April 2, 2024
Marketing a game is trickier than ever in 2024. With established publishers rapidly releasing games, how do you reach your target audience? Gaming streamers can help.
Marketing is the central pillar of a successful game. Whether you’re a AAA developer or an Indie one, you need prompt marketing to catch the attention and interest of a consumer. But everyone is pouring money into their marketing budgets in 2024, which means players are flush with options as a new ad pops on their timeline every hour. What would make your game stand out?
Influencer marketing is a digital-age product that helps producers or businesses partner up with established figures to promote their brands. In the gaming industry, it can be dubbed streamer marketing. It’s easily one of the most influential modes of marketing, as 72% of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers on social media. Brands have been utilizing this stat to reach 72%, of which 33% of Gen Z-ers buy the recommended product.
Influencer marketing is quick and impactful, and it also renders similar results in gaming. Gaming streamers are considered experts in gaming and entertainment, and their recommendation holds weight. If you’re still not sold, here are some reasons to consider Streamer marketing for your next game.
Power of the Word of Mouth
WOMM, also known as word-of-mouth marketing, is statistically the most effective form of marketing. Streamer marketing operates of WOMM as well. The leading cause behind the effectiveness of WOMM is trust. Consumers are more likely to consider a product when they trust the marketer. For example, how often do you read and consider a brochure left on the sidewalk by some stranger? In comparison, you may at least pop a quick Google search if a friend recommends a game or a TV show.
The same goes for paid ads. Stats say 65% of people skip video ads, and they do so the first chance they get. Twitch and YouTube Gaming streamers spend months and years connecting with their audience and building relationships. They can influence and de-influence this audience, even if it’s 100 viewers. Your target audience is likelier to listen to their favorite streamer when they enjoy your game, boosting revenue.
Digital Marketing agencies are all focused on the four Ps of Marketing, but the three Es of Marketing are just as crucial: Engage, Equip, and Empower. This approach places trust at the center of the marketing. If consumers trust you, they buy from you. For example, games like GTA don’t need aggressive marketing because Rockstar has set precedence with a decade of blockbuster games.
Conversely, a new game developer would want to gain trust, which is possible by hiring top streamers with a thriving viewer base. If your game is good enough, hearing it from their favorite streamer would increase the chances of them giving it a shot compared to a random paid ad on social media.
Finding the Right Audience
If you’re a game developer with a stable income stream but a small team, crafting a marketing strategy and finding the target demographic may be challenging. By hiring a Twitch streamer, you are paying one person to spread the word to a thousand more. Streamer marketing saves valuable time and delivers quality results.
As a new developer, you may not know where your target audience is, but hiring a streamer solves this issue. While you’ll still need to conduct research, it won’t be as extensive as marketing to all potential customers individually. For example, instead of spending hours discovering an audience, you may need to spend a few to find the right streamer with Twitch followers relevant to your game.
Sense of Community
Games are more fun when you have someone to play them with. In fact, 83% of people play games with a friend online. This stat proves that gaming goes beyond competition and relaxation; most people play them to feel a sense of belonging and community.
Instead of marketing your game to individuals, hiring online streamers helps create a tight-knit community, which can set a solid base for a successful game. Viewers of a streamer may give your game a shot and play together, communicate, and share progress.
Why community is important? It ensures that people return to your game. Sure, you may convince players to play your game once, but the sense of community retains them. This approach ensures a steady player count over an extended duration, avoiding the fleeting spikes typical of paid advertising. A tight-knit community adds to the health and life of your game.
Content marketing goes beyond merely promoting a game; it entails constructing a dynamic, thriving community. Through delivering value, encouraging engagement, utilizing interactive content, and upholding consistency, developers can establish an environment where gamers don’t just find entertainment but genuinely connect. A flourishing gaming community is more than an asset; the heartbeat sustains your game, adding to its life.
Setting Up a Culture
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a significant factor behind a successful game. When a game is popular among a particular community, everyone wants to be a part of it. You may be able to sell a few hundred copies, but without a streamer, you can’t create a culture around your game.
Take Among Us, for example. Even non-gamers are using terms like “sus” after the game became a hit. It was released in 2018 but didn’t become mainstream until Sodapoppin and other YouTube streamers played it to thousands of viewers. Everyone wanted to become a part of his hobby, which then became a trend.
You can do the same for your game by seeking the help of an established streamer. They help create a lingo, a culture-specific to your game, making it stand out among the herd of everyday releases. When your game cultivates a vibrant culture, it instills a sense of urgency in players who eagerly join the trend to experience firsthand what all the hype is about.
Memes are also rooted in the concept of FOMO. Game-related memes are only understood by the “inner circle.” Outsiders looking at a meme feel immediate FOMO. This urges players to download your game due to an internal trigger. These players will likely stay engaged and become strong advocates for your game, spreading word-of-mouth awareness.
Remember Fall Guys? The game was an overnight hit, as more and more players hopped in on the trend, thanks to the most subscribed Twitch streamers creating hilarious content around it. No marketing guru can do this for you. Creating a strong culture around your game is a job reserved for streamers.
Hiring a gaming streamer is one of the quickest marketing methods to get results. It may cost more than your typical marketing methods, but it’s an effective marketing strategy apt for busy developers.