You’ve probably heard at some point that the average attention span of a goldfish is just nine seconds. Despite scientific backing that has somewhat debunked this myth, it is still an interesting insight into memory. So when Microsoft famously reported in 2015 that the average attention span of people is even less, at eight seconds, it really stirred debate about the impact of an increasingly digital world.
If attention is getting shorter, what does this mean for marketing? How can businesses make themselves heard in an already noisy space? What channels and marketing methods have the greatest impact and which ones should businesses focus on?
With the introduction of social media, the marketing game changed significantly. The consumer, for the very first time, held real power. Now, word of mouth is any organization's most powerful marketing tool.
Previously, marketing was more a case of businesses spending money to buy advertising space (such as television, radio, print, billboards, buses or wherever). The premise was simple: businesses would tell the consumer what they should buy by placing it in front of them. Now, the consumer has the say. We are more savvy, we want to research products and inform ourselves with peer reviews before we make the decision to buy.
Google and other search engines often lead this process, as people first turn to them to find out what others are saying about products. This leads to social media and review websites/channels.
Consider this: when you are planning a trip, what is one of the first things you do? Do you Google the location or head straight to a site like Tripadvisor? The instinct today is to read/see what others are saying and to use that information to help us move towards a purchase.
Marketing has become this two-way street; we are not marketed at but instead, we are the marketers! This, of course, makes it far more difficult for businesses to reach the consumer.
Enter game content marketing. Since people no longer want to be marketed to, in the traditional way, businesses have had to find new methods to promote their products and brand. With social media and the internet, marketers have found that creating engaging and shareable content (images/photos, videos, blogs etc.) is a fantastic method to do this.
It is a way to entertain consumers and get them talking about the brand. Just check these statistics for how impactful content marketing can be from the Content Marketing Institute:
So what about marketing to gamers?
The gaming community is notoriously passionate and vocal about what matters to them. Brands have to be careful to get it right or potentially face a far-reaching backlash. Just think back to the heavy micro-transactions criticism EA received in the wake of Star Wars Battlefront II’s release, forcing the developer to make a u-turn and (temporarily) remove them from the game.
With modern marketing, emotion becomes a part of the decision to buy. We research products, but we also look to connect on some level. This is what builds trust and ultimately brand loyalty. We see it in the gaming sector all the time:
Cultures develop around these arguments and it becomes the responsibility of these brands to retain their loyalists. For many top gaming brands, this comes in the form of interactivity, the expectation of the consumer to be involved in all facets of their gaming experiences.
We can see it with companies like Blizzard, who create dedicated websites and communities for their fans. Blizzard employees at all levels participate in these online forums and social media, engaging with their fan base and listening. As a result, their community feels like a part of the brand more intimately, resulting in an incredibly loyal following. Blizzard even went so far, in 2015, as to send gifts to their longest serving WoW gamers.
Since attention spans are less than they once used to be, the rise of short-form game content marketing should not be ignored. Short-form content is punchy and easy to digest. It should not be any longer than 1,000 words but is often well below that. In fact, the average blog post utilizing short-form is 280 words long.
With short-form, the challenge becomes how does a brand tell a story with less? The interesting thing is that as humans we are great at creating the story ourselves, with the right prompts. Take it from Robert McKee, an expert on brand storytelling.
"If your marketing is really good, you realize you don’t necessarily need to put all the elements of a story in front of the audience, because the audience’s mind is a story-making mind. If you give them certain elements, they will supply the rest."
Rockstar highlights this perfectly with this single tweet, from 2016. The story, told in a total of 0 words, was simple: Red Dead Redemption 2 is coming (something that has finally been confirmed two years later at E3).
We most often see short-form content coming from social media, particularly top platforms like Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram. As largely visual channels, it becomes easier to share great content that people want to see, engage with and share.
Likewise, YouTube is proving a remarkably reliable network for the gaming industry.
Video remains a core driver for mobile game app marketing in the gaming industry, as it is accessible and fits the gamer persona neatly. The stats do not lie:
With such significant trends in video marketing, it makes a lot of sense for businesses to invest their time and budget in creating great video content.
There is a lot that can be done with video content, so here is a rundown of a few great ideas:
Digital marketing is a vast industry, and you need a strong understanding to master it. That's why we've compiled all of our best resources to create the ultimate guide to digital marketing. Check it out here: Everything You Need to Know About Video Game Digital Marketing.
If the average attention span is dropping, marketing has to be better as a result. It needs to grab a consumer and retain their interest to be effective (and to result in ROI of course).
This article has explored a few of the important factors that comprise modern marketing. Ultimately though, it is a business' ability to evolve and understand marketing trends and consumer behavior that will keep them ahead.
In the gaming industry, the consumer is essential to the marketing. They must be involved and engaged to remain loyal to the brand, which in turn will generate conversation and drive sales up. Despite all the technology that is available to us now, word of mouth remains the most basic and important marketing tool!
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