There are a lot of benefits and opportunities for companies when it comes to media monitoring. Gaming companies are no exception to that. Making informed decisions is crucial and media monitoring will provide you with the necessary information to do that.
💡 Read Media Monitoring: The Ultimate Guide
Since we’re living in a world where everyone has a platform to express their opinion, if you’re a brand owner, you should pay attention to what’s being said about your brand, products/services, etc.
Unless you want to spend your days endlessly googling all of the before mentioned, the best solution is to start media monitoring. Read on to find out when media monitoring comes in handy if you’re in the gaming industry.
Track Industry Trends
Let’s start from the industry as a whole, and what’s going on in the world.
In order to make good business decisions, you need to be informed about what’s going on in your industry and the world. You want to keep up with emerging trends and changes so you can provide the customers with the best new thing.
Monitoring the latest trends will allow you to jump on the bandwagon early and reap the benefits.
Read Trend Analysis Made Simple: 3 Examples to Help You Get Started
Direct Your Business Efforts at the Right Channels
With media monitoring, you can find the main channels (Twitter, Reddit, etc.) that your customers are using. That way you can track what they’re writing about your products and use that information for improvement. You can use that opportunity to engage with your consumers – answer their questions, respond to negative comments and thank the ones who give you constructive advice.
Also, you can find out what people want and need so you can incorporate that into your future products.
In the chart below, you can see on which channels EA Games have been mentioned the most. This should be an indicator that the brand should pay more attention to channels other than Reddit to improve its position.
On the other hand, Rockstar Games chart looks like this:
If you’re a marketer in EA Games, this Rockstar Games chart can also be interesting to you. As you can see, Rockstar Games are mentioned the most on YouTube and web (but so are you, so leave that aside for a second and focus on YouTube).
Now you know on which channel your competition is strong, and you can aim your marketing efforts toward it and steal some spotlight.
Now that we’ve opened a new topic, let’s look into it further.
Follow What Your Competitors Are Doing
With media monitoring, besides your own brand, you can track your competitors and see what they’re up to. Also, you can use competitive analysis in the tool to see how your brand is performing compared to them.
That way you detect your strengths and weaknesses and make better strategic decisions. You can also learn from your competitor’s mistakes and crises they’re going through and not repeat them.
For example, look at the chart below. It’s showing the share of voice between EA Games and Rockstar Games.
Read 3 Easy Ways to Monitor Competitors in Your Industry
Now, if you look from the EA Games perspective, this is not the best situation. But, you shouldn’t focus on this information alone. There are many reasons why your competitor has a bigger share than you.
Let’s look at some of the possibilities just so you can get a clearer image:
- They’re marketing and communications are better – this is the time for revision of your current marketing and communication efforts and goals, and improving them.
- You’re competitor just launched a new game – it is what it is. But, if you notice that the wave of popularity is not slowing down, go back to the possibility no. 1.
- They’re in a crisis – a spike of mentions can usually mean something bad is going on. Not ALWAYS, but usually. This is why I previously said that you shouldn’t make conclusions on one information only. To determine whether your competitors are having the best time of their lives, or drowning in crisis, look at the sentiment.
Perform a Sentiment Analysis
If the sentiment is showing that the majority of the mentions are negative, it means that you did something wrong. You should not ignore those types of mentions because things can go viral in seconds and then you’re having to deal with a crisis.
If you’re dealing with a crisis, adjust your communication and keep monitoring whether you’re making any progress. If you notice that the sentiment is getting better in time, it means your strategy is working and you should continue doing what you’re doing.
In the chart below you can see the sentiment ratio of mentions for EA Games. The sentiment is evenly spread which is not the best thing. “Not great, not terrible“, as some would say. This is a sign that some kind of action is needed in order for sentiment to improve.
Read 6 Ways To Improve Customer Sentiment For Your Brand
Create Reports Effortlessly
Another great thing about media monitoring are the reports. You can find all of the graphs from this blog (and many more) in one place. That way you can start making your decisions with all the necessary information.
Besides the graphs seen here, you can also find out from where in the world your mentions are coming, on what languages, how many, who’s writing them, etc.
To Conclude
n conclusion, media monitoring has become an essential tool for the gaming industry, providing valuable insights and opportunities for growth. As the industry continues to evolve and expand, staying informed about the media landscape becomes increasingly crucial for gaming companies to navigate the competitive landscape successfully.
Media monitoring allows gaming companies to keep a finger on the pulse of public opinion, track industry trends, and gather valuable market intelligence. By monitoring news articles, social media conversations, reviews, and forum discussions, gaming companies can gain a comprehensive understanding of their audience’s preferences, identify emerging issues, and make informed business decisions.
Want to give media monitoring a try? Book a demo with our experts, and find out how it can benefit your business.