Today, 67 percent of Americans play video games every day, according to a study by EEDAR. While many play on gaming consoles like Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 and others game on their PCs, 90 percent of people who play games do so on mobile devices.
Even more noteworthy is how much gaming has adapted a social aspect. The rise of interactive multiplayer games makes playing with friends easier than ever.
Gaming was already popular before 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic catapulted the social gaming industry even further. More time spent at home paired with the need for stress release, entertainment and social connection has turned many people to online social gaming.
What does all of this mean for marketers? More opportunities to reach your audience. Whether that’s young Gen Zs, the 47 percent of gamers who are parents, the average American gamer who is 34 years old or so much more.
The Evolution of Social Gaming
Online social gaming has been around for a lot longer than you may think. The first computer game, a mathematical game called Nimtron, was introduced at the 1940 World’s Fair. The next few decades saw “The Brown Box” home gaming console and arcade games in restaurants and movie theaters across the country. Fan favorites like Dungeons and Dragons and Atari’s Pong and Space Invaders captivated gamers of the 1970s. And these and so many more computer games led to the official start of online social games with the creation of the Internet in 1983.
The definition of “gamer” has also evolved dramatically. The stereotypical image of a video-game-playing teenage boy living in his parents’ basement is being challenged. Today, 41 percent of people who play games are women. Gamers span a wide variety of age groups, backgrounds, interests, educational levels, socioeconomic statuses and careers across the world. Millennials are the largest group of people who love both gaming and watching others game — after all, they grew up immersed in video games like Mario Kart, Zelda and Madden NFL. With that said, the gaming industry is projected to be worth an estimated $180 billion in 2021.
The Major Players in the Social Gaming Industry
The social games market includes console games played at home as well as online gaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube where people can both play and watch others play. It also includes the single-player and multiplayer games found on social media platforms like Facebook and websites like Addicting Games. And the social gaming industry definitely encompasses the thousands of mobile game apps available on smartphones. Here’s a quick look at the three leading social gaming platforms:
Twitch
Twitch is a live streaming social media platform where gamers thrive. While its users are rolling out more and more non-gaming content, its main focus has always been a place for people to play games and fans to watch them. The platform has 140 million active monthly users, 65 percent of whom are male and 73 percent are between the ages of 16 and 34. Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Twitch saw a 19.7 percent rise in daily traffic from January to March 2020. The most popular games viewed on Twitch include the battle arena game League of Legends, Fortnite and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
YouTube
YouTube’s user-generated channels cover a vast array of genres — from educational to entertaining to informative — but 40 million of them are active gaming channels. In 2020, YouTube gaming content attracted 100 billion watch hours. Ten billion of those hours are live stream games, the most popular of which are Minecraft, Garena Free Fire, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto V. Roughly the same age groups that are on Twitch watch games on YouTube, with 37 percent between the ages of 16 and 24 and 36 percent between 25 and 24.
Mobile Gaming
Before the pandemic, 74 percent of mobile app consumer spend was on mobile games, and these gaming apps accounted for 33 percent of all mobile app downloads. But March 2020 saw a 132 percent increase in mobile gaming apps compared to 12 months prior. Hyper-casual games draw the biggest crowds — these are simple games that don’t require technical user interfaces and are often free to play. Their simplicity and instant availability on mobile devices make them addictive too, so users keep coming back for more. Some of the most-played social games on mobile apps include Subway Surfers, Candy Crush Saga and Temple Run 2.
Using Social Gaming to Reach Your Brand’s Marketing Goals
The popularity and growth of online games along with its diverse community make social gaming a prime spot for brands to reach their marketing goals. Here’s how:
- In-game ads. Ad placement in games includes banner ads on YouTube videos, interstitial display ads that appear between games, interactive ads, pop-ups and more. A 2019 study by Modern Mobile Gamer Personas found that people are 41 percent more likely to pay attention to ads in mobile games than those on the internet, in magazines or on billboards.
- In-game product placement. Speaking of billboards, when they’re displayed in an actual game, such as along a street in a car racing game, they do draw attention to your brand. You can place your products of all kinds within online games.
- Playable ads. These are simple, interactive ads that require a swipe, tilt, touch or other motion and often end with a call to action. Marketing Dive says one in five players opt-in to replaying these fun ads.
- In-game rewards ads. These ads give players rewards for giving their attention to your ad. An example is the free bits Twitch gives to users who watch and interact with ads. Bits are currency used on the platform that users donate to their favorite creators.
- Esports. Just as a brand can sponsor an Olympic athlete or basketball pro, it can sponsor an esports team or host a tournament. This gives rise to opportunities for product placement, influencer partnerships and brand recognition.
- Branded streams. With an account on Twitch or YouTube, your brand can host its own live stream gaming event. Before the 2020 presidential election, members of Congress Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar got on Twitch for a game of the highly popular Among Us. The goal was to raise awareness for voting. With the help of some gaming influencers, the stream attracted an astounding 439,000 viewers. This is a great example of using social gaming to go where the people are to reach your audience.
- Advergame. This is a game or app that your brand creates, develops and manages. Examples include Chiptotle’s Scarecrow and LEGO’s gaming apps.
- Game-themed product creation. You can also advertise outside of the game itself by creating game-themed products to draw a popular game’s audience to you. Louis Vuitton has done this by creating a fashion line emulating characters from League of Legends.
Social Media Influencer Marketing and Social Gaming
Teaming up with gaming influencers is a very effective way to meet your marketing goals. Because of their consistent and dynamic social interaction with fans, influencers lend authenticity to your brand with their audience. Influencers can help you increase leads, boost brand awareness, increase traffic to your website and help build brand loyalty. By partnering with a gaming influencer that resonates with your target audience and brand values, you’re tapping into a very lucrative strategy to add to your marketing toolkit.
