Facebook Esports — A Powerful Ecosystem Ahead Of The Game
Have you been avoiding Facebook?
… the way most in esports have?
If so, you need to STOP ignoring it.
Start paying attention to what Facebook is doing in esports.
It was only a matter of time, but now Facebook has announced they are “all in” when it comes to esports and video gaming.
Step 1 was through their ESL CS:GO partnership announcement.
Step 2, Facebook announced the Facebook Gaming Creator Program. People can now sign up for access.
Step 3, yesterday, Gfinity announced that all broadcast for 2018 would be exclusively through Facebook.
This is a big deal. Here’s why.
While Facebook has been involved in esports even before these three announcements with signed content deals with ESL One, Team Dignitas, Echo Fox, and many more…
All these announcements and other changes happening on Facebook screams “pay attention.”
You cannot ignore Facebook’s ability to grow, outpace, and overtake their competitors. Facebook’s 2+ billion users and the sheer speed at which they move, react and build.
Exhibit A = Snapchat is losing to Instagram after 18 months. Yikes.
Are they about to do the same to Google’s YouTube and Amazon’s Twitch?
That is what we are about to witness over the next 18 months.
Bold claim? No, and let me explain.
The Esports Observer asked their community, “Will Facebook be Successful in Streaming Esports.”
The results:
- 21% say Facebook will Succeed
- 79% say Facebook will Fail
I completely disagree!
For the 79% who do not believe Facebook will succeed in esports, keep reading…
In this six-part article, I outline what you should be aware of when it comes to using Facebook.
Let’s dive in and break this down.
Before I share my opinions, let me share, since 2015, I have had been interacting with a wide variety of content technology companies who partner with Facebook. I also work alongside an agency in Los Angeles who manages over $50 million in ad spend on Facebook alone in 2017. Also, I work with the broadcast engineers behind Facebook’s F8 and Oculus VR conference.
The entrance of Facebook into the esports space WILL impact you. Here’s what you should be aware of:
- Facebook News Feed Updates (Part 1)
- Facebook Watch (Part 2)
- Facebook Creator Gaming Program (Part 3)
- Facebook Community Management (Part 4)
- Facebook Messenger (Part 5)
- Facebook Advertising (Part 6)
Let’s start with the changes to the Facebook News Feed…
Part 1 — Facebook News Feed Updates
The general response I have seen across digital marketing communities is positive.
If you are thinking of rage quitting, take a deep breath.
Put on your SOVO Gaming hoodie, Astro Gaming headsets, sit down in your DXRacer chair and explore this new expansion pack that Facebook released.
With how smart and agile the esports community is, I am confident you will take this opportunity and blow people’s mind with creativity and determination.
Ok, so here’s the facts.
On January 11th, Mark Zuckerberg dropped the news that Facebook was:
- “Making a major change to how we build Facebook.”
- “Facebook’s mission is to bring people closer together” and,
- “We have gotten feedback from our community that public content — posts from businesses, brands, and media — is crowding out the personal moments.”
Then, Facebook’s Adam Mosseri (Head of News Feed), outlined a handful of coming changes to the News Feed.
- “Space in News Feed is limited.”
- “We will show less public content, including videos and other posts from publishers or businesses.”
- “Pages may see their reach, video watch time, and referral traffic decrease.” From an FB advertising perspective, this “may” is a “is happening”)
- “We will be making updates to ranking.”
What does this mean?
From what I have seen in backchannel marketing communities, heard direct from top-tier FB Ad spenders, marketing podcasts such as Perpetual Traffic, and seen first hand, this is what we know:
- The changes to the News Feed applies to all post types, from company pages and individuals.
- Static content that you post is showing up less in your customers personal News Feeds.
- Links to external websites are getting less visibility in the News Feed. Facebook does not want people leaving the platform. This includes links to blog posts, news, or websites that live on an external site, such as http://konvoy.co/blog. To leave the Facebook ecosystem will need you to rely on Facebook Ad’s to direct.
Now at this point, you might be scratching your head, even ready to throw that Scuff gaming controller through your BENQ TV.
How is any of this good news?
Stay with me. It is not game over…
…this means we all have to evolve and adjust to the new market.
Facebook’s new “ranking” system for the News Feed is where I see esports brands WINNING.
So what does the ranking system looking like?
“Engaged Communities.” A phrase that the Konvoy founders and my team hear from me all the time around the office here at Konvoy. It is not about the products you sell, it’s about the community, conversations, and your customer.
Let me expand on this…
Understanding Facebook Ranking System For Esports
In an article published by Wired Magazine, Adam Mosseri (VP of Facebook News Feed) said,
“The key thing is understanding what types of interactions people find meaningful, what inspires them to interact more or share more in the future” and “some of the specific things would be like we’re going to be (weighing) long comments more than short comments” and that “comments are more valuable than Likes”.
To summarize, Facebook wants people to have authentic conversations with each other. Less about products and more conversations.
“Isn’t this what is already happening?”
No. Most esports brands are speaking “at” customers.
Esports content focuses on offering 10% promotion discount for some new GFuel flavor, showcasing a new product, or re-sharing a clip from Major League Gaming, ESL, or GFinity. Each of these examples generates very limited engagement at the depths of what Facebook is now talking about and expecting.
Facebook wants less noise and more engagement.
I am a fan, and you should be too…
Video Content In News Feed
“Video is, primarily, a passive experience. You tend just to sit back and watch it. Moreover, while you are watching it, you are not usually liking or commenting or speaking with friends.”
-Adam Mosseri
What I take from Adam Mosseri’s comment is that this means we will see less short videos in the News Feeds (we are already been witnessing this since January 12th, 2018). Video content where the brand is talking “at” people about how awesome they are (not engaging) is completely OFF the news feed (brands should be VERY worried about this). This also means having your marketing agency promote video in a dark post (dark posts are News Feed style ads that don’t publish to your Timeline or in your fans’ feeds organically) will not be as effective as promoting a Facebook Live Post (Already seeing this to be true).
A week before this announcement, Stu Grubbs, CEO at Lightstream was talking about this. For context, Lightstream is web-based software that integrates with Facebook Live. It has an edge on Facebook Live trends going forward.
What Stu challenged us to do was to make our podcast “The Pulse of Esports” into a live experience. To his point, “Live” will create more authentic conversations, drive engagement, and foster community. It also allows startups, investors, and gamers in the space to take part in the conversation.
This strategy will win, as Facebook’s recent iterations are indicating.
I love it…
Live is very powerful for brands, and we are aligning our strategy as such.
You should too.
(RELATED: Take part and learn from top investors, founders, and esports influencers by subscribing to the Pulse of Esports Live Experience. Message us through Facebook Messenger with the phrase POEX to be notified when we go live.)
How To Use Facebook News Feed Changes For Esports
Now that we have a baseline of what these News Feed changes will and are already beginning to look like. Here are five top-level viewpoints on how your esports brand can use Facebook News Feed to stay present with your community.
1. Engaging Content (not passive)
Mari Smith said, “Content is King, but engagement is queen, and she rules the house.”
Create content that creates a conversation among your community members and take part in the discussion.
Use Facebook Live, recorded stories, or in-feed articles. Create opportunities where your community engages in conversations in the comments. Engagement dictates relevance to FB’s algorithms.
If you want a prime example of highly engaging content and community, check out Gary Vaynerchuk.
Facebook also has the ability for your brand to set up a private group or sub-communities for your loyal fans. Make sure you create this and make sure there is engagement, or your content will not show up (more on this later).
If you were wondering how the Facebook algorithm works, this is how:
- It shows your post to a few people connected to your profile/group/page
- If your customer like/comment/share, it shows it to a few more
- And then a few more, etc.
The more engaged they are, the further your reach is.
2. Improve your live video content plans
Esport brands will need to step out of the box. Streaming games are only one idea, it is powerful but customers want more…
Live videos on Facebook on average get 6x as many interactions as static content.
You might be thinking, “Aren’t we already doing this.”
Some are, most actually are not.
Ways that you can start expanding your content past live streaming games is by doing interactive interviews with players, a town hall meeting to update your community on what’s happening, or provide exclusive content to your private Facebook Group.
As a bonus, when you do Facebook Live, drive your audience to Facebook Messenger. Messenger is a tool to stay engaged with customers (more on this later).
A common question I get from startups in the Konvoy network is:
“Can I put Ad Spend behind live video?”
The answer YES and if you need help, shoot me an email jlee@konvoy.co.
(PRO-TIP: If you are looking for an excellent software-based studio solution, check out Lightstream.)
3. Stop engagement bait
There has been a tendency for brands to do posts that encourage people to engage by “commenting” “liking” or using a “heart or thumbs up”.
For Example:
Facebook sees this as forced engagement, and it will affect how your content shows up in your audiences News Feeds.
“Growth Hacking” which “engagement bait” is sometimes referred to as, is being cracked down on.
4. Reduce scheduled posts
Posting to post to appear in the News Feed appears not to be working very well anymore.
It is better to post relevant content that engages your community to have great conversations.
What does this mean for your brand? You must become more interested in your community and their success, than the products you sell.
5. Facebook Ads
Learning how to maximize Facebook Ad’s is going to be very important for esports brands in 2018. This could be getting people from Facebook to your website (ninja tactics are required now), promoting a live stream (important and doable), or selling merchandise to your community through Dynamic Product Ads.
In short, Facebook is looking to decrease the “noise,” increase ad spend, and keep traffic “in-platform.” Instead of having Facebook be a gateway to get users to leave their ecosystem (makes sense).
In section six of this article, I talk more about the reasons behind why you should be doing Facebook ads.
(Note: if you are not an expert at Facebook ads and how to execute this in esports, my team, and I would be happy to help. Ping me at jlee@konvoy.co).
Ok, now let’s talk Facebook Watch, which I predict will overtake Google’s YouTube as the biggest video player…
Part 2 — Facebook Watch
In August 2017, Facebook introduced Facebook Watch. Facebook Watch is “a new platform for shows on Facebook.” It creates a space for creators and publishers to build an audience of engaged fans and make money from their work. Mark Zuckerberg wrote:
“We believe it’s possible to rethink a lot of experiences through the lens of building community — including watching video. Watching a show doesn’t have to be passive . . . You’ll be able to chat and connect with people during an episode, and join groups with people who like the same shows afterwards to build community.”
So how is Facebook Watch going to overtake Google YouTube’s throne?
Facebook Watch has three strong strategies:
- Facebook Users Activity
- Facebook Advertisers
- Facebook Content Creators and Publishers
1. Facebook User Activity
In 2016, Mark disclosed that the average person spent 50 minutes a day on Facebook’s platforms. Users in the U.S spent an average of 35 minutes per day on Facebook, compared to YouTube’s 17 minutes.
As of June 2017, Facebook has a higher time on site and more than 2 billion users versus YouTube’s 1.5 billion.
Facebook’s machine learning algorithm is powerful. It collects 272,000+ attributes on each customer. Which is a lot of data. If you want to learn more, strongly recommend this podcast episode.
This data allows them to understand what users want to watch and engage with on Facebook Watch. This will also result in more relevant content and increase time spent on the site. This is going to affect YouTube’s numbers because Youtube doesn’t have the same type of community aspect on Facebook.
2. Facebook Advertisers
Facebook’s Ad platform is powerful. It continues to show profitability and incentives advertisers who use video over all other ad content (video = longer engagement and higher likelihood of staying in-platform).
According to WARC, the global authority on advertising and media effectiveness, as of December 2017, “$1 in 4 dollars” is spent on Facebook Ads…
… 25% of global ad spend. Yes.
Some believe YouTube is still barely breaking even. In 2017, YouTube also has had five of the top 20 US advertisers freeze their advertising with Google. Many YouTubers have noticed a decline in ad revenue.
Writing is on the wall for Youtube. It is Facebook’s game.
Facebook’s strategy to focus on video has resulted in video uploads getting 10 times more shares than YouTube uploads and brands have started to upload more on Facebook too.
With Facebook Watch’s integration into the ecosystem, Facebook’s Ad platform (including Instagram) has become one of, if not THE best place for digital advertisers.
3. Facebook Content Creators and Publishers
Facebook has already started partnering with content providers in esports such as ESL, Echo Fox, Team Dignitas, and many others, where they are paying for original content and getting premiere placement in Facebook Watch.
Like YouTube, Facebook is also sharing revenue on advertising with 55% of ad revenue going to content creators.
This is the same revenue split that YouTube has with content creators.
With the new addition of this revenue sharing program, Facebook’s strategy of going after Content Creators and Publishers is going to be effective given the decline in YouTuber’s ad revenue (which a direct result of advertising dollars shifting from YouTube to Facebook).
And, as an esports and video gaming publisher, Facebook appears to want to work with you and give you priority, in comparison to non-gaming brands.
Ok, now let’s talk about Facebook’s Gaming Creator Program…
Part 3 — Facebook Gaming Creator Program
In addition to Facebook Watch (in case that wasn’t enough to digest already), Facebook has recently introduced a new monetization program for esports brands and video game streamers through their “gaming creator pilot program.”
This is big. Stick with me.
Facebook is continuing its goal to be the entertainment destination for creator made content.
In a blog post by Leo Olebe, Global Director of Games Partnerships at Facebook, he writes:
“We’re focused on helping creators build thriving communities on Facebook, and over the last year we’ve made a concerted effort to listen to and work with gaming creators to help shape the future of gaming video on Facebook.”
“For gaming creators, we’ve seen Facebook Live become particularly impactful. It’s changed how people come together around video, and it gives gaming creators the chance to build and connect with their community in real time.”
The Facebook Gaming Creator Program focuses on four key things, including the long-awaited ‘monetization’ of FB video:
- Help gamers create more meaningful and more engaged communities on Facebook. (Remember the points I made back in the News Feed section? Engagement is key!)
- Increase discovery and distribution across multiple surfaces, including Facebook.com, Instagram, What’s App, Messenger, and Oculus.
- Build a platform where creators at every level have the opportunity to thrive.
- Support gaming creators with the types of tools they need to make live streaming games on Facebook possible.
Thus, creating a place for content creators to earn money or a living off of live streaming continues to be a trend with Facebook.
Let’s talk about monetization…
Facebook’s current monetization opportunities are limited to the gamer creator program. According to Facebook’s Guy Cross, head of games partnerships for North America,
As Facebook continues to explore monetization in live-streaming and tipping, there are four ways that esports brand can already use Facebook for monetization:
1. Branded Content
If you have sponsors, which you most likely have, they’re (sponsor) going to pay you even more. And if you are smart, you can also get them to assist with your advertising spend.
Facebook also has a branded tool where you can tag your partner (sponsor) in a post.
Deal terms are between you and your sponsor; Facebook is not involved.
2. Merchandise
Promote your brands merchandise to your fans. Facebook’s platform can include product on your brand page. And, for those who harness the power of Facebook’s Ad platform, you will see an even higher return on ad spend.
In part 6 of this article (“Facebook Advertising”), I provide a real-life example of how brands can use Facebook Ads to see a 3x+ ROI.
3. Private Facebook Groups
In the MLG Halo 3 days, there were private communities such as gaming-lessons.com. A paid training program giving you access too Tom “TSquared” Taylor of Str8Rippin. As an amateur, this provided a lot of value. You got to learn and compete with the pros, preparing you for MLG Pro Circuit.
Not sure who TSquared or Str8Ripping is? Here’s a great montage showing their incredible skill, from MLG Halo 3 Days.
Like what Tom and his team built in 2009, private Facebook Groups can do, but with more capabilities.
Here is an example:
Charge your fans or prospective players a membership fee ($29 monthly) to access your pro players and training tips. Host weekly private video stream using Lightstream and Facebook Live to engage with your community. Broadcast live stream sessions and opportunities to jump into custom games. Share live stream sessions. Ask questions. Learn from other members. Create events/meet-ups make this personal.
To put into perspective, the Jon Loomer’s Power Hitter Club (advertising), generates at least $500k+ a year. Talk about new extra revenue for team development.
In the next part of this article on Facebook Community Management, I talk more about this topic.
4. Facebook Advertising
If you are planning to do an FB Live event and want to expand your reach, you can run advertisements for your event. Create an event 7 days ahead, (you can do it a couple of hours before too), share the post and then run paid traffic to it.
A question I get from time-to-time is why you would want to run ads for a Facebook Live Event?
The answer: Facebook’s targeting capabilities allow you to find people who might not know you exist. There are hyper-targeting options too.
In addition, there are two other key things that Facebook has implemented recently that will help drive your brands monetization…
5. Rights Management
In July 2017, Facebook acquired a Source3, an IP content rights management platform.
“At Source3, we set out to recognize, organize and analyze branded intellectual property in user-generated content, and we are proud to have identified products across a variety of areas including sports, music, entertainment and fashion.”
This allows Facebook to recognize brand IP in user-created content and commerce marketplaces. Giving your brand the ability to take action against infringers on copyrights and trademarks.
6. In-Depth Analytics
This is the most important aspect when it comes to monetization growth. Facebook Analytics will give you a very good idea of what is working and what is not. Based on the data that Facebook collects you can tweak your content strategy and improve as you go.
Facebook’s Analytics platform is pretty impressive and will be a key when it comes to your brands advertising efforts.
Part 4 — Facebook Community Management
Facebook Groups have been around for a while. Some gamers have already created some great communities: StoneMountain’s Squad and ESL One Cologne.
Starting a Facebook group for your most dedicated fans and then creating sub-communities to engage with each other is powerful.
(NOTE: I will be writing about sub-communities and esports soon. If you’d like to be notified when that comes out, ping me jlee at konvoy dot co)
This could be a free group, closed group, private group. or this could also be a closed/private paid group. In some cases, your brand could generate over six figures in new revenue through a paid Facebook private group.
There are several excellent services out there to help manage your private community. Facilitating giveaways, live streaming, selling merchandise, and even targeting through Facebook Ads.
(RELATED: Want to learn how to manage a high engagement and revenue generating private Facebook Community, send Konvoy Media a message on Facebook Messenger. We will get back to you.)
On February 9, Facebook announced a new program called “Facebook Community Leadership Program.
While this is not focusing on esports, the data and insights will help your esports brand build better communities.
I want to point out the new tools Group Admins will begin to see available to them as Facebook releases them. The below comes from Facebook:
- Admin tools: Admins can now find member requests, Group Insights and more all together in one place, making it easier to manage groups and freeing up more time for admins to connect with members.
- Group announcements: Group admins want to be able to more easily share updates, so Facebook is introducing group announcements to let admins post up to 10 announcements that appear at the top of their group.
- Group rules: Keeping communities safe is important. Now admins can create a dedicated rules section to help them effectively communicate the rules of the group to their members.
- Personalization: Each community has its own identity — now admins can add a personalized color that is displayed throughout their group.
- Detecting and stopping fake accounts: Working to make sure Facebook is a community of people who can connect authentically with real people.
- Protecting people from harm: Reducing things like harassment and scams that can happen in the real world and on Facebook, by building better tools to spot these issues and remove them.
- Improving ways to report content: Making it easier for people to give Facebook feedback about things that shouldn’t be on the Facebook platform, which works in conjunction with Facebook’s automated detection.
There are several great program videos in Facebook’s News Room, and here is one that shows how a Facebook Group can empower your community even more:
(RELATED: If you are a founder or startup in esports and would like to connect with other founders, apply for a free profile on Konvoy and get access to our community, which includes live chats with investors, founders, business leaders, and influencers in the Esports and Gaming Space).
Part 5 — Facebook Messenger
Utilizing Facebook messenger and using an AI bot will continue to be a large trend in 2018 and on. Facebook Messenger will allow you to nurture your community, generate leads, and even sell merchandise.
When you look at Facebook Messenger, you should see this as the next generation of email marketing that will generate conversions. It is important to note, bots are not a replacement for human interaction, it’s only the starting point.
(NOTE: AI is not as far along as you think it is. More to come on this soon.)
And it turns out messaging is how most consumers prefer to communicate with a brand. A global study by Twilio shows that “66% of consumers prefer to reach brands or be reached by brands via messaging over any other means.”
Facebook ads expert David Herrmann, at Herrmann Digital, recently mentioned during a client conversation “Across the board, most of our clients who use a Facebook Messenger Bot are seeing a 90%+ open rate through messenger.” (I’ve excelled on Facebook ads because of David Herrmann’s mentorship).
In comparison, email only seeing an average of 24.79% open rate (2017).
Here are open rates most like esports & video gaming segments:
2017 Email Open Rates:
CategoryOpen Rate %Click Through Rate %Arts and Artists27.23%2.85%Computers and Electronics20.87%2.16%E-Commerce16.75%2.32%Entertainment and Events21.21%2.33%Gambling18.75%3.35%Games20.82%3.33%Media & Publishing22.14%4.70%Sports25.41%3.19%
The most common bot builders for Facebook that Konvoy Media is using with our clients include ChatFuel, ManyChat, and Facebook Messenger Platform.
(RELATED: If you would like to check out a messenger bot that Konvoy Media has been developing for an esports franchise and league, send us a message on Facebook Messenger by commenting “esportsbot” and we will send you a link the moment it goes live. You can also engage with Konvoy’s Digital Assistant — Ernest to learn more about Konvoy.)
Part 6 — Facebook Advertising
With over 2 billion daily active users on Facebook, one would assume that esports brands would utilize Facebook’s Advertising platform to reach new people to grow their brand, sell out stadiums, and generate revenue through merchandise sales.
Out of a study we recently did at Konvoy Media, of 50 prominent brands in esports, only 9 of them have a Facebook Pixel installed; a key indicator that a brand is not doing Facebook Advertising. Or they are, but the individual responsible for managing their media-buy doesn’t know what they are doing.
What is the Facebook Pixel?
The Facebook Pixel is code that is placed on your website that helps you track conversions from Facebook ads, optimize ads based on collected data, build targeted audiences for future ads, and re-market to qualified leads where people have taken some kind of action on your website.
Pro Tip: If you are running Facebook ads, but are not sure if your pixel is installed, use this plugin from Facebook called the Pixel Helper.
Did you know that 96% of social media marketers consider Facebook as the “most effective social media advertising platform”?
Here is a real-life example of how this could be beneficial to your esports brand:
E-commerce Sales (Merchandise)
A fan comes to your store to buy a $149 Team Jacket, $25 Snapback Hat, and a $29 Team Flag, which would result in $203 in sales. While shopping the fan is also watching a PUBG stream and gets distracted and abandons the sale.
So how does this translate to lost revenue for your esports brand?
On average only 8% of those customers will come back and complete the buy. (67% of online gaming/fashion shoppers on average abandon their carts)
With retargeting (ads), you could bring back on the average of 35.26% of abandoners to complete a sale.
Let’s look at real numbers and the above assumptions:
Let’s say your brand does $500,000 in completed checkouts a month. Meaning your brand actually had about $750,000 added to shopping cart, for a loss of $250,000. Ouch.
Now, what could happen if you utilized Facebook ad’s?
You could have averaged a recovery of approximately $88,000 in sales.
And, with the FB Pixel installed on your website, you can retarget your website visitors, people who have added payment (card), completed the purchase, and there’s hundreds of other options for hyper-targeting. The industry average is 70 % of web visitors are likely to convert to purchasers.
It goes without saying then — not retargeting your visitors costs you conversions and sales.
Facebook Ads works for esports leagues, organizations, tech companies, products, apparel lines, esports sports ticketing companies, and many more…
…and there are many success stories that show more than 3x ROI in marketing results after advertising on Facebook.
And based on the past six months of product changes, there will be more than 60 new and improved features every year to the Facebook Ad platform.
No other advertising network can keep up with this.
(RELATED: Considering getting into Facebook Advertising? Need an expert team in esports? Connect with Konovy Media to talk about how to use Facebook Ads for your brand. I’m running it.)
Facebook: Not a Social Platform but a Social Ecosystem
It’s surprising that esports has struggled to understand the opportunity for Facebook.
The power of Facebook is in its social ecosystem. They have all the tools you need to create engaged esports communities.
With 385+ million esports fans globally, esports makes up about 15% of Facebook’s total reach. Leaving huge potential for any esports brand to reach another 1.7 billion new fans.
Facebook is better positioned for growth in esports than Twitch or YouTube. There are big upsides for brands that embrace Facebook earlier than the others.
The industry is heating up big time. Millions are being invested into the vertical and I see it daily.
The Konvoy Investor Network, has invested over $468 million into esports and video gaming already. Hundreds of startups are applying monthly and a lot of them have promising potential to take your viewership from you.
I am a fan of Twitch and YouTube Gaming. There is a place for both of them and in today’s marketplace, you do not want to put all your eggs in one platform. However, for the 79% that believe Facebook will fail, I question whether your brand will be around in three years… ignoring Facebook’s offerings is a bad decision.
The only remaining question is: Are you going to continue ignoring Facebook?
