When millennials are surfing the internet for a considerable amount of their time during the times of social distancing and digital evolution, brands are leveraging influencer marketing strategies as the most preferred tool to communicate with the audience. The space of influencer marketing is getting prominence because of its advanced demographic, cost per view, and ROI. How the USD 151.55 billion gaming industry could then be left behind? They are also cashing in on their online existence by working with designers, comedians, and other content-creators besides Bollywood A-listers.
As online engagement is the prime attribute to the gaming industry, they are also roping in nano-influencers, who have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers on Instagram. In the recent festive season, it has been witnessed a whopping 20 percent rise in influencer marketing campaigns. Influencer marketing might be one of the most-used tools in the gaming industry today, but it has been there since the beginning of the 20th century when Bollywood celebs were roped in to endorse products and services. But, now all of the brands are not only tapping all these people but also other social media influencers as a part of their digital marketing campaigns.
Creating an influencer marketing program
As the user has evolved now, they get influenced when a product is endorsed by somebody who is simply like them and has no connection with the glamour world. Such a marketing program actually grabs the attention of the user and leaves an impact on his/her mind. Experts also believe that the trust value of the content shared by a social media influencer is 80 percent more than any other form of marketing. That’s why now both the prominent companies as well as the start-ups are resorting to the influencer marketing programs in the unprecedented times of pandemic rather than just focusing on the traditional media
Gone are those days when the influencer or a blogger world was restricted to the glamour industry. But with the penetration of the internet increased during the coronavirus pandemic, influencer marketing is gaining momentum and influencing a wide variety of consumer base. For organic growth of the brand and severe engagement, brands are taking to the influencer marketing route for the promotion. This way of branding has proved out to be best because if we believe the data provided by BARC and Nielsen report that Indians have spent roughly 3 hours and 22 minutes on their smartphones per day which increased to 3 hours 54 minutes in phase two of the lockdown.
The gaming industry and influencer marketing
For the gaming industry, influencer marketing has turned out to be a refreshing and relevant concept. We must not forget social media’s contribution to shaping, sharing, and showcasing content on the gaming industry’s marketing department. And, one should not confuse it with content marketing or social marketing. It’s not a replacement of other forms of marketing but influencer marketing can be termed as a hybrid system that relies on effective collaboration between the influencer and the brand. Some prominent gaming influencers are Markiplier, PewDiePie, VanossGaming, and DanTDM. All these renowned gamers team up with a particular brand to make the brand a success, by promoting the game. They are a bit different from celebrities. Influencers are those who have vast knowledge and experience about a particular field that a celebrity might not have. And, when it comes to gaming influencers you have to be a little wise in selecting one for your brand because the consumers on the other side too know a lot about social media because they spend a substantial amount of time on the internet. The higher the count, the better. Influencers and their fans understand one another; that’s how the relationship was formed, to begin with. Through their posts, they create audience engagement on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Their opinion matters a lot to the millennials.
The road ahead for the gaming industry
It has been expected that the evolving gaming industry will grow to exceed revenues of USD 180 billion by the end of 2021. The super success of gaming on various social media platforms be it Facebook and Youtube have paved the way for additional gaming platforms including Twitch, Caffeine, and TV. It’s no longer a male-dominated platform, women are equally participating in the gaming arena and have also taken the influencer position. In 2019, it has been witnessed that 9 out of 30 top-notch gamers are females and the number is going to increase by this year-end. New users are also expected to emerge as the sudden outbreak of Covid-19, and the forced indoors with minimum mobility options and limited options for entertainment are taking the youth to discover the super entertaining and engaging platform of gaming. Experts state that the most successful influencer marketing campaigns are those run without any tricks in the mix.
Authored Article by Gautam Madhavan, CEO & Founder, Mad Influence.
