I presented this talk at Ludicious Zurich Gaming Festival in January 2017. The presentation serves to provide more context behind the myths about working with influencers on YouTube and Twitch and give tips to video game developers to better identify and build relationships with these influencers.

1. 1
Demystifying
Influencer
Marketing

2. 2
WHAT IS INFLUENCER MARKETING?
WORK 1
24/07
Frequently, your initial
font choice is taken out

3. 3
Influencer
marketing =
Celebrity
endorsement
for new
generation

4. 4
Influencer
marketing =
Home shopping
networks for
younger
generation

5. 5
YouTube videos viewed on mobile
device
>50%
Consumers who trust consumer
opinions posted online
66%
Gamers who watch YouTube videos at
least once per week
90%
WHY INFLUENCER MARKETING?

6. 6
3. Video drives
decisions to play
new games
4. Videos have
long-tail effect
1. Traditional user
acquisition channels
are too crowded
2. Video is
engaging and
growing
How did influencer
marketing become
critical?

7. 7
MYTH 1: BIGGER THE BETTER

8. 8
DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE SMALL
GUY/GAL

9. 9
A group of influencers could be more powerful than one
14.3M
jacksepticeye
19.0M
FernanFloo
16.8M
VEGETA777
17.1M
JuegaGerman
16.3M
Markiplier
YouTube audience size = 52.7M
PewDiePie
19.8M
VanossGaming

10. 10
For most indie developers, you’re starting small.
Goal: Reach 1 M players
Solution: Find 20 influencers with ~50K reach

11. 11
MYTH 2: INFLUENCERS ARE JUST KIDS

12. 12
INFLUENCERS COME FROM DIVERSE
BACKGROUNDS

13. 13
Influencers come from all walks of life
WORK 1
24/07
Frequently, your initial
font choice is taken out

14. 14
Average Views per Video: ~1M
YouTube Audience: 16.7M
JennaMarbles
“I Suck at Video Games Series” = 1.5+M views per video

15. 15
aka Jenna Mourey
Brighton High School Class of 2004
FYI - I went to high school with her in upstate New York

16. 16
MYTH 3: INFLUENCERS JUST
WANT FREE SH*T

17. 17
INFLUENCERS CARE ABOUT THEIR
BRAND

18. 18
Authenticity is critical for influencers’ success
There is so much content that influencers serve
as the curators for the best content. Fans trust
them.
FANS ARE INHERENTLY SUSPICIOUS
Most influencers have been creating content for
at least 5 years. This makes them hyperaware
about what their audience likes and don’t like.
HIGHLY SELECTIVE ABOUT CONTENT
As much as it is a business, they started making
video due to their love for games.
CREATIVE FREEDOM IS #1
01
03
02

19. 19
H a n n a h H a r t
Nobody is wired
wrong because there
is no wrong and right
in the way we are.

20. 20
M a r k i p l i e r F a n
Ever since I started
watching Mark’s
videos I always say
the outro with him,
and I get a little sad if
he doesn’t do it the
same as the other
videos

21. 21
Influencers like to talk about
themselves. They love
giving feedback.
3. Ask questions
Do your homework. Figure
out what makes each
influencer unique and how it
aligns with your game
1. Tailor to their strengths
Be upfront and follow up
2. Communicate 24/7
Personalize the
pitch for each
influencer
The more you work with an
influencer, the stronger the
relationship becomes
4. Build relationships

22. 22
MYTH 4: INFLUENCERS ARE IN IT FOR
THE MONEY

23. 23
ACTUALLY, INFLUENCERS AND GAME
DEVELOPERS HAVE A LOT IN COMMON

24. 24
To encourage influencers to play your games,
offer incentives like free in-game currency
OFFER IN-GAME PERKS
Games with high replay value encourages
influencers to make more videos on the same
game
HIGH REPLAY VALUE
Frequently, your initial font choice is taken out of
your awesome hands also we are companies
MAKE CONTENT CREATION EASY
01
03
02
Like game developers, influencers love playing
games and making videos about them

25. 25
MYTH 5: INFLUENCER MARKETING IS A
BLACK BOX

26. 26
TONS OF DATA EXIST. IT’S UP TO YOU TO
MAKE SENSE OF IT

27. 27
Socialblade ranks popular influencers by
category (including games) for YouTube,
Twitch, Instagram and Twitter
Data is fragmented, but it’s pretty easy
to identify good influencers.

28. 28
However, nothing replaces doing your
own research
CONTEXTENGAGEMENT
Apply the airport test. Most
engaging videos are from
influencers with personality.
Number of subscribers
don’t mean much
nowadays. Comments and
likes matter more.

29. 29
Let’s compare to another influencer with 1M
subscribers

30. 30
Find influencers who have similar
audiences and play similar games.
STEP 2
Reach out to them.
STEP 3
Determine your target audience.
STEP 1
How do I find the right influencers?

31. 31
MYTH 6: INFLUENCERS DON’T DO A LOT
OF WORK

32. 32
INFLUENCERS HUSTLE LIKE EVERYONE
ELSE

33. 33
How much work is behind a 2 minute
gameplay YouTube video?
POST-PRODUCTION COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
AUDIO AND VIDEO
RECORDING
LAUNCH
YouTubers upload at least 1
video per day
YouTubers will review and
often responds to fans’
feedback on previous
videos on various social
media channels. This can
take up to 1 hour per day.
Editing can take anywhere
between 1-5 hours
depending on video or
audio.
Typically, gaming
YouTubers record at least 2
hours of gameplay footage

34. 34
Influencers often run their own
business operations as well
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SPONSORED PROJECTSBUSINESS PLANNING / OPS NETWORKING
Influencers live and die by
their peer community as
well. Cross-promotion
within social circle is critical
In addition to their own
channel, they may be
working on sponsored
projects from other brands
concurrently
Social media advertising is
a fairly unstable income
stream, so many
influencers are open and
often seek out other ways
to make revenue.
Influencers are data savvy,
especially about their
audience. They also keep
track of their finances as
well.

35. 35
MYTH 7: BIGGEST INFLUENCERS ARE
AMERICAN

36. 36
SOME OF THE BIGGEST (AND FASTEST
RISING) INFLUENCERS ARE
INTERNATIONAL

37. 37
Mixes vlogs with gameplay commentary
19M subscribers
Fernanfloo
In the Top 5 gaming YouTubers, two are Spanish

38. 38
IS IT REALLY WORTH IT?