Social Media Tactics

[SuperBiasedMan]

So I'm embarking on an independent intended to actually be released as a Real Game^tm. As this isn't something I've done before, I'm trying to figure out the process. I definitely want to hop on the social media/post screenshots/blog development bandwagon and I was wondering if people had many tips here?

 

There's a sea of info about exactly when and where to post and then there's also posts abound about general advice like socialing early and often. I was just wondering if any of you peeps on here had stories of experiences trying to take this kind of advice and how it went for you.

[elvaq]

From my experience consistency is super important. Make sure you have something for screenshot saturday every week, that's an easy way to stay on track.

 

And GIFs. Nothing sells anything quite like a GIF

[SuperBiasedMan]

Being introduced to gifcam will definitely make the GIFing process easier.

[GraysonEvans]

here is the biggest thing about posting things about your game on twitter:

 

doesn't matter if the game plays well or anything like that, if it looks cool or has awesome art people lose their fucking mind.

 

Throw a gif of your game in #gamedev and if it looks interesting people with RT and fav it

[getinthedamnbox]

I don't know if this is the kind of advice you're looking for (or if this is obvious), but one important thing is not to get discouraged when your social media posts don't get a lot of attention. Early on, I had to come to terms with the fact that I'm competing for people's most valuable resource---time---and that this is the case even with friends and family. This has had the double effect of (1) helping me refrain from questioning my existence whenever one of my posts flops and (2) making me have a huge appreciation for each and every person who looks at my work.

On a more tactical level, I find that my social media posts tend to do better when they're funny. That way, even people who aren't going to check out my game have something to react to, and their 'Like's give me a boost in Facebook's algorithms. I also post everything on weekday mornings, which works a lot better than evenings or weekends.

Finally, I found this series of blog posts by Taylor Bair to be extremely helpful. A key point he makes is that even though word of mouth is the best form of promotion, it's the most elusive, and you shouldn't focus on it exclusively.