Featured Blog | This community-written post highlights the best of what the game industry has to offer. Read more like it on the Game Developer Blogs or learn how to Submit Your Own Blog Post
Can Mobile Game Developers Use Social Media to Grow Their Player Base?
Want to use social media to grow your game's player base? I'll tell you how. Read more now.
As a mobile game developer, social media is one of the best tools you have in your marketing tool box. Accounts are easy to set up, they are easy to maintain, and they require very little tech savvy. It’s not the accounts themselves that give mobile game developers pause—it’s how to use those accounts to draw more players to their game, whether they are building hype before release or marketing after release. Here’s what you need to know about using social media for either of these purposes:
Make your content as shareable as possible. Word of mouth is still the best type of marketing you can have. Social media gives you the ability to raise your voice a little. If your content is shareable, if your followers and players see it and want to share it with their followers or friends, they are now doing your marketing for you. The four factors that will make content shareable are shock value, awesomeness, triggering anger, and triggering excitement. If your content can do one of those four things, it is more likely to be shared.
Builds your authority. Whether you are a new game developer or have been making mobile games for years, you want a venue to show your players that you know what you’re talking7 about. Social media is the ideal venue, as it gives you ample ability to showcase what you know and what you can do as a mobile game developer.
Make it visual. The more visual your content is, the more shareable it is and the more likely your followers are to engage with it. Luckily, as a mobile game developer, your medium is inherently visual. Sharing screenshots, sneak peaks, and other exclusive visuals just with the people who follow you is a great way to encourage more players to like or follow you with their social media accounts.
Connect with other developers. Hook up with the competition? Maybe not with your direct competition, but if there are companies out there that are related to mobile gaming, have a stake in the industry, or are willing to call a truce and share information and followers, making a connection with another brand is a great way to lend yourself legitimacy and to give yourself a boost in players and followers.
Reach out to and engage with your players. Having a personal connection with your players is important. Social media accounts give your players the ability to voice a concern, report a bug, or ask about updates. This one-on-one type of engagement can turn a casual player into a lifetime devotee. Players are more likely to remember your game and play it if you connect with them on a personal level, are willing to answer questions, express concerns and offer fixes for bugs, and just in general have an opinion.
Social media is a great marketing tool for mobile game developers. Utilizing it effectively by utilizing these steps is the best way to grow the number of people playing your game or games.
Jovan Johnson is a California licensed attorney who focuses on SEO, mobile games, and apps. He is passionate about mentoring students and steering dollars to scholarships, and speaks regularly about career opportunities. He is a principal at Johnson Moo, Furzy, Paymaster.Co, and 320 Instrumentals.
Read more about:
Featured BlogsAbout the Author
You May Also Like