make people aware of your game brand. Link these various channels, as each social media platform highlights something unique. For example, Instagram focuses on graphics and visual aesthetics, where Facebook provides a conversational forum that allows your interested community to explore ideas through ongoing conversations. Using both personal and business accounts on each of these social media platforms allows you to increase your reach to other gamers, as well as to potential investors or business associates. Remember that following this suggestion means you need to keep up with all of the sites, making regular posts, and monitoring mentions as closely as possible.
Visit the social media sites of others and be sure to make your presence known.
While it’s important to have your own space to post relevant content, share ideas, develop promotional campaigns, and expand your brand, asking questions or posting comments on target investors’ social media pages can also be valuable. While cold tweeting, commenting, or emailing is not advisable, start by simply following them on their social media pages or personal investor blogs. Engage as naturally as possible in ongoing conversations or pose insightful questions. You are not attempting to pitch your product to them just yet, but want to find ways to get your name and game knowledge noticed. Be sure not to present yourself as a “know-it-all” or engage in overt self-promotion.
Use hashtags to help investors and other interested parties find you.
Develop hashtag that will make it easy for prospective investors to find you and your brand. Be sure that information (including your hashtag) on your sites is a natural fit for your industry. Remember that different social media sites have rules and strategies that make the hashtag use more effective on their platforms. Choose gaming hashtags that are a natural fit for your particular game idea and let the hashtag sorting feature help you develop connections with those that matter the most in your industry.
Develop a blog that’s worth reading.
Using a blog as a means to content curation can provide another place to naturally develop connections and will provide both relevant and interesting copy for your followers. One great way to inspire your community is to use your blog as a forum for answering questions that followers ask on your Facebook comments or in Tweets. Gather ideas of what topics people most want to read about and respond with meaty content that has more depth than what can be covered in other ways on social media channels. Remember as you are blogging that your goal is to maintain a balance between drawing in a new audience and maintaining the one you already have. Blog consistently, and be willing to share relevant blog posts from other gaming sites you feel will interest your faithful readers.
Use photography and videography to sell your ideas.
Because graphics are an indispensable part of “selling” your idea to an investor, you might want to take the time to learn how to create a popular YouTube channel. While a picture is worth a thousand words, a video can certainly highlight the special qualities and unique aspects of your gaming ideas. In addition to using YouTube as another outlet, you may also want to hire professional photographers or videographers that can capture interesting graphics of what investors need to focus on while your game is running. Techniques like utilizing wide-angle lens, photoshopping screenshots, and even showing 3D modeling animation, a photographer or videographer can take your marketing ideas to the next level.
Making the most of social media is a critical start for most gamers. But it’s important to remember that a professional site where potential investors can go to get more information is also key. Understanding who you are, what your game is about, and the backstory to how you started developing your idea matters to investors, your followers, and even your fan base.
What are some ideas you have found for maximizing social media reach? Feel free to share.
