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MARKETING on Facebook 2021

A topic by 16bitnights created Apr 18, 2021 Views: 744 Replies: 18

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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.

I don`t have yet an Itch.io coming soon page for my new project, just a dev blog so for now, the target was Steam wishlist.

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

EXTRA: I used 0 money for this MK round

Ok, let`s start!

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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.

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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.

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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

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firecat3 years ago

no one likes facebook anymore, they have been bad with people and mislead many. Also only using Steam is not going to get more people, you want as many people as possible so i do not see why itch.io and steam cant be marketed at the same time.

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16bitnights3 years ago

I am sorry but I disagree.

A couple of years ago a huge amount of devs were spamming links to games on groups and make FB pages for those games, unfortunately, more than 90% of them were garbage and facebook noticed that so in the current day you either work for your exposure and engagement (like I did in the post above) or you pay money (funny thing is that I found trough my latest experience is that making free marketing on Facebook brings more engagement than paid marketing on Facebook).

Don`t hate the player, hate the game.

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firecat3 years ago

yes that was years before the whole facebook problem, things change after that. Many groups now have reddit like rules where you cant post such things, mods/owner will delete the post or kick you out. Many of the people who used facebook either deleted their account or left for twitter/other. Now paying is no longer a better choice either because facebook was caught breaking equal viewing laws in the USA, you can not target your ads to only gamers, its a waste of money to spent it on facebook.

the only people who are left are old people who yet to understand why people hate facebook.

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16bitnights3 years ago (1 edit)

no one likes facebook anymore - I got approached by 3 big game publisher via the "indie game players & developers" Facebook group and got around in total 400 WL additions in 1 week after using pixel art & Xcom Facebook groups(maybe you are next level and you have double numbers in which case Kudos to you but this is still a good result for an indie dev like myself)

Many groups now have reddit like rules - Good, because I was really tired of my post to be lost in a sea of bad games link spams. It is so much better now, again what works for me it may not work for you

its a waste of money to spent - as I said, I strongly suggest free marketing for Facebook

people hate facebook - again, hate the game, not the player, all good PR agents will tell you this

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firecat3 years ago (1 edit)

You dont need a publisher, in fact there is no reason for it, unless they willing to pay money and marking you going to end up something like in youtube publisher scams. Also this happens a lot in books, games, local businesses, music, anything and anywhere that is popular. The only way to seal the deal is with a contract, you have to read it all because sometimes they will cheat you out of money. Having publishers doesnt mean it's a good thing either, you can be limited by creative, regain, laws or worst. Again there is no reason to join a publisher unless you sign a fair agreement.

steam wish list isnt accurate either, 400 of what is what you should be asking. Many groups have robots who auto subscribe when a new game shows up. You also have to consider if some of them will pay full price, i am guessing like every steam dev, you'll offer a discount. You shouldent offer discount at the very start that is bad marking, if you do such a thing than people wont buy the game at full price. Steam is also not the place to sell your game, many gamers there want discounts and if you not ready to lose a few $1,000 because of these gamers you should not be selling on steam.

this isnt about the game, its facts based on numbers. i do not know where you getting misleading information about facebook and steam but many developers have express trouble and all come to the same problem of facebook and steam playerbase. Also on to the fact that any good PR would tell you the risk of joining these companys. Facebook is in deep trouble with the US gov, possibly getting the book and splitting up to stop facebook monopoly and twitter along too. Steam is a way worst trouble with many countrys suing Valve for breaking their laws. You can not trust Valve to follow laws after many, many, many lawsuits that do show Valve being guilty . There is still one with gambling and guess what happens if Valve is guilty of making kids play gambling games, you guess it, they either shut down or your games get shutdown.

think what you doing, find reliable sources not from facebook or Valve, i been doing this longer than you can guess. gamedev is tricky and many times you find yourself with bad companys, you should always do things that support gamers never the wrong way.

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16bitnights3 years ago

You dont need a publisher - yes I know and I agree, I only stated the publishers in the context where you said no one uses Facebook. Logical if there is a supply-demand market activity that is good.

steam wish list isnt accurate either- it is accurate if you generate WLs authentical and not by using farms/giveaways

Steam is also not the place to sell your game - again, sorry to disagree, I have games both on Steam, Itch.io, Gamejolt, and others and on Steam I managed to get Serious $$$. Here is a Personal opinion based on personal Experience: On Steam I made the best money for selling games but 0 on selling art packs while on Itch I made good money for selling on my Art packs but 0 on selling games.

think what you doing, find reliable sources not from facebook or Valve, - I 100% agree with you here that is why all my statements are based only on personal experience

I feel like your statements come from your heart but they are stubborn on an idea.

Still, I do have a question for you, and answering this one is a good way to actually have a solid argument in my eyes: how much $$$ you made for your best game in the first year of release comparing Steam-other platforms? (please also include links)

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firecat3 years ago

publishers being on facebook doesnt mean there are demand, they can be scams. I remember one scam publisher called blackshellmedia who only posted twitter post or facebook post then do nothing but take a percentage each time. https://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/43bo19/a_company_called_black_s...

Actually since i think about it, when facebook remove the targeted ads, there has not been any legit reason to use facebook. Anyone can make groups on other sites, reddit has automod so it makes things easier to mod while facebook lacks mods and paying people isnt the best thing for a company. Many gamedev groups are mislead people who still believe steam and unity are good starting line for gamedev.

Many professionals wouldn't even go to facebook first, they would go to twitter because they can embed tweets while facebook lacks such features as well as blocking people from seeing post, making facebook a guarded community. Actually since the goal of marking is to get everyone in the whole world to see your product, using facebook will only give you facebook users not new customers. This also goes into how your post is seen, facebook will not promote your post it doesnt have such thing nor can people searching on google find it. That just means twitter has better SEO with tags, retweet and easy ad placement on people who follow them.

back on the topic, wishlist is not accurate 400 =/= 400. As stated on steamwork: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/marketing/wishlist

unless all 400 did not opt-out of emails (which is very unlikely) you may get people buying but since no one likes having ads pop-up on email that 400 becomes somewhere to 100 or less. Even then with legit players, you have to see things from their view, your game is next to many other wishlist. If you have 400 wishlist, you have to assume each player has more choices or better, thus making wishlist a double edge sword where you have people but dont have them.

When i hear people say "oh steam sells are higher than itch or gamejolt", i know why such statements are said. You never promoted any other platform. If you only promote steam store for your game, people are going to steam, it's basic marketing 101. I seen so many people promoting only steam and then soon after a few days the game launches on itch.io/gamejolt. If you were to do the same thing with Steam then the same result is going to happen. There is also many people in GOG who hate gamedev who lie to them about their release for GOG store but never got approved or tried. The next time they see the game it's on Steam and only on steam with steam API related services needed to work. Making that game unable to go to GOG or itch.io because the gamedev doesnt know how things work without steam.

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16bitnights3 years ago

I am not going to go into details with all you said, because you avoided the only question that actually matters:

how much $$$ did you make for your best game in the first year of release comparing Steam-other platforms? (please also include links)

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firecat3 years ago

how can i compare it if my only sellable game can only be in itch.io, Amazon shutdown their PC store version, GOG rejected my game, there is no reason to sell on gamejolt, Valve cost $100 and demanded it to be integrated Steam API which is impossible because i dont have access to the game's code. Cant upload to android/apple because the export only exports to windows computer.

All this time i was working on my free game during the last 3 years to get bosses fighting fairly with the player, no bugs, fun world to explore, last minute changes to add working voice lines from a CD software during the 2005 area that majestically works with windows 10 and all without help.

All this time i have now just started working on my new paid game after i had enough money to buy a trademark for my game and currently waiting for approval. you may think it's foolish to work on a free game but the very idea of being gamedev is to have a fun game not a gambling machine. So no i can not compare it to anything when i been working on other more important things.

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16bitnights3 years ago (1 edit)

Ok so basically all your arguments are based on assumptions and stuff you read on the internet, unfortunately, the wrong side of the internet because 90% of what you said so far is totally wrong.

Good day :)))

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