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Do you watch your favorite Twitch streamer religiously? Maybe you even have their notifications on. You’ve also probably checked out games just because you saw them playing it.
Well, guess what? So do thousands and thousands of gamers like you – most of whom are your target audience. This means collaborating with influencers can get your game seen by all of their followers – followers who treat their recommendations as gospel. Here’s how you can leverage influencer marketing and build up the wishlists for your indie game.
First things first: Prepare a demo version
Any influencer you collaborate with needs something to play during their live streams. Only then can they give their thoughts and also convince their audience to get your game. A demo version is the perfect way to do this. It will give the audience a preview of what they can expect from your game, creating more buzz around it.
Find the right influencer to collaborate with
This means working with a gaming influencer in your niche. This is crucial because influencers who niche down have a very targeted audience, who are also your potential players. So, by working with them, you get to market to a group of people who are highly likely to buy your game because they’re already interested in your niche. This gives you a better return on investment, making sure that none of your budget goes to waste.
Two other things to keep in mind when you pick an influencer are their engagement rates and audience loyalty. The more people that engage with them and follow their recommendations, the more you get to benefit.
Reach out to the influencer(s)
Once you’ve picked your influencer, it’s time to reach out to them. Most will have information on how to contact them (typically through email or DMs). Craft a short and clear proposal which contains information about your game and your goals. If your budget and timelines align, move on to the next step.
Don’t hesitate to follow up if you don’t hear back from them in a week. And always reach out to multiple influencers, because a collaboration isn’t always guaranteed.
Decide on the kind of collaboration you’ll carry out
Working with an influencer doesn’t just mean getting them to live stream your indie game. You can also collaborate with them to create step-by-step game tutorials or guides, get them to promote your merchandise, give sneak peeks of upcoming content or release exclusive content, or work with them to come up with an exclusive discount coupon code for their audience. Decide on something that works out for both of you and get creative!
This will, of course, depend on your goals and where you are in your indie game development process. You can even ask the influencers themselves for ideas or get the help of an indie game marketing agency like Campaign Cooperative!
Come up with campaign goals
The next step is coming up with specific goals so that you can gauge how successful the influencer campaign has been (after it ends, of course). This way, you’ll know whether to continue with similar strategies or switch them up.
Your goals will depend on the type of collaboration between you and your influencer. For example, if it’s going to be a livestream of your demo version, your goals could be to get a certain number of wishlists. If you’re collaborating to sell gaming merch, the goal could be a target number of sales.
Promote the campaign
So, all the details have been hashed out, and the date has been set. Next up is to promote this upcoming campaign on social media to create some hype. Let people know when to tune in and what new things they can expect to see.
Launch the campaign
And, finally, launch the campaign that you’ve worked so hard for! Once it’s complete, get the metrics – such as viewership count, engagement rate, click-through rate, etc. – from the influencers and compare them against the goals you set for yourself. If you find that you haven’t reached your goals, don’t worry. Work with a specialized marketing team to see how you can improve your game plan.