While it is impossible to tell when influencer marketing started, since 2010, the trend has picked up. Most brands, irrespective of their size, are turning towards influencer marketing. However, in the last couple of years, the strategy to involve influencers in marketing has been shifting. No longer are the brands looking for the famous, biggest names on the social media platforms and making a choice based on the number of followers. Instead, marketing companies are looking for micro-influencers.
Similarly, the gaming companies are now tying up with these gaming micro influencers. The micro-influencers are known for catering to a group of followers between 1,000 and 10,000, who are a bunch of dedicated audiences. They create regular content for this small group while building an authentic relationship with the followers. The brands are now eager to leverage the engagement.
Why Engage Gaming Micro Influencers For Marketing?
So, if you have a gaming company and want to ace the gaming world, it’s time to collaborate with micro-gaming influencers. Mainly, the gaming world has changed in the last decade, and so has the industry. No longer is it a hobby, some take it as a profession, and world tournaments are on the rise. Players of all backgrounds and ages are interested in gaming and investing money in different games. It was reported by the Washington Post that in 2021 more than 100 billion hours were clocked by gaming enthusiasts watching YouTube gaming.
The word ‘watching’ and not playing signifies that the players who stream these games while playing can captivate the audience. In such a landscape where the number of gaming enthusiasts is increasing daily, it is time to form a partnership with gaming influencers by the gaming brands.
However, there is a right way of partnering with the influencers so the brands can benefit from the collaboration.
Getting The Game On With Gaming Micro-Influencers
The gaming world is quite challenging, mainly when you want to showcase your game above the others, so players buy your game. The endless buffer of games across multiple platforms can make the game notice tricky. But there is a way to move ahead of your competitors. It is by collaborating with micro gamefluencers.
We will discuss the steps so that it can be done right and you make a profit as a gaming company to launch more games in the future.
1. Setting The Goals
As an advertiser, if you are considering occupying the gaming space, you must define why you are doing it. The answers to the following points can help you to establish a clear goal with your gaming marketing involving gaming influencers.
- The demography of the audience you want to reach
- The end goal of the marketing
- The action that you want them to take
- The value that you want the parentship to bring to the brand
Strategically thinking will help you not fall into flashy partnerships and better cater to your target audience. The intention of the collaboration will also help you narrow the search to find the game influencer who will fit your game and eventually make sense to the target audience. In this case, it is the followers of the micro-influencers of the gaming world.
2. Get Away From Stereotyping
When you are developing a marketing strategy for your gaming brand or product, instead of relying on the stereotyping that only men play the games and the age group is between 35 and 44, you need to think again. It has already been reported that almost half of the gamers worldwide are female, about 45%. On the other hand, gamers between the age of 15 and 19 spend on average 49 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes during the holidays and weekends playing games.
Understanding the gaming world before you jump into marketing with the gaming influencer is vital. It will add nuance to your strategy. So understand your gaming style and find the influencer who aligns with it.
It has been reported that women are more into strategy, simulation and puzzles, while men engage in tactical shooter games and sports. Hence you have to be aware of who will be playing the game and find the influencer who will appeal to the target audience.
3. Determining The Partnership
One of the ways to succeed in gaming influencer marketing is to create the proper collaboration, which can reach the target audience and fits well with the influencer. There are a few types of collaboration:
- Gaming Influencer Partnership
- Team Sponsorship
- Tournament Sponsorship
- In-game Collaboration
- Cross-platform Partnership
4. Plan Long-Term
Like any other influencer collaboration, you must consider a long-term venture even when you tie up with a gamefluencer. Even in the gaming world, you cannot start aggressive marketing; you would need the time for the crowd to know about you. The gaming community needs that time, so activating the influencer must be strategized in a way where you can identify how they will add value and contribute to your brand in the long run.
Promotions and campaigns must be designed to create connections that will be mutually beneficial for you and the influencer. The brands need to take time to understand the audience that is brought in by the influencer and design the campaign and partnership around that. In return, it will excite the existing players and bring in a new audience.
Finding The Micro Gaming Influencers
The gaming world is a robust industry, and the demand for gaming influencers is rising as it continues to grow. Even the gaming brands are now looking for micro-gaming influencers. If you want to collaborate with a niche gaming influencer of the micro category and are unsure how to find the best fit, contact Afluencer or visit the website to select the gamefluecer who will ensure you WIN!
