Level 4
David Mullich
Marketing and Monetization
The Los Angeles Film School

What Is Social Media?

Social Media
Vehicles and platforms for user-created
content, sharing and communities:
 Website
 Facebook
 Twitter
 YouTube

Social Media Marketing (SMM)
 Create compelling content
 Building customer connections early
 Communicating with customers directly.

WEBSITES

Website Pages
 Landing Page
 Product Page(s)
 Blog Page
 About Page
Let’s take a closer look at each!

Landing Page
The first thing people see when they visit your
site is the landing page, so you should invest
a good amount of time creating an engaging
one.

Landing Page Must-Haves
 Recognition (company or game branding)
 Strong Title
 Game Trailer and/or Splash Image (above the
fold)
 Game Features
 Timely News and Updates
 Social Media Buttons
 Press Kit Link
 Purchase Link (when available)
 Review Quotes/Links (when available)
 Contact Info

Landing Page Examples
 Canabalt
 Threes
 Dots
 QuizUp
 Ridiculous Fishing
 Timberman
 Fez
 Mega Dead PIxel
 Amazing Alex
 Apotheon
 Monument Valley
 Limbo
 Framed
 Bioforce

Landing Pages Aren’t Necessarily Home
Pages
 Landing pages allow you to customize your
message for incoming visitors
 These custom landing pages allow you to
push visitors toward specific actions
 Landing pages make tracking your visits
very easy

How Do You Convert Landing Page
Visitors To Customers?

Call To Action
A piece of content intended to induce a
viewer, reader, or listener to perform a
specific act, typically taking the form of an
instruction or directive (e.g. buy now or click
here ).

Web Page Call To Actions
 Click here (to go to another page, on your site
or someone else's)
 Buy
 Give you permission to follow up on something
(by email, phone, etc.)
 Tell a friend
 (and the more subtle) Learn something, which
could even include posting a comment or
giving you some sort of feedback

Product Pages
 Game Name
 Game Description
 Platform(s)
 Expected Release Timing
 Pricing
 Distribution Channels
If you don’t know some information, put TBA.

Development Blogs
Allows gamers to track the progress of your game,
and lets them see that you are real human beings.
 Keep it personal, as if you're speaking directly to
your readers.
 Post as frequently enough to show that your game
is coming along, but avoid posting about every
little bug fix or new art piece.
 If you must relay your failures, try to be funny
about it.

Rich Site Summary (RSS) Feed
Publishes frequently updated
information in an XML file format. RSS
reader software monitors the website
and informs user of updates.
Never a bad idea, and really simple to
implement, an RSS feed will provide
your fans with yet another way to view
news regarding your company.

Design Inspiration
 Looking at popular games in the same genre
 Use free or paid templates.
 Use a consistent theme that follows your
game’s theme.
 When choosing color schemes, make sure
your words are easy to read.
 Use dynamic elements to promote more than
one product.

Website Do’s and Don’ts
DO
 Emphasize function over form
 Design with style and strong aesthetics
 Simple and professional is better than complex and
amateur
 Make it open and inviting
 Have important information “above the fold”
 Spellcheck everything
DON’T
 Use funky technology or gimmicks that impede
usability

One Website Or Many?
Your studio website can act as a home base
for all of your games, or you can have one
for your company and one for each of your
games, so that gamers can identify you by
brand name and products.
Regardless of what you choose, websites
need to be updated frequently and
departmentalized.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
A methodology of strategies, techniques and
tactics used to increase the amount of visitors
to a website by obtaining a high-ranking
placement in the search results page of a
search engine.

Core Keywords
What would someone type into Google to find
your website?
Start a core keyword list of three to five keywords
that are relevant to your brand and summarize
your game.
Content Marketing might include secondary
keywords. Use free tools to find keywords that
are low competition and high traffic.

Core Keywords
Where to place your keywords:
 Web page metadescriptions
 Web page titles
 Blog Titles

Website Analytics
Manage by numbers, not by gut! The key to success
is defining your goals, measuring your results and
iterating!
 Monitor visitor traffic as you ramp up your launch
(you can also track every click on any link to
monitor CTA)
 Assess how different marketing initiatives increase
visitors
 Assist with evaluating marketing program
performance

Group Quest
Create a Landing Page for your game.
 Branding
 Title
 Screenshot
 Call To Action
 Game Features
 Social Media Buttons
 Press Link
 Review Quotes
 Contact Info

SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS

Social Media Channels
Social media is the collective of online
communications channels dedicated to
community-based input, interaction, content-
sharing and collaboration.
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Google+
 Reddit
 Pinterest

Social Media Channels
Developers should at the very least you
should have a Facebook page and a Twitter
profile. If your game is small or mid-sized this
is probably enough, but in theory you could
subscribe to dozens of social media outlets.

Facebook
Popular free social networking website that allows
registered users to create profiles, upload photos and
video, send messages and keep in touch with
friends, family and colleagues.
 1 billion users worldwide
 Users share 2.5 billion pieces of content each
day
 Communicate with users in a non-obtrusive way
 Best for timely posts.
 After gaining 1,000 “Likes”, the average company
saw an 185% increase in traffic and nearly 1,400
pageviews a day.
LAFS
Game Prod
Group

Facebook and Social Marketing
Facebook is good resource for marketing and offers paid
advertising.
 Join Groups
 Post relevant media in groups
 Join #ScreenshotSaturday
 Share development stories
 Connect with like-minded developers
When someone searches Google for your team, your Facebook
page will be one of the top results, so keep it updated.

Facebook Do’s And Don’ts
DO
 Customize your Facebook page with a relevant cover photo, icon
and description.
 Post multiple times throughout day, daily, or multiple times per
week.
 Search for influencers to promote you.
 Tag relevant people in photos and posts
DON’T
 Write overlong posts
 Send mass messages to people in your network.
 Turn comments off or delete negative comments. Instead, respond
in a constructive manner.

Twitter
Free microblogging service that allows
registered members to broadcast short posts
called tweets of 140 characters of less.
 560 million active users
 Largest penetration is in the US but
spreading slowly and steadily
 5,700 tweets happen and 750 are shared
every second
 Best for super timely, micro communications
 Companies that use Twitter average double
the amount of leads per month than those
who do not.
LAFS
Twitter
Feed

Twitter and Social Marketing
Use Twitter as a secondary means of announcing
news and growing your fanbase.
You'll find that most gamers would rather glance at
their Twitter feed than scour a bunch of websites.
Of all the social media outlets, Twitter is the one that
affords developers the easiest access to potential
fans, members of the press and other burgeoning
developers.

Examples of Good Tweets
"After two years of toiling, sleepless nights
and neglected wives we're finally close to
releasing an #EchoesofEternea game demo.
#gamedev”
"The difference between coding a 2-hour
platformer and a 20-hour RPG: 62 gray hairs,
7 doctor co-payments, and 2,000 hours.
#gamedev"

Twitter Do’s
 Post during peak hours, ideally somewhere between 11am and
11pm EST. Better yet, post them twice—once in the morning and
once during the evening hours
 Write short, snappy posts multiple times throughout day.
 Keep things light and crack a joke once in a while.
 Post photos, logos, infographics, and images containing quotes.
 Participate in #screenshotsaturday
 Create a conversation and interact with your users.
 Reward those who tweet you favorably by retweeting them or
thanking them publicly.
 Stay true to your brand by following and reweeting users who post
relevant content.
 @Mention influencers

Twitter Don’ts
 Become a "Serial Follower." Instead, follow those
who you are genuinely interested in hearing from.
 Retweet in excess.
 Automatically send direct messages to new
followers.
 Ignore users who tag you.
 Use it to approach random members of the press.
 Ignore it when a member of the press favorites or
retweets one of your posts.
 Use a trending hashtag without knowing why it is
trending.

Hashtags
A hashtag is simply a keyword phrase, spelled out without
spaces, with a pound sign (#) in front of it. For example,
#videogame, #indiegame, and #gta5.
You can put these hashtags anywhere in your social
media posts: in the beginning, at the end, or anywhere in
between
These hashtags tie public conversations from all different
users into a single stream, which you can find by
searching for a hashtag, clicking on one, or using a third-
party monitoring software.

Important Hashtags
You can find trending and popular ones at hashtagify.me.
Some important ones to use on a weekly basis are:
 #ScreenshotSaturday
 #indiedev
 #gamedev
 #ThrowbackThursday
 #indiegame
 The game engine you are using for example #unity3d,
or #cocos2d.

Creating Your Own Hashtags
TIP BAD BETTER
Unique and Memorable #CollectibleCardGame #GottaCatchEmAll
Clear and Direct #ETD #EnterTheDungeon
Well-Timed and Subtle #BeetBlasterLaunch #TheBeetAwakens
Relevant and Approachable #ThanksgivingRetort #ThanksgivingClapback
Short and Sweet #HitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy #HitchhikersGuide
Hashtags can be your number one social marketing tool if you
use them properly.

Hashtag Campaign Tips
 Choose hashtags with an emotional
connection
 Use it in your own social media posts
 Reinforce it over a long period of time

Pinterest
Social curation website for sharing and
categorizing images found online. Pinterest
requires brief descriptions but the main focus
of the site is visual. Clicking on an image will
take you to the original source.
 70 million active users
 Users are 32% male, 68% female
 Droves more referral traffic than YouTube,
Google+ and LinkedIn combined.
LA Film
Pinterest
Board

Reddit
Social news website and forum where
stories are socially curated and
promoted by site members.
 Composed of hundreds of sub-
communities, known as "subreddits.”
 Each subreddit has a specific topic
such as technology, politics or music.
 Reddit site members, also known as,
"redditors," submit content which is
then voted upon by other members.
LAFilm
Reddit
Community

Reddit
Reddit is very useful to get feedback on your game,
website, art style, soundtracks, and daily discussions in
the subreddit r/gamedev.
You can find weekly threads at the very bottom right of the
r/gamedev page:
 Feedback Friday
 Screenshot Saturday
 Soundtrack Sunday
 Marketing Monday
 Daily Discussions

Reddit Do’s
 Link your website, press releases, YouTube
trailers, previews, reviews and game demos in
r/indiegaming/ and r/indiegames
 Plug your Steam Greenlight submission in
/r/greenlightquality
 Create your own subreddit.
 Participate in game development threads.
 Join the Screenshot Saturday thread in
/r/gamedev.
 Make your descriptions stand out from the crowd
 Get a conversation going and steer it to your game

Reddit Don’ts
 Spam or post advertisements
 Inundate your Reddit post title with flashy
buzzwords like "Innovative 2D RPG with
pioneering game mechanics and epic
storyline”

Instagram
Social sharing site all around pictures and
now 15 second videos.
 Many brands are participating through
the use of hashtags and posting pictures
consumers can relate to.
 Most followed brand is MTV
 150 million active users
Tip: use Layout to put multiple screenshots
into a single post
LAFS
Instagram
Page

Tumblr
A microblogging and social networking website allowing
users to post multimedia and other content to a short-
form blog.
Post on topics such as:
 your dev team
 your game
 art work
 game mechanics
 particle effects
 soundtracks
 sound effects
LAFS
Tumblr
Page

Google+
Google's social networking project,
designed to replicate the way people
interact offline more closely than do
other social networking services.
 400 million active users
 Growing rapidly with 625,000 new
users every day
 Not as many brands active, but the
ones that are tend to be a good fit
with a great following
LAFS
Google+
Account

IndieDB
Connects independent developers with
players, from the day they start
developing their game to the day they
release it, sharing details and behind the
scenes insight about the games they are
creating, in the form of news, images,
videos and downloads.
 Make consistent updates about your
game.
 Keep doing it ad infinitum.

Forums
A good way to promote your game, because they
are usually very populated.
 Find relevant forums
 Write posts with links to your content
 Interact with people
 Do not advertise!
List of forums:
http://www.pixelprospector.com/the-big-list-of-
indie-game-development-forums/

LinkedIn
Social networking site designed specifically
for the business community. The goal of the
site is to allow registered members to
establish and document networks of people
they know and trust professionally.
 240 million active users
 Two new members sign on every second
 79% of users are 35 or older
 Brands that are participating are
corporate brands
LAFS
LinkedIn
Page

LinkedIn Do’s And Don’ts
DO
 Build a foundation by connecting to relevant people and
companies.
 Keep your profile current for potential clients and employers.
 Post a variety of articles about the game industry.
 Join LinkedIn groups and answer questions to promote
yourself as an industry thought leader.
DON’T
 Post too much, too often.
 Only promote your company.
 Connect to irrelevant contacts.

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS

Social Media Campaigns
Establish a social media presence for your
game three to six months before it goes live.
Use this time to slowly build buzz among
potential players by giving them concept art,
teaser trailers and Q&As with the game
developers.

Consider
 Your Time
 Your Resources
 Your Customer Demographics

Know Your Customer
 Forums
 YouTube

Set Your Target
Set goals for how you want your customers to
behave.
 Website visits
 Trailer views
 Demo downloads

Create Content
 Blogs
 Screenshots
 Trailers
 Behind the Scenes Videos
 Demos
 Podcasts
 Infographics
 Quotes

Use Consistent and Familiar Visuals
 Facebook Page Cover: 851x315
 Twitter Header Image: 1500x500
 LinkedIn Header Image: 1400x425
 Instagram Image Size: 640x640

Find Your Voice And Tone
 If your brand was a person, what personality
would it have?
 If your brank was a person, what would their
relationship be to the consumer?
 Describe in adjectives what your company is
not
 Are there any companies that have a similar
personality to yours?
 What do you want customers to think about
your company?

Content Retweet Percent

4:1 Sharing System
 Start with the five basic types of updates.
 Choose one that you will use most
frequently
 Post the most frequent one four times more
often than the others

Frequency
 Start with fewer posts at beginning of
project, but still post at least once a week.
 Then communicate more often for higher
levels of engagement and audience
connections.
 In the final months and weeks before
launch, increase the frequency when you
have more content and news to share.

Frequency

Optimal Posting Times (Eastern
Standard)

It Doesn’t All Have To Be About Your
Game
Post on topics that do not connect directly with
your audience:
 Industry Events
 Trends
 Games of Interest
But don’t diverge too far from what you target
audience finds relevant or you might lose some
followers and interest

5-3-2 Rule
For every 10 updates you post to a social media
channel:
 5 should be content from others, relevant to
your audience
 3 should be content from you, relevant to your
audience—and not a sales pitch
 2 should be personal, non-work related
content that helps humanize you and/or your
brand

Automation
 Understand when to automate and when to
engage
 Choose your tools for automation:
HootSuite, Oktopost, Tweetdeck and
Buzzbundle
 Find your ideal automation schedule
 Create ways to stay tuned in to the
conversation

Scheduling Your Posts
Kim Garst

Engage and Refer
 Comment Back
 Answer Questions
 Thank connections

Report and Refine
Social Media Analytics:
the practice of
gathering data from
blogs and social media
websites and
analyzing that data to
make business
decisions.

Report and Refine
 Use tools like Google Analytics to monitor,
report and analyze
 Do A/B Testing with different versions of
your webpage and other content
 Learn what works for you best
 Find which channel you should invest most
of your time in.

Social Broadcast
SMO is a strategy for drawing new and unique visitors to a
website. SMO can be done two ways:
1. Adding social media links to content such as RSS
feeds and sharing buttons
2. Promoting activity through social media via status
updates, tweets, or blog posts.
Tips
 Let news sites know when your publish new content
 Stay up to date with channels as they evolve and new
ones as they emerge

More on A/B Testing

Promotion Campaigns
 Gun Club Mobile App: Free weapon unlock
for anyone who liked their Facebook page.
Followers grew from zero to several
hundred thousand within a few months.

Away Mission
 Choose a game that has been announced but
not yet launched from among one of the indie
development team sites, a social media
campaign for you to analyze.
 https://www.bistudio.com/
 http://iguanabee.com/
 https://www.kleientertainment.com/
 http://www.krillbite.com/