The gaming industry is the new hotspot for influencer marketing. Nearly every industry has been tapping into influencer marketing. The gaming industry is not a new one to join the brigade.
Have you heard of the name ‘Pewdiepie’? He’s one of the most followed YouTubers and also one of the most famous gaming influencers. What’s more, he’s one of the richest YouTubers with a huge following of about 100 million subscribers. The brands with which he has worked include Volvo and Razer Kraken.
Gaming Industry and Influencer Marketing
Gaming influencers are as popular and impactful as fashion, fitness, and/or beauty influencers. Gamers live-stream themselves playing the audience’s favorite games on platforms like YouTube, Mixer, Twitch, etc.
Besides earning through the long hours of live-streaming games, there is a whole range of avenues through which gaming influencers make money. Game reviews and testing, as well as sponsored collaborations with brands also help gamers earn cash.
Influencer marketing has proven to be one of the most effective strategies for brand marketing. Always-on influencer marketing strategies can lead your brand to achieve greater success. Studies show that 71% of brands find customer quality and traffic from influencer marketing better than that of other sources.
71% of brands find customer quality and traffic from influencer marketing better than that of other sources.
Combining the power of influencer marketing with the growing popularity of gamers is a unique opportunity marketers need to leverage. It will be a win-win situation for your business.
As with any other category of influencers, gaming influencers also tend to impact their audience’s purchasing decisions to a good extent. Gaming influencer marketing can be a lucrative prospect for gaming and non-gaming brands both.
Take the example of Tyler Blevins' brand deal with Adidas. More popularly known as Ninja, Tyler launched a brand new pair of sneakers in collaboration with the brand: the Ninja x Adidas Nite Jogger Time In.
This is perhaps only one of the many examples of non-gaming brands working with gaming influencers. If you’re still contemplating the idea of working with gaming influencers, we’ll tell you exactly why you should be doing so in the next section.
Gaming Influencer Marketing: Boons of Working with Video Game Influencers
To say that influencers wield power in marketing brands is an understatement. And, when it comes to the gaming industry, there is no dearth of influencers. The benefits of working with gaming influencers are plenty enough to not ignore. So, without much further ado, let’s jump straight in!
The Ever-growing Gaming Industry
Statistics from the gaming industry clearly suggest that this industry is a thriving one. There are over 2.7 billion gamers, as recorded in 2020. What’s more, the gaming industry is bound to grow at a rate of 12% in the next 5 years.
These numbers only speak for the growing popularity and demand for gaming. This means that a huge number of people tune in to watch gamers play their favorite games. Leveraging this impact will very much work in your favor. Video game influencers like Preston Arsement, Ninja aka Tyler Blevins, Markiplier aka Mark Fischbach and so many others have quite the reach.
Audiences sit through the long video game streams on YouTube, Twitch, and/or Mixer. You can imagine how much the gamers influence their viewers. Bringing such famous faces on board your brand marketing campaigns will help you get closer to your goals.
Increase Reach and Traffic
Here’s the thing about video game influencers- they have the knack for engaging audiences during video game streams. Getting these influencers to feature in your videos and/or create collaborative content can help you draw traction.
Entertaining content will make audiences want to keep coming back for more. Eventually, this will help you build a loyal community of followers and customers.
Whether it is a gaming business or a non-gaming business, having gaming influencers will be very helpful to you. Content is king and if you share compelling, entertaining content with your audience you have won half the battle. Rely on the ability of gamers to connect with audiences and you will see good results coming your way.
Capitalize on the ‘Influence’
Irrespective of which industry an influencer comes from, they are ultimately opinion leaders. To put it in another way, they exercise a sense of influence over the audience. What’s more, gaming influencers are on-screen for long durations, in front of their viewers. These viewers are familiar with and enjoy watching them on YouTube, Twitch or other platforms.
This helps gamers establish a sense of trust in the viewers. But remember, what influencers say about any brand or even a random subject, is likely to impact the audience. Gaming influencers can change the way audiences buy products and change how they view products.
To capitalize on this influence, collaborate with gaming influencers. Gaming influencers, impact the audience’s purchasing decisions. Working with gaming influencers will not only bring your brand in front of the audience. This is also a great opportunity to put in a good word for your brand. This could help you expand your followers and turn them into customers.
Drive Audience Engagement through Multiple Touchpoints
One of the aspects unique to the gaming industry is the multiple touchpoints that come out as opportunities to engage the audience. This is especially advantageous for gaming brands. Right from the launch of a new game, to downloads and purchases and finally, to promotional marketing activity.
For the gamers, the numerous opportunities offer great scope for customer acquisition. Tapping into the potential marketing opportunities is what you need to do. This is why you need to invest in gaming influencer marketing.
Now that you know the perks of working with a gaming influencer, let’s move on to the next step- how to find gaming influencers?
How to Find Gaming Influencers
Finding gaming influencers to work with can be a real challenge. While there is an abundance of gaming influencers out there, only the right fit will get you closer to your goals. Here’s how you can get started on the search for the right gaming influencers-
Get Your Goals Straight
First and foremost, know your social media goals. There could be a range of reasons why you’d want to work with gaming influencers. But, it’s best to start with identifying exactly what you want to achieve through your influencer marketing efforts.
Your influencer marketing goals could range from building brand awareness to generating leads and increasing sales. The more clarity you have about this, the better it will be for you to make a wise decision. When you know your goals clearly, you know exactly what you are looking for.
The logic is very simple. Your goal will define the kind of influencers you want to work with. After all, you’d want to work with gaming influencers who have demonstrated their skills for the given goal.
Understand Your Target Audience
It is important to take your target audience into consideration. Is the gaming influencer going to be effective in connecting with your audience? Will they be able to drive your audience?
Your audience demographics, for instance, should guide your choice of gaming influencers. Find out which gaming influencers match your audience demographics. This will help you make a well-informed, smart decision.
Influencer Listening
Do your homework. Know what your potential influencer marketing partners are up to. A good influencer marketing platform that allows you to keep an eye on gaming influencers will be a great idea.
Which brands are these influencers working with? What are they posting on their social media profiles? Doing a thorough check around these aspects will be helpful in picking the right fit for your business.
Have they worked with a competitor brand recently? Do they create the kind of content you want them to work on? Influencer listening will make the job of identifying the right fit for your business much easier.
Get an Influencer Marketing Platform to Find Gaming Influencers
Finally, you’ll need an influencer marketing platform to find the ideal fit for your business. If you’re thinking of doing a search directly on YouTube or Twitch, you’re in for a long, difficult ride. There are too many influencers out there and to check whether they fit the bill or not, you will need an influencer marketing platform.
Ideally, opt for an influencer marketing platform that will shorten your journey to finding the right set of gaming influencers.
Top 5 Gaming Influencers
1. Ninja aka Tyler Blevins
Tyler Blevins, who is popularly known as Ninja, is one of the top YouTube gaming influencers. After mastering his play at Halo 3, he entertains audiences with his live streams as he plays Fortnite. In fact, he has a character in his name in the game now.
2. Cupquake aka Tiffany Michelle Garcia
Tiffany puts out a lot of gaming content on her YouTube channel, iHasCupquake. With millions of followers on her channel, Tiffany is one of the top female gaming influencers. She has shared her commentary on games like The Sims 3 and Minecraft.
3. CarryMinati aka Ajey Nagar
If there’s one Indian gamer who is pretty much a household name, it has to be CarryMinati. He is one of the first YouTube gamers to start the trend of live streaming while playing games. Besides his gaming commentary, you will find him putting out a variety of other entertaining content.
4. Markiplier aka Mark Edward Fishbach
Another big name in the gaming community is Markiplier. With a total of 26 million subscribers and a cumulative view of 13.8 billion, Markiplier is known to play survival horror video games.
5. VanossGaming aka Evan Fong
VanossGaming is the YouTube channel run by Evan Fong and has more than 11 million subscribers on the platform. He is one of the top figures in the video game commentary scene. He plays popular video games like Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty.
Best Gaming Influencer Marketing Campaigns to Inspire You
Ninja Collaborates with Adidas to Launch His Own Line of Sneakers
Ninja collaborated with Adidas to launch the ‘Nit Jogger’ sneakers in December 2019. This year too, Ninja and Adidas dropped a brand new pair of ‘Adidas Originals Superstars’. This only goes on to show that even non-gaming brands can tap into the power of gaming influencers.
Markiplier and Jacksepticeye Launch a Clothing Brand
While this is not a classic brand X influencer example, but an inspiring one nonetheless. Markiplier and Jacksepticeye came together to launch their own brand, CLOAK. Riding on the success of their respective YouTube fan followings, the 2 gamers have dropped various game-themed collections as a part of their brand.
In fact, this year the duo bagged a collaboration with Minecraft games. The idea was to coincide the brand launch with the release of Minecraft dungeons. The Minecraft Dungeons Limited Edition Collection was launched in May,2020.
Finding influencers for the gaming industry is different from lifestyle and fashion. Create strategies that are relevant to the niche and audiences to get the most out of your collaborations.