If you were launching a new game, how would you promote it?

[Morrus]

I am not sure social media is necessarily a good way to go if you aren't already established. The problem is that these media (Facebook, especially) makes no guarantees that anyone is actually going to *see* your post. If you don't have a whole audience ready to be clicking "like", your promotions may not show up in anyone else's streams.

So, yes, it is cheap. But your effectiveness may not be so hot.

You can buy decent audiences with a couple of clicks. It works out to about $0.10 per like/whatever the network calls it. You can get a weak but large member count in a week.

If you have more to spend - WotC dropped $30K or so on a half million "likes" on Facebook. It works. They aren't sticky fans, though (all they did was impulsively click "like" or "join") and subject to GB/Google's whims. That's OK in the short term though. I use it, as does everybody.

The thing to be aware of is that X likes or members (FB/G+) while easy to garner, are weak members - current stats indicate that under 1% are active community participants, and even that 1% is Facebook's or Google's member, not yours.

For that reason, I recommend a dual strategy. FB/G/Tw are good for rapid weak acquisition, but you need to convert those to strong members on your own system immediately. Otherwise they're transient customers of megacorps who aren't you.

 

[gamerprinter]

@Umbran - I did say, one would need to spend a couple months (at least) developing your G+ members before an announcement of a product release for a new publisher. I wouldn't expect a new publisher to generate sales from a first post ever on either G+ or FB. If you're an unknown factor, you'll remain an unknown factor for a while anyway, no matter which social media you are trying to work with. If you have 6 months to develop your membership and recognition in various G+ communities before product release, all the better. If you have more than 6 months, then I recommend starting a blog on your project, that way you can develop your own sites members, rather than creating G+ members for Google.

Despite being a new G+ user, when I first started using it for my last project, on several industry related sites: here, the Paizo boards, the Cartographers' Guild and several others I am an active forum user since 2007, so I'm not completely unknown, I already had somewhat of a fan base of my cartography prior to the start of my Kickstarter. I have also done map commissions for a number of RPG publishers, including Paizo which adds to my reputation.

I don't know what kind of KS or G+ results would have been if I were a complete unknown, no doubt the results of marketing would have been worse off. So I cannot guarantee a new publisher is going to have success with G+ versus other means of cheap advertising, I just know it worked for me. And though I'm known, I'm no superstar, so I have to think G+ did help my marketing efforts a lot.

@Morrus - as far as converting to hard customers, since my G+ community's original purpose was to introduce, update and convert G+ fans to Kickstarter contributors, I did have the hard conversion as part of the strategy. While many KS backers were actually KS members who support many RPG projects, many of those were G+ users. I know when I made a plea that the final hours for my KS was coming due and I still had some stretch goals to achieve - shortly after I posted on my G+ page, I had a flood of KS contributors. It could have been coincidence, but it seemed like a reaction to my posting of it. (I got $6K in the last hour of the KS).

Interestingly, there are several general RPG map communities on G+ that aren't specific to the work of one cartographer (that I am a member of) and was in existence for months before I started my G+ community, whereas my G+ site focuses only on my work alone. Yet, I have a larger member base than those other G+ sites by a factor of four or five (though some are indeed popular with far more than my page). Its the maps I create that bring me members and customers, it surely isn't my cheerful personality!

 

[Morrus]

It sounds like you approached it the right way - you acknowledged that you were gathering soft fans, and worked to convert them. Kickstarter, by it's nature, is a wonderful conversion tool for a whole bunch of reasons I won't go into here.

What you did was take folks who had impulsively clicked "join" or "like" etc. and rapidly convert them. That's the key. A half-million folks on FB or Google who clicked a button are not your customers/members - they're Facebook's. They can be taken away from you at whim. A tiny algorithm change can alter your ability to reach them. Your job is to convert as high a percentage of those as possible. A KS campaign is very effective at that, as it gets them to invest more than a click. They pledge; you got 'em! They are now your customer, not Google's.

A forum is very sticky, but requires much more up front investment (though that will change as forum software integrates better with social media). So a forum will outlast a social network, but will never have the rapid uptake of one.

 

[D24Gamer]

I am not sure social media is necessarily a good way to go if you aren't already established. The problem is that these media (Facebook, especially) makes no guarantees that anyone is actually going to *see* your post. If you don't have a whole audience ready to be clicking "like", your promotions may not show up in anyone else's streams.

So, yes, it is cheap. But your effectiveness may not be so hot.

Any suggestions for an alternate plan to get the word out? Advertising, etc.? We definitely aren't established.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

I recommend running your game at as many cons as possible.

 

[Janx]

Any suggestions for an alternate plan to get the word out? Advertising, etc.? We definitely aren't established.

Probably on thing to consider is that promoting your product via Social Media IS advertising.

It is work (as gamerprinter described) and requires a strategy and careful effort to make it work.

What Social Media sort of has as advantage is that it is free to use, whereas traditional advertising requires paying for the ads. However, it is not free as in beer. You need to concoct a message, infiltrate friends lists etc. It is why some companies now hire social media workers who do the Social Media equivalent of what marketing did with Advertising.

I think getting your name out on forums, social media sites etc BEFORE your product launches is useful. That way YOU have name recognition before hand. Just as gamerprinter did. Then, you tell that network of people about your new game you are making. And then you share with them (and ask some of them) to tell their friends and help get the word out. This is the social media version of the Street Team that goes around talking up a band or product.

This is the same effort/problem you'd have if you did a KickStarter. KS doesn't sell itself. People don't find interesting things by skimming the KS website. Instead, it relies on word of mouth, electronic in this case.