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[joeyspacerocks]

I'm looking for guidance, or maybe just some info about how you manage the generate-interest-during-development side of the process.

I currently have a twitter handle for me.

For my previous game (QB1-0) I had a website, no devlog, finally made an IndieDB/SlideDB account. For my next game (Spooky Pooky) I'm being more proactive in using Twitter and have a devlog thread here (see sig).

So, my question is, how do you handle the multitude of channels that you can use to excite/bore the multitudes?

Do you setup a twitter handle per game? Devlog threads + IndieDB? Do you cross-post every which way?

In short, is there any method to your madness, or is it just a case of post all the things?

[AleHitti]

We thought about making a Facebook, Twitter, IndieDB, etc, page per game, but that seemed like such a pain. At the end, we decided we would just use the company for any game we are working on, since we are currently only working on 1 project. Might change that later if we develop games in parallel in the future.

[erebusman]

I'm looking for guidance, or maybe just some info about how you manage the generate-interest-during-development side of the process.

I currently have a twitter handle for me.

For my previous game (QB1-0) I had a website, no devlog, finally made an IndieDB/SlideDB account. For my next game (Spooky Pooky) I'm being more proactive in using Twitter and have a devlog thread here (see sig).

So, my question is, how do you handle the multitude of channels that you can use to excite/bore the multitudes?

Do you setup a twitter handle per game? Devlog threads + IndieDB? Do you cross-post every which way?

In short, is there any method to your madness, or is it just a case of post all the things?

I wish I had an answer to this eff'in question. 

Kills me to keep up with my blog && devlog I cant imagine trying to become a redditor and maintain a twitter + facebook and some other stuff?

I have a -GAME- to make ffs!

However they say that community/marketing is 50% of the work you should be doing if you want to have people be aware and have any chance at some sales so .. I allocate 1 day a week to this right now. Yes I know thats under allocation but there's only 1 of me, until I have a team or a PR person (chicken before the egg problem here) I just have to split it up best as I can.

Good luck

[oodavid]

I think keeping a devlog is critical, once your game is out in the world you can use it to remind ourself of the things that excited you during development, after all marketning and promoting your game could be a more long-term part of your business strategy.

A trivial example, I just gave mine a quick skim and found that I'd added a colorblind mode to Molecule Match, I'd totally forgotten!. So there's a niche press release straight away, find an online community talking about colorblindness in games and chuck in my 2c

[Chaotic Kitten]

It's hard! There is Reddit, Tigsource etc. forums, Tumbler/blog, Facebook, Twitter, IndieDB.. I'm sure there are even more if I thought about it longer. 

It's impossible to offer up unique content on all of these sites, a solution would be really nice, because covering all of them would obviously grow your community best.

[a pita]

Hi Joeyspacerocks!

What works best for me is utilizing third-party platforms to facilitate social media APIs, like HootSuite. With HootSuite, I can log-in on any mobile device (granted the device is either iOS or Android compatible with the app) and utilize the messaging systems of all of my linked Social Media accounts.

This platform is so powerful because I can also get push notification and updates based on the hashtags I request. I can also schedule messages ahead of time, so there is no disconnect between my audiences all around the world. The one thing I do not like about HootSuite however is that my images are URL links to the images, instead of the images being uploaded straight to Twitter. Being a blogger, social media personnel, as well as creating the audio for my dev team, time plays a crucial factor, so I would definitely recommend any platform that leverages multiple log-ins to post.

When it comes to devlogs and forums, the best I can recommend is having it bookmarked on your browser so its second-nature to post and repost on each forum. When you have members replying to your message, then you reciprocate and communicate appropriately to your liking!

Happy posting

[The Great Emoticon]

Marketing is always the hardest part and I agree with most people when they say its 50% of making a game.

Personally I think its always good to make game specific accounts if your development time is a year or more. Once you have one game you can always transition followers or fans over to a new game your developing through cross promotion.

As for how to curate content for all of it. There are a couple schools of thought. One is unique content depending on the marketing medium (facebook is a different type of content then twitter which is different then tumblr or a forum so on and so forth. You get the idea). The one that I find is more realistic for indies that dont have a community manager is to re-purpose the same content over as many platforms as possible. This will definitely give you the largest reach with the shortest amount of effort. Keep in mind that you may have some followers that are really engaged in twitter and some that are huge into indieDB if you create equal content for the different platforms (even though it may be the same content) you are allowing your fans to consume your content where they want to and where they feel comfortable to engage in a conversation.

[joeyspacerocks]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - it's interesting to hear the different approaches.

I'm finding that DevLog + Twitter is keeping me busy enough and I think I'll have to duplicate some content. I'm holding off from creating an IndieDB entry for my new game until I'm a bit further down the track.

[Neeko]

I try to pick at least one day a week dedicated to updating social media; little to no actual game dev is done on that day. Twitter is easier, cause I can fire off a few tweets a day fairly easy.

[Zogthor]

Thanks everyone for the feedback - it's interesting to hear the different approaches.

I'm finding that DevLog + Twitter is keeping me busy enough and I think I'll have to duplicate some content. I'm holding off from creating an IndieDB entry for my new game until I'm a bit further down the track.

A DevLog and Twitter account is great but have you considered using a Facebook fan page? It's a great tool in the marketing arsenal that rounds out some of the drawbacks of a social media platform like Twitter. Also, do you have plans to convert followers and readers into a mailing list?

As for how to curate content for all of it. There are a couple schools of thought. One is unique content depending on the marketing medium (facebook is a different type of content then twitter which is different then tumblr or a forum so on and so forth. You get the idea). The one that I find is more realistic for indies that dont have a community manager is to re-purpose the same content over as many platforms as possible. This will definitely give you the largest reach with the shortest amount of effort. Keep in mind that you may have some followers that are really engaged in twitter and some that are huge into indieDB if you create equal content for the different platforms (even though it may be the same content) you are allowing your fans to consume your content where they want to and where they feel comfortable to engage in a conversation.

By re-purpose, do you mean copy/paste the content? I would argue that this tactic can be a double edged sword if you're on more than a couple social media sites. While it can save time to recycle the same post you put on your DevLog across all your marketing platforms, it can de-incentivise those who may follow you over more than one platform. After all, why should one follow your fan page and have your posts take up their newsfeed space when they can see the same exact same post from Twitter?

If you're still strapped for time and find it easier to use that strategy, by all means use it if it keeps you posting out there. I would just recommend modifying it a bit so you don't copy/paste the same content across all platforms at the same time. Take a few extra minutes to reword the content for each place you post and put a little time between them where you can. A pita made a great suggestion with using HootSuite to help manage what you share, I've been using it for social campaigns for a variety of jobs and projects. Post Planner is also a great alternative.