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[Ramos]

​MARKETING.

I thought about also sharing with you guys a recent marketing experience with 0 funding, mostly because I assume most of us do marketing ourselves so it automatically becomes part of the game development.

So during this post, I want to :

- point out the importance of knowing your target audience
- the importance of having good promotional material
- my personal experience with Facebook groups promotions
- some Facebook algorithms


Ok, let`s start!

------------------------------------

First-round

I recently remade my Steam thumbnail and what better way to get some promotional material than this?! Also please note that this information is strictly resuming to Facebook groups.
I first posted in pixel art theme groups on Facebook. Why? Because I try to aim for the target audience and what better way than to start on a place where people love pixel art(since the game is also pixel art) and here are the results from day 1:

Pixel art + 35k members = post got 330 likes 30 comments 17 shares

​Pixel Art 29k members = post got 111 likes 25 comments

​Pixel Art Heaven = post got 136 likes and 22 comments

​Results: 1 follower and 20 new wishlist additions

Conclusion: I am not some high tec guru dark star fapfap button Wizzard master developer, no, I am just like most developers so when I start to see so many like per post I was very excited, normally my posts on those groups get per average 20-30 likes, I was having high expectations for a wishlist so I was a bit disappointed when I saw only 20 new additions. It can also be the fact that some of them already had my game on wishlist since I posted there before from time to time about the game. Anyhow it was a good result and I strongly recommend you make smart posts, for example, I  only stated in the post I made these pixel art banners but I did not put any links in the description so people actually asked for a link and only after that I edited and added the link, so try hard not to be a hit&run poster. Also if you want to keep your post up, respond to comments a few days after so that your topic gets bumped up. Please also consider I did not include the private messages received based on this.

-----------------------------------

Second round

So why haven't I posted in all FB groups the same day? Because of Facebook algorithms, for example, even though I made the new custom text for all posts, I did have the same 2 pictures uploaded and if facebook sees you post the same comment too many times it will automatically warn you and mark your posts as spam. The second day I decided to target Xcom players because my game is heavily inspired by Xcom, I am not talking just about some art and 1-2 mechanics, no I am talking about the overall game design and the majority of features, heck, my game is basically Xcom in real-time. And note that I posted same 2 picture but I adapted the text,  Here are the results:

XCOM players 4k members = post got 80 likes 50 comments

​XCOM: Enemy Withinposting 400 members = post got 14 likes 3 comments

​Xcom 2 2k members = post got 40 likes 8 comments

​Results: 10 followers and 80 new wishlist additions

Conclusion: Based on pixel art communities results, I was expecting around 8-12 wishlist additions so when I saw the results it was clear for me, I first yelled some mumbo-jumbo spartan DarkStar Sailormoon Voltron lines in a weird language then I realized that even though the pixel groups were A LOT bigger then Xcom ones and that I got more engagement on them then on Xcom ones, the more I get closer to the target audience the bigger the conversion rate is. So I strongly recommend hard research on the target audience before starting marketing. I believe it is the same s**t with wishlist conversion rate into sales, as in if you get wishlists from giveaways and from people who meh or are casuals the conversion rate will be lower, and the more genuine wishlist audience you got the more the conversion rate will grow.

-----------------------------

Third round & forth round

At this point, I included both 3 and 4 rounds of Facebook group marketing because the results are non-existent. Round 3 was aiming toward casual gamer groups and round 4 was aiming toward Indie Game developer groups and other small pixel art groups, same promotional picture + adjusted text. Please notice how huge are some groups, how small, and how that factor is truly not important when it comes to smart marketing and knowing your target audience. Results:

Indie Game Promo IGD 56k members = post got 9 likes 3 comments

​Retro Indie Pixel Game 9k members = post got 12 likes 1 comment

​RTS game lovers = post got 2 likes

​and other groups not worth mentioning because of results

Conclusion: ​And for the casual gamer audience, I targeted PC gamer(more than 30k members) group, steam gamers, and so on BUT and it is a strong BUT here, I got 1 or 2 likes per post in these groups, now you are going to say "awww then this is a waste of time I will ignore those groups" and after you say this I will strangle you because you know nothing, Jhon Snow! Why? Some time ago I made TAURONOS game and that game had casual players as the target audience, the thing is that I got good love on this casual player audience group for that game specifically because that was its target audience. So in conclusion: Know your target audience & do not be a spammer that does hit&run, be smart about it and you will avoid wasting time on promotions that will bring no results. Time is very important. Now I am not saying not to post in Indie game development groups but I am saying do not post in Indie game development groups unless you have too much time.

I will make some more posts during the week in other groups but I estimate the main goal was already achieved.
​


Overall:
- always make posts in target audience groups otherwise you would just be spamming
- adjust the text to each specific group, don`t be lazy or hit&runner, put a bit of soul into your post
- respond to all comments, it helps when people see you care and it also gets your post bumped back up
- put quality/polished promotional material
- have a call to action, either by asking for feedback or support for your wishlist, it is all up to you on what you need
- do not post in all groups in a short period of time or Facebook will mark you as a spam post
- do not post the exact content on many groups or again, Facebook will mark you as a spam post

Aditional:
- I also used ads a few times this year and I must say the conversion rate for Facebook ads is totally not worth it. It brings some traffic but most its from fake accounts.


If you got any suggestions/feedback on what I did wrong please do let me know.
Also please do not think marketing resumes only on Facebook(I am talking now to the newbies, not to the veterans who obviously know this).
If you enjoy this post I will try to share my marketing up-to-date experience for all social platforms and marketing-wise related stuff such as email marketing, PR, marketing plan 1 month before release,  and others.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I am not perfect and this is just my opinion & personal experience.



PS: yes I use windows paint and WinRAR  

[cepnox]

Cool, thanks for a lot of helpful info.

Yeah, Windows Paint will always be the best

[AdrianMI]

Heya, this is quite interesting, thank you.

[Papacubec]

Hi ! Thank younso much for this post!
Now  i do like this
I publsh video on Youtube than I share with it on Facbook in different groups
But with same text !

I use this groups:

Unreal Engine
Game development
Indie Game Marketing - Promote your games
Indie Game Developers& Players
Indie Games Players & Developers
Unreal Engine Developers Community
Indie Games Developer
Indie Game Chat IGB
Game Developer & Promotion
Unreal Engine Games Development
Indie Games Developer Sunshine
Gamers \ streamers \ Youtubers support
Gamers Gaming
PC Gamers India
We are gamers
Gamers Zone
Game developers Promotion for Gamers
Unreal Engine Artist
Gamers Only (English Only)

But in all of them I got only 2-3 likes (in each group) , 0 subscribers and 1 wishlists

This is result after 1 month of posting.

So I guess its not my target audience.
But where and how can I find it ? I don't know...

[Ramos]

Cool, thanks for a lot of helpful info.

Yeah, Windows Paint will always be the best

Thank you!
I find it very relaxing to use Paint

Heya, this is quite interesting, thank you.

Np

Hi ! Thank younso much for this post!
Now  i do like this
I publsh video on Youtube than I share with it on Facbook in different groups
But with same text !

I use this groups:

Unreal Engine
Game development
Indie Game Marketing - Promote your games
Indie Game Developers& Players
Indie Games Players & Developers
Unreal Engine Developers Community
Indie Games Developer
Indie Game Chat IGB
Game Developer & Promotion
Unreal Engine Games Development
Indie Games Developer Sunshine
Gamers \ streamers \ Youtubers support
Gamers Gaming
PC Gamers India
We are gamers
Gamers Zone
Game developers Promotion for Gamers
Unreal Engine Artist
Gamers Only (English Only)

But in all of them I got only 2-3 likes (in each group) , 0 subscribers and 1 wishlists

This is result after 1 month of posting.

So I guess its not my target audience.
But where and how can I find it ? I don't know...

If it is for the game from your signature I would recommend you experiment a bit, try target Team fortress fan groups, you can make some promotional material with some meme like "team fortress indie campaign".
Basically try to target communities of other games that are very similar to yours, either by gameplay or by visuals. And then do a nice promo art

PS: more than 90% of the groups from your list are dead, aka they have only developers who scream about their games but no one to listen.

[sambloom]

I know some companies in IT encourage their employees to Google search terms their competitors use and click on their ADs so their click slots get filled up. I've wondered if the fake-accounts/bots on Facebook work in sort of the same way with "empty likes"

Overall great read

[Ramos]

Thanks

np

I know some companies in IT encourage their employees to Google search terms their competitors use and click on their ADs so their click slots get filled up. I've wondered if the fake-accounts/bots on Facebook work in sort of the same way with "empty likes"

Overall great read

Thank you!
For paid ads, I am 100% sure your statement with fake accounts applies but for the type of marketing I did in groups I doubt there was any fake engagement. FB bots/fake accounts usually only engage in page likes via paid adds

[siyasharma]

Hi,

You may create your own too and invite other.

[Ramos]

Hi,

You may create your own too and invite other.

True

I have one too but it is easier to just join other groups and not to complicate the marketing funnel + to not waste time in community administration other than the main Discord.

For me, the main marketing funnel target is the Steam game page and as secondary is the Discord community

[michaelplzno]

So it sounds like after making about 30 thoughtful well done promotional posts with custom wording and different images and so on you got 30-40 wishlists on steam?

I'm not saying you did it wrong, I'm just saying this seems rigged up so that the only way is to pay facebook and even then it doesn't get you enough wishlists.

[Ramos]

So it sounds like after making about 30 thoughtful well done promotional posts with custom wording and different images and so on you got 30-40 wishlists on steam?

I'm not saying you did it wrong, I'm just saying this seems rigged up so that the only way is to pay facebook and even then it doesn't get you enough wishlists.

it's not 30-40 WL if you read all you will notice its around 80-100 WLs and its during the "trial & error" part of marketing when I was still researching for the target audience after the audience has been identified I only posted in those groups and manage to get 400-500 in total from free posts on a decent timeline.

Paying for adds its not worth it unless you have a 20$+ game

 

[michaelplzno]

I'm not disparaging your efforts, I'm glad you are working on it and have a positive outlook, but how many hours did it take to get 400-500 wishlists? Because even if 10% of the wishlists convert, which is a high estimate, that's 40-50 sales and it seems like you took at least 5 hours to do this, maybe 10. That's about an hour of work for 5-10 sales or so? I guess that's a decent pay for a few hours of work, but could you sustain the effort for hundreds of hours to get even more sales? Otherwise that many sales won't trigger steam to actually promote you on their behalf so unless this is a hobby project I don't see how this is a viable method to make this a viable business. Or am I missing something?

[Ramos]

I'm not disparaging your efforts, I'm glad you are working on it and have a positive outlook, but how many hours did it take to get 400-500 wishlists? Because even if 10% of the wishlists convert, which is a high estimate, that's 40-50 sales and it seems like you took at least 5 hours to do this, maybe 10. That's about an hour of work for 5-10 sales or so? I guess that's a decent pay for a few hours of work, but could you sustain the effort for hundreds of hours to get even more sales? Otherwise that many sales won't trigger steam to actually promote you on their behalf so unless this is a hobby project I don't see how this is a viable method to make this a viable business. Or am I missing something?

So would have been better just not to do anything or pay for ads or abandon the project and start a new one or just wait for the results to fall out of the sky?

I am a "do it" type of person and I try hard not to get lost in theory but for the sake of argument, those 500 also contributed to the steam algorithm that resulted in more exposure aka sales, it also brought real target audience that actually enjoyed the game and left reviews, it's a long-term investment, marketing must be seen as a whole, a living beautiful animal.

Ah also + because I did all this I was able to write all these case studies which in return also got me some nice marketing commissions

again, marketing is long-term

[michaelplzno]

Let me double on this: its good that you are doing it, and I'm not saying this is bad work. Something is better than nothing. My ex used to get down on me for being pessimistic in the same way. I tweet, I do marketing efforts, your case study is valuable.

I suppose every success is another valuable addition to the living marketing animal, I may try to replicate your methods. Obviously visibility won't just happen out of nothing.

I do think there must be some way to crack this even if it involves a small rag tag group working together.

[michaelplzno]

Just to clarify, considering how stacked the system is you did phenomenally, but that doesn't mean the system isn't against you and as a result its just not a winning business proposition to work with facebook imo. I've had a bit of luck with youtube. I was just talking about my video's stats with one of their support accounts and they are trying to verify that its actually popular or something.

Edit:

this video is apparently in some kind of review process:

[Ramos]

Just a tiny update.

I confirm that the strategy I used for the first game back in 2021 in regard to this case study for Facebook, still works in 2023