Age breakdown of video game players in the United States in 2020 – Statista.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nAccording to the graph above, gamers are divided into various age categories. It’s worth noting that none of them significantly dominates the rest. This may result from the number of computer games on the market that reach different age groups. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A video game such as Minecraft will most likely attract a rather younger gaming audience. However, a type of game like World of Warcraft has been on the market for many years. This means it’s aging with its loyal gaming community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Male vs Female Gamers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Distribution of computer and video gamers in the United States from 2006 to 2020, by gender – Statista.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nIt might seem that the gamers market is heavily male-dominated, yet this is contradicted by the statistics. In 2019, the industry was almost half divided in terms of gender<\/strong>. Women accounted for 46% of the market, whereas men constituted the remaining 54%. That, once again, shows how inaccurate the stereotype of a gamer is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn 2020, there were an estimated 2.8 billion gamers<\/strong> worldwide.<\/strong> That is more than 25% of the global population. Based on these statistics, we can’t call gaming a part<\/strong> of social media. It is social media in its own right.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLet\u2019s have a look at an example of Fortnite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In May 2020, the game alone had 350 million<\/strong> registered members. That being said, the gaming industry is a social network with billions of daily active users. And the gameplay is just a part of Fortnite’s universe. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIn April, Epic Games joined forces with rapper Travis Scott and prepared a special weekend event. As a result, players could watch a giant avatar of an American artist performing his biggest hits. The show gathered 12 million concurrent players<\/strong>, which was an all-time popularity record for the entire Battle Royale genre. If that’s not a great opportunity to socialize with friends (and strangers), then we don’t know what is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial Gaming<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Social gaming is another area of gaming with still underrated potential. First, let’s start by defining what social gaming is, as this concept is frequently misinterpreted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Social games<\/strong> are games published on social networks (one of the most popular social gaming sites is Facebook). In this context, each game (even virtual chess) will be a social game, as long as the gameplay takes place on a social network.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSocial games should be clearly distinguished from PC and console games like MMO, MOBA, or Shooters. The idea behind social games is to create positive interaction between friends or family (most often within one social network). <\/strong>Normally, such games include activities like feeding virtual animals, watering trees, or sending gifts. However, all the different types of games are in majority competitive and take place outside of social networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWho Plays Social Cames?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
source: www.digitalbuzzblog.com<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\nPerhaps surprisingly, a typical social games player is a housewife.<\/strong> The largest percentage of people involved in virtual farms and cities are married people with children (29%), followed by childless singles (only 1 percentage point less). <\/p>\n\n\n\nAll that opens up new marketing and advertising possibilities, which have been noticed by popular brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marketing in Social Games<\/h3>\n\n\n\n By far the most common marketing model is to promote products and brands inside the best social games. <\/p>\n\n\n\nThis strategy was used by the Japanese multinational automaker, Mazda. They brought the attention of Facebook users by cooperating with one of the most popular social games on Facebook, Bejeweled Blitz. The company placed ads in the game itself and funded the grand prize – a new Mazda 3 car for the winners of a special tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What Social Networks do Gamers Use?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n Traditional social media is also a great way to reach gamers. There were 3.8 billion people active on social media in 2019, many of which are certainly gamers. For example, the League of Legends Facebook fanpage will soon hit 15 million likes<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\nTherefore, advice to game developers – you have to mark your presence on social media. Not only does it give you multiple ways to reach potential audiences but also hugely boosts your brand awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s now move on to the best social media platforms you can’t miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook<\/h3>\n\n\n\n As people say – if you don\u2019t have a FB profile, you don\u2019t exist. With roughly 2.8 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the biggest social network worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
How can it be used for marketing purposes in gaming? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nCreate an official fanpage <\/strong>– this not only gives you an opportunity to announce news, updates, or ask for feedback but also allows consumers to interact in comments. They can share ideas, videos and screenshots. This may serve as a form of your products\u2019 blog.<\/li>\n\n\n\nUse FB groups. <\/strong>They function similarly to fanpages, but include more space for brainstorming and content sharing. Anyone may ask questions, share photos, memes, their in-game achievements, or stories. What is more, they may provoke discussions concerning, for example, the best strategies to pass missions or quests. <\/li>\n\n\n\nTry FB streaming platform<\/strong> out. In 2018, Facebook started an initiative called Facebook Gaming. Thanks to it, users can broadcast their in-game adventures, which creates space for marketing cooperation. Fitness or lifestyle brands often cooperate with Instagram or TikTok stars. Gaming companies, however, choose gaming influencers<\/a> as they let them hit up their target audience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n