How to Market Gaming Companies on Twitter
Learn how to use Twitter to grow your gaming company without paying a fortune in ads
It’s time to break and rebuild your belief patterns around Twitter.
There’s no doubt Twitter has become the marketing king. Its advertising revenue for 2020 reached $808 billion, and more than half of B2B companies worldwide leverage Twitter for their marketing efforts.
We’ll break down these false assumptions to help you elevate your game company and take your Twitter presence to the next level:
- It’s too hard to reach my audience on Twitter.
- Twitter requires you to post too often.
- The only way for people to see my Twitter content is through paid ads.
What are some common misconceptions about Twitter marketing?
1. It’s too hard to reach my audience on Twitter
One of the main reasons why many game companies fail to grow on Twitter is that they believe it’s hard to reach their audience on the platform. And their minds are already set on that rather than on the possibilities Twitter offers.
Right now, Twitter is one of the best places for game companies and startups to market their cutting-edge products and reach their audience —if not the best. The platform is packed with gamers, developers, and investors looking to connect with like-minded people.
Here are some of the best practices you can implement to reach your audience on Twitter effectively:
Remember that not everyone is your audience
By now, you should know that not everyone is your audience, and you’ve probably defined which market segment you’re targeting with your project.
Well, your game marketing and advertising efforts on Twitter must be aligned with that target.
You can leverage Twitter’s advanced search feature to tailor your search results to specific date ranges and people. You can even limit your search to particular phrases (such as “What does GameFi mean?” or “What’s the best NFT game?”).
Knowing your audience and understanding how they behave on the platform will help you tailor your messages to better engage with them.
Talk with your followers, not at them
The key to getting the desired results from Twitter is engaging with your followers in a genuine way, not just throwing information at them and expecting them to convert magically.
According to recent Twitter data, consumers are 31% more likely to recall information they saw on the platform than through regular online browsing.
Imagine how much higher that percentage would be if you engaged meaningfully with your target audience! Invite them to be part of the conversation, answer their questions or replies, and be authentic in your interactions with them to build trust and loyalty.
Use relevant hashtags
Hashtags are your not-so-secret way into people who don’t follow you but might be interested in what you have to say.
Do proper research on the platform and identify relevant hashtags in the gaming industry. You can go for general hashtags such as #Games, #CryptoGame, or #NFTGame, or create a dedicated hashtag for your project and invite people to use it and get involved.
However, when it comes to hashtags, more is less. Hubspot has recently pointed out that tweets from businesses with one hashtag are 69% more likely to get retweets than those with two hashtags. So, use them wisely!
Add calls to action
Calls to action are the bread and butter of marketing and advertising. They are the final nudge your audience needs to take action.
Twitter is no exception to the general rules regarding CTAs. Your tweets and threads should strategically entice your audience to perform a specific action, like follow you, read a blog post, or maybe download a freebie.
So, whenever you post something, ask yourself: “What do I want people to do when they read this tweet?” and add a relevant CTA.
Boost your retweet rate with pictures
Viewing photos is the second most common activity on Twitter, and according to Twitter data, tweets with images get three times more engagement than those without.
So, don’t be afraid to get visual. Images and videos add a touch of personality and can help you boost results.
However, you should only use images when they are relevant to the specific message of the tweet and add value.
Also, don’t forget that proper branding can do wonders for your marketing. If the images you share in your tweets align with your brand’s style, your target audience will take you more seriously.
Be personal
The final tip to help you effectively reach your audience on Twitter is to be personal. People like to know that there’s a human behind the screen, so don’t be afraid to let your personality —or your company’s— shine through.
Jeffrey Zeldman once tweeted that “The best way to engage honestly with the marketplace via Twitter is to never use the words ‘engage,’ ‘honestly,’ or ‘marketplace.’” And it’s true! Focus on providing quality content to your audience and being genuine instead of salesy.
Authenticity and empathy are powerful drivers of engagement.
2. Twitter requires you to post too often
The second belief pattern that usually hampers the efforts of Gaming companies on Twitter is related to frequency. Most people believe that to succeed on the platform, you need to post too often.
This is not necessarily true. Let’s cover some basic tips that will help you realize you can succeed regardless of how much you tweet:
Less is more
Twitter is ultimately a microblogging site. That means that less is more.
Being concise is Twitter’s DNA, but it’s also good for marketing and advertising. It forces you to go straight to the point —and your audience will appreciate that. Your message should be immediate, short, and sweet.
So, aim to fill those 280 characters with one specific message rather than trying to communicate a whole bunch of ideas at once. If you have a lot to say, you can always start a thread or add a link to your website —and watch as traffic skyrockets!
The optimal post length is 100 characters
Having 280 characters available doesn’t mean you have to use them all. Remember that users on Twitter are looking for instant and quick information. So, don’t put them to sleep.
The optimal length for a tweet is 100 characters. Tweets of this length get more retweets and have higher reply rates, so they are great for boosting your growth on the platform.
However, remember there’s no one-size-fits-all formula. You’ll need to continuously test what works best for you and your audience and make adjustments as needed, especially in a nascent industry such as Gaming.
Quality over quantity
This little mantra works for everything in life.
Don’t overwhelm your audience with a thousand tweets a day if they don’t have anything of value to offer.
This approach will not only exhaust you, but it’ll also scare your audience away. Instead, focus on creating valuable content that informs, entertains, and engages your audience to bring it closer to converting.
Know when to tweet
Believe it or not, Twitter engagement follows strict timing rules. To grow on the platform and effectively reach your audience, you need to ensure you’re tweeting when they are online and ready to engage.
In general, the best times to post on Twitter are Wednesdays and Fridays in the morning because most users are online at that time. You should avoid Saturdays, as users are probably out and about, and that’s when they engage the least with most posts.
However, you’ll need to test —and then test some more. Identify the Gaming prime time by posting at different hours of the day and analyzing the results.
Also, remember that a tweet only has around 18 minutes to reach your audience before it gets buried in new tweets. So, make sure all your posts have an engaging hook.
3. The only way for people to see my content on Twitter is with paid ads
Sure, paying for advertising can boost your organic posts, but that won’t make your content any more interesting or successful. There’s really no need for you to spend a fortune on ads with so many cool engagement tools available on Twitter.
What are the best ways to grow on Twitter Without Ads?
Twitter Spaces is the place to be
Twitter Spaces was off to a rocky start, but it has slowly become a powerful marketing and advertising tool for Gaming brands looking to expand their presence on the platform.
It essentially allows you to host or access a “dinner-like” live conversation with followers, experts, thought leaders, or any other guest you can think of.
It’s incredibly helpful to build a closer connection with your audience and get their feedback, present new features or products, interact in real-time with Gaming experts, and offer valuable content through discussions with like-minded people.
Reply to tweets with value
Engagement isn’t a one-way street. If you want people to interact with you, you need to interact with them.
But the key to successfully doing this is value: Reply to other people’s tweets offering something valuable —your opinion on the matter, a relevant article you read last week, or a cool video to expand on the topic.
This also applies to your audience. According to Twitter data, 80% of consumers say that their perception of a business improved when the brand replied to them. So, get chatty with your followers!
That’s meaningful engagement, and that’s what will help you grow.
To @mention or not to @mention?
It’s not always right to mention people on Twitter —especially from a brand account.
Make sure you know and have previously interacted with the person you’re mentioning. Use mentions to give credit to experts and thought leaders when credit is due.
Don’t overdo it and, more importantly, don’t mention people randomly. It might feel invasive and backfire in the form of an unflattering reply.
Use DMs (the right way)
Twitter DMs can be extremely helpful to boost your growth —if you use them right.
What does “right” mean here? Well, first, avoid selling via DMs at all costs. This might come across as spammy rather than genuine, and it can hurt your chances of engaging with your potential customers or investors.
Instead, interact in a meaningful way via DMs. For instance, if you see someone’s post and you find it intriguing, you can ask a follow-up question via DM and invite a fruitful discussion that can prove valuable to both people.
Approval and regulations are still pending
The Web3 gaming industry is relatively new. That means that government agencies and regulations are still catching up.
Walking in these uncertain fields might be difficult, so tread lightly and keep an eye out for major regulatory measures that can affect your Game efforts in your jurisdiction.
Conclusion
That’s it! I hope this little Twitter recap has shown you that you can grow on this social media platform without spending a fortune on paid ads. All you have to do is follow these best practices and make adjustments as you go.
You’ll soon find that Twitter is a fantastic place to take your Gaming company to the next level.