How to Cooperate Effectively with Gaming Influencers?
According to a study conducted by IQS, as many as 74% of people aged 12–55 in Poland make different decisions (Activities, visiting new places, making informed purchases etc.) at the advisal of influencers. This shows that influencer marketing is currently one of the most effective forms of marketing. We can achieve good results in this area through a well-structured strategy and cooperation with credible creators. How should such cooperation work in practice?
Who are influencers?
Simply put, an influencer is a person who is active in social media and who, due to popularity, has the ability to influence the decisions or opinions of their audience. This role used to be played by movie stars, but times have now changed and the same role has shifted towards influencers. According to a study conducted by IQS, currently as many as 48% of girls aged 10–15 in Poland want to become YouTubers, Instagrammers, Tictockers or Influencers in general.
But how does that relate to video games?
Today, video games are one of the most popular forms of entertainment, which is not only true for playing, but watching as well . People who specialize in gameplay and gaming related discussions use platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. As these people operate in the online space, they are no longer anonymous and often their channels have many loyal fans. Therefore, they can be considered influencers. By speaking about, and more importantly showing that a game is interesting and worth playing, they convince their audience to try it out for themselves. This also translates into other related areas (e.g. hardware), and sometimes to completely unrelated areas (e.g. campaigns for clothing companies).
How best to cooperate with influencers?
Working with gamers does not differ significantly from working with influencers in other fields. There are, however, rules that must be followed in such cooperation (!) so that both the creator and the client are satisfied. So, how to cooperate with influencers and what to avoid? Here are some valuable tips:
- Follow the intuition and vision of the creator — Remember that the influencer is human, and not a walking advertisement. If they think something should be done differently and have an idea for a particular campaign, then that must be respected. It is them who know their audience best, are aware of what they like and how to relay a given topic in a way that maintains their credibility.
- Make sure that influencer has full understanding of the brief and assumptions for your campaign — As in any line of work, if we do not fully understand the task at hand then we don’t always not know the purpose of the actions we take. If we don’t know that, then how can we complete our work effectively? In this case it is the same — the influencer should know exactly what the customer expects from him, and any uncertainties should therefore be avoided.
- Stick to deadlines — Deadlines are crucial in cooperation with gaming influencers. Creators should know a few things in advance. Firstly, the timing for when you will decide whether or not they can participate in your campaign. Secondly — when to deliver initial materials for customer acceptance. Thirdly — how much time they have to post the material after the client’s feedback, and in case of earlier amendments — exactly how much time they have to complete them.
- Avoid unexpected changes — Making changes to the concept of the brief during its implementation by the influencer can be perceived by him as throwing all his work in the trash. In addition, it can attest to the incompetence and indecision of the client.
- Give the influencer some space — Despite clearly defined timeframes, do not impose only one specific day for publishing. Many influencers have their own specific schedule for adding content on fanpages or channels — e.g. YouTube videos are posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Their schedule must also be respected because oftentimes it is followed not only by them, but their audience as well.
In summary
Currently, influencer marketing is one of the best marketing solutions due to the credibility of web creators in the eyes of viewers. However, in order for these actions to make sense and not cause embarrassment among both creators and their audience, it is important to remember a few important things. Above all, we must not forget that every influencer is an ordinary human like you and I, who needs clear guidelines to do his job well. They also need some space to express themselves and their creativity. Under no circumstances should they be deprived of their right to remain natural, despite the desire to sell a product. In the case of gamers, this is incredibly important, especially when the campaign is not directly related to the channel theme.
