- How to work with macro-influencers to promote your video game
- Published 23/05/2023
- 8 min Read
- Written by Julia Shandrokha
Table of contents
Gaming industry is highly dynamic, competition here is intense and new games are released almost daily, so standing out can be quite a challenge. One strategy that has proven to be effective in overcoming this hurdle is influencer marketing. With the rise of streaming platforms and social media, influencers have become major players in the gaming world, commanding large, engaged audiences that can turn a game from a hidden gem to a popular favorite almost overnight.
Influencer marketing is an increasingly popular strategy in game promotion due to the unique blend of reach, authenticity, and engagement that influencers offer. In this sphere, macro-influencers play a significant role. With a follower count typically between 100,000 and 1 million, macro-influencers offer an extensive reach without losing the personal connection with their audience that characterizes influencer marketing.
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While working with macro-influencers may seem intimidating due to their extensive reach and influence, it offers a host of potential benefits, from enhancing brand awareness and credibility to driving game installs and fostering a loyal player base. But to reap these benefits, a strategic, informed approach is necessary.
In this article, the experts from the Famesters influencer marketing agency for Games delve into the specifics of how you can effectively work with macro-influencers to promote your video game effectively, attract more users, and get the highest ROI. Let’s get started.
WHO MACRO-INFLUENCERS ARE AND WHAT IMPACT THEY HAVE ON THE GAMING COMMUNITY
Macro-influencers are digital personalities with a substantial following, typically from 100k to 1 million on social media. They’re not as famous as the mega-influencers who are almost like celebrities, but they’ve built their loyal fan base by consistently engaging with their audience. They’re like the reliable friends (the ones from the group of popular kids) you can always count on for outstanding content and genuine connections.
These influencers come from a variety of backgrounds: some may be industry professionals, others are enthusiasts, and many are content creators who’ve earned the loyalty of their audience by delivering engaging, relevant, and high-quality content. A key characteristic of macro-influencers is their ability to connect with their followers on a more personal level compared to mega-influencers. They foster trust and a sense of community, often directly interacting with their followers through comments, direct messages, and live streams. Although they may not do it as much as micro- or nano-influencers.
A distinct feature of macro-influencers within the gaming industry is their niche specialization. While their follower count might be less than that of a mega-influencer, their audiences are often more engaged. These influencers could be experts in a specific genre of games (like RPGs, MOBAs, or FPSs), focus on a single game or franchise, or cater to a specific type of gamer.
In the gaming community, macro-influencers play a pivotal role as tastemakers and trendsetters. Given their sizable audiences, these influencers have a broad reach and can significantly impact trends within their particular niches. When they start playing a new game, their followers take notice, and it’s not uncommon to see spikes in game downloads following a macro-influencer’s endorsement.
Their reach isn’t their only strength, though. Macro-influencers have the power to form and shape opinions about a game. Their followers trust their views and often base their purchasing decisions on the influencer’s recommendations. Positive reviews or gameplay streams can help increase a game’s visibility, drive installs, and improve its standing in app stores.
Moreover, macro-influencers often foster vibrant, dedicated communities of gamers. Their social media channels and streaming platforms become gathering places for like-minded individuals to discuss, critique, and enjoy video games. This sense of community, driven by a shared passion for gaming, can be a powerful tool for game developers seeking to introduce their game to engaged and potential players.
However, working with macro-influencers requires a strategic approach, as their impact can be a double-edged sword. A poorly received promotional effort can lead to negative buzz just as quickly as a successful one can generate positive attention. Hence, it’s critical to carefully select, approach, and collaborate with macro-influencers when promoting your video game.
HOW TO IDENTIFY THE RIGHT MACRO-INFLUENCERS FOR YOUR VIDEO GAME
Find influencers that align with your game’s genre, themes, and target audience
Before jumping into the influencer search, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of your game’s genre, themes, and target audience. You should identify the type of players you want to attract and engage, and what themes or gameplay features would resonate with them the most. Also, it’s important to identify your competitors: it will help you tap into the audiences they attract and find the influencers they work with.
Once you have a solid grasp on these aspects, you can start seeking influencers who align with your game. Look for macro-influencers who specialize in your game’s genre and have an audience that fits your target demographic. For example, if you’ve developed a fast-paced battle royale game, it makes sense to partner with influencers who frequently stream or review games from this genre. Their audiences are more likely to be interested in your game and are therefore more likely to convert into players.
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EVALUATE AN INFLUENCER’S REACH, ENGAGEMENT RATE, AND CONTENT QUALITY
While the number of followers is an important metric, it’s not the only one you should be focusing on when choosing a macro-influencer to partner with.
Engagement rate is another key indicator of an influencer’s effectiveness. This metric shows the level of interaction between the influencer and their audience, including likes, shares, comments, and views. High engagement rates often signal that the influencer’s audience is not only sizable, but active and interested in their content.
Content quality is also essential. Browse through the influencer’s previous posts or videos to assess their production quality, creativity, and professionalism. Influencers who produce high-quality content are more likely to retain audience attention and generate a positive response.
Remember, each social media platform has different engagement standards and norms: for gaming brands, these typically are YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, etc. Make sure to familiarize yourself with these nuances as you evaluate potential influencers.
MAKE SURE THE INFLUENCER’S CONNECTION WITH THEIR AUDIENCE IS AUTHENTIC
Authenticity is the key to effective influencer marketing. Audiences follow and trust influencers because they believe in their sincerity and honesty. When selecting a macro-influencer, make sure they’ve earned their audience’s trust and maintain a genuine connection with their followers.
Assess this by looking at the tone of their content, their interaction with followers, and audience feedback. Do they respond to comments and messages from their followers? Do they appear genuine in their recommendations, or do they come across as overly promotional? An influencer who values authenticity will likely provide a more reliable and effective promotion for your video game.
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HOW TO BUILD A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP WITH A GAMING INFLUENCER
Once you’ve identified the right macro-influencer, it’s time to establish a partnership framework that clearly outlines your goals, objectives, and rewards for the influencer. Clearly defining your expectations and the influence r’s role can set the groundwork for a successful collaboration.
Goals are your broad, overarching outcomes that you hope to achieve through the partnership, such as increasing brand awareness or boosting game installs. Objectives are the specific, measurable steps you will take to achieve these goals, such as achieving a certain number of downloads or views on the influencer’s content about your game.
Rewards for the influencer should be mutually agreed upon and proportionate to the effort they put into promoting your game. They can vary from monetary compensation to exclusive access to your game or other special benefits.
Also, don’t forget that in the world of game development, analytics plays a crucial role in monitoring progress and evaluating success. Therefore, it makes sense to incorporate game analytics in setting up partnership milestones.
You can use your game’s analytics system to track the impact of the influencer’s promotional efforts. For example, you can track how many new players are coming from the influencer’s content, how long these players are staying in the game, and whether they’re making any in-game purchases.
By setting up clear and trackable milestones, you can ensure that both you and the influencer can monitor the progress and effectiveness of the collaboration. This transparency can contribute to a healthy and successful partnership.
Now about the compensation for your selected content creator. Influencers are professionals who put a lot of time and effort into their work, and they should be compensated fairly. However, compensation doesn’t have to be limited to monetary payments. There are several creative ways to reward influencers, especially when it comes to promoting video games.
In addition to a standard fee, consider offering in-game benefits like exclusive features, premium services, or hard currency (gems, coins, etc.). You could even create an exclusive in-game character or skin featuring the influencer’s likeness or logo.
Remember, the influencer’s reward should reflect their effort, engagement, and the value they bring to your game’s promotion. By offering a well-balanced and enticing compensation package, you can maintain a fruitful and long-lasting partnership with the macro-influencer, thereby ensuring a successful campaign for your video game.
HOW TO MEASURE AND ANALYZE THE IMPACT OF INFLUENCER MARKETING
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT TO TRACK METRICS AND KPIS IN INFLUENCER MARKETING
Influencer marketing, like any marketing strategy in the gaming industry, requires diligent tracking of metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These metrics enable you to assess the campaign’s effectiveness and make informed decisions for enhancing future partnerships with influencers.
Several critical metrics for influencer marketing in the gaming sector include the influencer’s reach (number of followers), engagement (likes, shares, comments on the influencer’s game-related content), click-through rate (percentage of viewers who clicked on the game’s link shared by the influencer), and game installs (number of game downloads that originated from the influencer’s campaign).
TOOLS AND ANALYTICS TO MEASURE THE INFLUENCER’S PERFORMANCE AND CAMPAIGN EFFECTIVENESS
Tools like Google Analytics or mobile game analytics solutions can provide insight into the volume of traffic the influencer is driving towards your game, the duration these users are playing your game, and their in-game actions. You can also use complex influencer marketing platforms like BuzzGuru that give you all the data concerning your influencer marketing campaign, including the information about each selected influencer’s performance.
On the influencer’s side, social media platforms offer analytics tools that can yield insights into the performance of game-related posts, engagement rates, and audience demographics.
To efficiently track the influencer campaign’s performance, it’s essential to use UTM parameters or dedicated promo codes. These mechanisms allow you to specifically trace the users that came from each influencer’s campaign and differentiate them from your other traffic sources. BuzzGuru also has a special tool for creating and tracking unique links for influencer marketing purposes.
UNDERSTANDING THE DATA
In analyzing the data from your influencer marketing campaign, several elements need to be considered.
- User acquisition. Keep track of the number of new users brought in by the influencer’s campaign. This gives you a clear picture of the influencer’s effectiveness at driving new player interest and downloads for your game.
- In-game purchases. Monitor the spending behavior of the users acquired through the influencer’s campaign. Are these users more likely to make in-game purchases? This information can give you valuable insight into the value of these users and the return on investment of your influencer campaign.
- Ad engagement. Analyze how the new users engage with in-game advertisements. Are they watching video ads? Are they clicking on the ads? This data will help you understand their behavior and potential for ad-based revenue.
- Churn rate. Keep an eye on how long these users stay with your game. High churn rates (users leaving the game soon after installing) may indicate that the influencer’s audience may not be the best fit for your game, guiding you to refine your influencer selection for future campaigns.
ADJUST YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY BASED ON ANALYTICS
MAKE CHANGES TO THE STRATEGY BASED ON PERFORMANCE
Data analytics from your influencer marketing campaigns aren’t just for static observation; they’re a potent tool to make proactive changes and refine your strategies. If certain aspects of the campaign, such as the type of content, posting times, or even the influencer’s style, aren’t resonating well with the audience, adjustments should be made promptly. This approach ensures that the campaign remains agile and responsive to user behaviors and trends.
USE THE DATA TO RENEGOTIATE OR PLAN FUTURE CAMPAIGNS
The wealth of data gathered from your campaign is instrumental when it comes to negotiating future partnerships. Performance data can serve as a robust reference point when discussing terms with influencers. For instance, if a particular influencer’s YouTube video resulted in high user acquisition rates and in-game purchases, you may choose to invest more in future collaborations with that influencer. On the other hand, underperforming partnerships can be reevaluated or discontinued to optimize your marketing budget and strategy.
CONCLUSION: LEVERAGE MACRO-INFLUENCERS FOR YOUR VIDEO GAME’S SUCCESS
Navigating the world of macro-influencers can be complex, but the potential benefits for your video game’s exposure and success are significant. Through careful selection, strategic partnerships, authentic content, and data-driven adjustments, you can effectively employ influencer marketing to reach a broader audience and drive engagement. Stay patient, dedicated, and be prepared to adapt—your journey with macro-influencers could take your game to new heights of success.
Want more evidence influencer marketing works just right for video games? Read our case study on promoting Konami’s fresh hack-and-slash game Getsu Fūma Den: Undying Moon.
To get some advice or help from influencer marketing experts with 6+ years of experience in promoting games, contact the Famesters influencer marketing agency. We can become your dedicated consultants or simply manage the entire campaign for your game success.
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