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Influencers: higher ROI than traditional digital marketing
Past Newsletters: all are archived here in Dropbox
At the beginning of this year, there were 4.2 billion social media users around the world (equaling ~54% of the global population), up 490 million (or 13%) from the previous 12 months (Source). As time spent on social media increases, the marketing opportunity of social media influencers will continue to rise. The global digital advertising market in 2021 is expected to be ~$180b (Source). Influencer marketing is expected to grow to be worth $13.8b in 2021 and boast higher ROI and engagement than traditional marketing campaigns (Source).
Within the influencer umbrella, there are 4 distinct types of influencers, based on the size of their following and their niche:
Primarily, influencer marketing works across 3 main verticals — building brand awareness, strengthening consumer-brand relationships, and improving buyer conversion. In gaming, this is especially prolific.
Influencer marketing has been successful across industries — Film, Music, Food, Medicine, Fashion, Beauty, Personal Care — however, some of the most successful stories are within consumer facing products:
What does this mean for monetization? TapInfluence and Nielsen Catalina Solutions found that influencer marketing generates 11x the ROI of traditional digital marketing (Source). Twitter reported that ~40% of users have made a purchase as a direct result of a tweet from an influencer (Source).
Instead of utilizing traditional social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, gamers and gaming influencers typically flock to Twitch and YouTube. There is a distinct difference in content as well — instead of media that can only be viewed, gaming content is much more interactive and personal (live streaming). Static, viewable content is still game/category specific, ranging from commentary/review, reaction, and play through videos.
The more personal live/video interactions between consumers and influencers directly correlates to engagement, direct influencer monetization, and buyer conversion to branded products. According to a study by Bazaarvoice, more than half of surveyed audiences (54%) in Europe feel that influencer sponsored content misrepresents real life while 80% of Twitch users are open to brands sponsoring a specific gamer. Some more statistics on viewers and gaming influencers on Twitch:
There is a greater opportunity for video gaming companies to take advantage of influencer marketing. However, this needs to be a dedicated strategy and not an afterthought to a company’s marketing budget. Similarly to companies in other industries, gaming brands need to avoid the same risks that other industries encounter and craft a strategy targeted at gamers. Here are a thoughts on how to do this:
Thanks,
Josh
Managing Partner | Konvoy VC (video gaming fund)
Konvoy Newsletter: you can sign up here for our weekly newsletter on gaming.
Konvoy Newsletter: you can sign up here for our weekly newsletter on gaming.
Influencers: higher ROI than traditional digital marketing
Past Newsletters: all are archived here in Dropbox
At the beginning of this year, there were 4.2 billion social media users around the world (equaling ~54% of the global population), up 490 million (or 13%) from the previous 12 months (Source). As time spent on social media increases, the marketing opportunity of social media influencers will continue to rise. The global digital advertising market in 2021 is expected to be ~$180b (Source). Influencer marketing is expected to grow to be worth $13.8b in 2021 and boast higher ROI and engagement than traditional marketing campaigns (Source).
Within the influencer umbrella, there are 4 distinct types of influencers, based on the size of their following and their niche:
Primarily, influencer marketing works across 3 main verticals — building brand awareness, strengthening consumer-brand relationships, and improving buyer conversion. In gaming, this is especially prolific.
Influencer marketing has been successful across industries — Film, Music, Food, Medicine, Fashion, Beauty, Personal Care — however, some of the most successful stories are within consumer facing products:
What does this mean for monetization? TapInfluence and Nielsen Catalina Solutions found that influencer marketing generates 11x the ROI of traditional digital marketing (Source). Twitter reported that ~40% of users have made a purchase as a direct result of a tweet from an influencer (Source).
Instead of utilizing traditional social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, gamers and gaming influencers typically flock to Twitch and YouTube. There is a distinct difference in content as well — instead of media that can only be viewed, gaming content is much more interactive and personal (live streaming). Static, viewable content is still game/category specific, ranging from commentary/review, reaction, and play through videos.
The more personal live/video interactions between consumers and influencers directly correlates to engagement, direct influencer monetization, and buyer conversion to branded products. According to a study by Bazaarvoice, more than half of surveyed audiences (54%) in Europe feel that influencer sponsored content misrepresents real life while 80% of Twitch users are open to brands sponsoring a specific gamer. Some more statistics on viewers and gaming influencers on Twitch:
There is a greater opportunity for video gaming companies to take advantage of influencer marketing. However, this needs to be a dedicated strategy and not an afterthought to a company’s marketing budget. Similarly to companies in other industries, gaming brands need to avoid the same risks that other industries encounter and craft a strategy targeted at gamers. Here are a thoughts on how to do this:
Thanks,
Josh
Managing Partner | Konvoy VC (video gaming fund)
Konvoy Newsletter: you can sign up here for our weekly newsletter on gaming.
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