Videogame Marketers: 3 Tips on How to Choose the Right Influencer

Videogame marketers are always searching for the best way to promote their games and influencers can be very effective at reaching their target audience. As a Northwestern student specializing in Communication Studies and Integrated Marketing Communications, I have found two articles on influencers that will interest you.

Why non-gaming influencers may be the best fit for your game by James Batchelor from gamesindustry.biz gives advice on choosing the right influencer based off your target demographic. It is a challenge to get the popular game influencers who may or may not want to try your game. Rather than fighting for their favor, Batchelor suggests being open to other influencers who can just as effectively appeal to your target market. Allowing influencers to be more deeply involved in the marketing process can help produce more creative and unique ideas. Furthermore, start looking to different platforms, not just YouTube. Depending on your type of game and marketing strategy, working with different types of influencers on different channels may be a better fit.

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Do not underestimate the power of active communities as micro influencers. Daniel Rosales article on LinkedIn, Guilds as Video Games Micro-Influencers talks about using guilds as a different way to reach your target market. Rosales mentions that while guilds are relatively small, there are also a few multi-game guilds with active communities. Reaching out to a professional guild, Dragons: Guild Master of The Syndicate, Rosales talks more in-depth about this possibility. Overall, Rosales stresses that guilds are an engaged, passionate community that should be further investigated as an effective micro influencer opportunity.

After reviewing these articles and from my studies from Northwestern University, I have developed with a few key tips to improve your focus on influencers:

• Be More Open- Start focusing on the demographics of your viewers. Trying using specialized channels and other influencers related to your target market's interests

• Use Other Platforms- Don't just use YouTube, take advantage of different social media platforms based on the type of game you have and the audience you want to reach.
• Think About Micro- Give guilds a chance as a micro influencer, they have potential to make a significant impact.

As marketers, it is important to look for new ways to connect with audiences. Be sure to take these tips into consideration the next time you are in search of influencers for your next game!

                                                                                                                           Oceana Hamilton is a senior undergraduate student-athlete majoring in Communication Studies and pursing an Integrated Marketing Communications certificate at Northwestern University. Graduating June 2018, she aspires to work in marketing after pursing her professional basketball career.

A passionate gamer, you can reach her on LinkedIn or Twitter

CMOs: Three Effective ways to market to the Millennial Generation

As a CMO you understand the importance of growing your market share in the Millennial group. As a graduate student in the IMC program at Medill, Northwestern University with a keen interest in Digital Marketing Strategy, I have found two interesting articles discussing what brands can do to connect with these influential consumers.

In What Leading Brands can teach us about marketing to millennial consumers, an insightful article by Chris Ertel published in CMO.com, Chris gives some great examples on how top brands are marketing to millennial consumers. According to Chris, it is very important to understand what motivates millennials. They are motivated by three key values: the need for a feeling of connectedness through personal relationships and community; social proof that they can make the world a better place; and a demand for authenticity, seeing things as they truly are.

           

Another great article on this topic, 5 effective ways to market to millennials by Joel Kaplan for mashable.com talks about how millennials are the connected generation,  how they are increasingly using their phones to keep current on issues, celebrities and products that interest them. That means marketers should ensure that their mobile experience is optimized for smartphones, it should be visually appealing and easy to navigate. They also crave to have a dialog with the brands they love. So you should stay in touch with your audience through social media. Millennials are more attached to experiences than products. Think of creative ways to engage with them. The millennials who love your product are your best marketing tool. These evangelists will sell your product for you if you give them a forum and the means to do so.

After reviewing these two articles and from my graduate studies in the IMC Program at Medill, Northwestern University, I found three action items you need to consider when developing your marketing strategies targeting millennial. They are:

·      Go Mobile – Brands should have a powerful and effective mobile marketing strategy as Millennials are consuming more & more content on their mobile devices.

·      Engage & Collaborate – Millennials want to be more involved with product creation and improvement. Companies should engage with them and enable them to be a part of the process.

·      Create Brand Evangelists – Millennials love to spread the word and recommend their favorite products. Brands should use this to their advantage.

Following these three simple strategies will give you a great competitive advantage over other brands and help you capture the long-term loyalty of Millennials.

About the Author: Megha Ghildiyal is a communications professional with expertise in lifestyle & luxury brand marketing.  She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with Medill at Northwestern University. You can follow her on Twitter @MeghaGhildiyal