The rise of gaming
If 10 years ago someone told you that Gamers would be a viable target for marketing you would think they were illogical. However, with the boom in social media websites which stream video games e.g. Twitch.com & YouTube, the concept of marketing products to gamers is now considered a norm. Gamers are now becoming a prime target for companies with Twitch.com raking in 15 million daily active users that stream content for 90 minutes or more on an everyday basis. Hence a marketer would be a fool to not realize the vast potential for opportunities in these websites.
The land of Opportunity for Marketers
Social Media Marketers in general need to realize the potential this enormous market has for advertising their products. Mountain Dew is a prime example that highlights the scope of social media marketing for gamers with numerous collaborations with Microsoft’s Xbox, Sony’s PlayStation and first-person shooters like Call of Duty to promote their products. All of these advertisements were not run in a traditional manner on billboards or flyers but instead on social media platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Why did they do this? Simple, they knew where there target market was present. They specifically placed their advertisements on websites and social media streaming services so that they can reach a specific target. That is why social media marketing is instrumental for companies today and in the future.
Social Media Marketing for the Gamers
If you thought that social media marketing was only for a product driven company you were mistaken. This year Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, a popular twitch streamer, made up to US $500,000 a month just by streaming video games and building a brand through social media marketing. His partnerships with Red Bull (the energy drink company) and countless donations landed him on the ESPN cover. The first time a professional gamer was featured on the famous sports magazine since its inception. This opened the doors for hundreds, if not thousands, of gamers to utilize social media marketing to grow their brand. Now whether or not this continues is up for debate but for now it seems like social media marketing is in fact a golden goose for gamers.
The situation in Pakistan
Social media marketing for Gamers is still a far-fetched idea in Pakistan, where gaming is still considered a hobby and not a viable career option. Even in the US only recently has professional gaming started to take shape and therefore it will take a long time before it gains a foothold in Pakistan. However, we can still see some glimmers of social media marketing in Pakistan via Mountain Dew Pakistan’s extensive campaign for their competition “Mountain Dew Gamers Arena” which saw the winning teams get Rs. 1 million each. Therefore, the social media marketing for gamers is starting to take shape in Pakistan but it will be a long time before it is able to gain a strong foothold in the marketing world of Pakistan.
We can only hope that the tool of social media marketing in Pakistan starts to gain traction as it has done in the US but for now Gamers like us can just start building our brands and hope for the best.