Do You Use Facebook?
Facebook is one of the most powerful content creation, sharing, and curating tools on the planet. Last I checked, Facebook has more than 1 Billion monthly users. I'm curious to…
Facebook is one of the most powerful content creation, sharing, and curating tools on the planet. Last I checked, Facebook has more than 1 Billion monthly users. I'm curious to…
MMO Gamers are getting smarter. Â That's the thought I had while driving home from work today. Â Seven years ago when we started this blog, I realized that Graev and I…
Tonight I’m going to talk a bit about what I have observed in the gaming industry with relation with social media. Â As a marketer by profession, I deal quite a bit with social media and how users interact with companies, brands, products, and even other customers. Â I’ve noticed some interesting trends when it comes to gaming.
I’m a huge fan of Twitter and what companies can achieve when utilizing it properly. Â I recently wrote about SOE’s magnificent use of Twitter to essentially open a window for their players to glimpse through. Â When Twitter is used to engage, not broadcast, and the company is represented more by its employees, the result is something that I feel now trumps what the forums were to the gaming industry 5-10 years ago.
Something interesting is happening. Â I’ve ceased to use official forums for games, and all I do is follow their company and employee accounts on Twitter. Â I tweet directly at devs and they tweet back. Â Neither of us have to give much thought or spend a lot of time because we’re restricted to 140 characters. Â I can find what I want way quicker. Â I lose some of the deep discussion, but I gain what I need in this day and age: bite-sized nuggets of the most important information.
Hashtags, trends, etc. hold little real value. Â The gimmicky parlor tricks of social media are on their way out. Â The true value is found in building a bridge so that “the big company who makes the games I play” becomes “Dave and Colette.”
We mustn’t forget about customer service. Â I had two recent experiences with social media that have revolutionized the way I view the future of companies serving their customers. Â The first wasn’t gaming related; I was struggling with a recent experience I had with DISH network. Â I tweeted at the company, and a person responded on their help account. Â He got me connected right away to another real person who solved my problem. Â A similar experience happened when I had a billing issue with SOE — they pointed me right to a resource buried deep in their help center that I wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Twitter is interaction, and interaction is paramount. Â The future of Twitter is in streamlining and improving how companies can interact with their customers. Â That’s a future the gaming industry is going to embrace. Â Mark my words. (more…)