TikTok in games: How studios use social networking to boost their games

TikTok, the video platform of the Chinese company ByteDance, is one of the most popular social networks in the world. According to DataReportal research, it already has more than 689 million active users globally. And, of course, the games industry already has several ways to talk to the public present in the application.

The vehicle GamesIndustry interviewed a number of professionals from studios to know the importance and what the content strategy on the platform is. According to Bianca Sarafian, community manager at Mediatonic (Fall Guys), TikTok in games has the differential of “connecting” with people, instead of just communicating a simple news, for example.

TikTok is unique because, unlike other platforms, it is not so much a broadcast tool, but a genuine way to create content and connect with people. While other platforms like Instagram and Twitter can do this and transcend beyond just being used for broadcasting from a marketing perspective, TikTok is only acceptable if you are trying to create content and connect with your audience.

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Because of this, users of the Chinese social network are clamoring for unique content. A similar photo or video can be posted in the same way on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, but it doesn’t work the same way on TikTok. If companies engage in original videos, the audience responds quickly with many views.

We are very lucky that Fall Guys lends itself very well to these organic and eye-catching moments. I had, for example, a very simple video of me going through one of our levels called “ski-fall”. It got 160,000 views. It doesn’t have any popular music or any TikTok trend. You only need ten seconds to show that moment, and you don’t even need to know the game to watch it and get a little excited.

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TikTok in games: the secret is not marketing

Wase Qazi, developer of Shotgun Farmers, has revealed that even indie studios can be successful with smaller games. His Twitter account has only a little over 4,000 followers, while on TikTok it has over 1 million and about 40 million likes.

The key, according to the dev, was to create content with no strings attached, just for the purpose of getting closer to people or having fun. This made the launch title outperform big games on its Xbox debut, such as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, NBA 2K21, and Madden 21.

So Qazi recommends that companies that want to enter the TikTok world should not think about traditional marketing. However, they should put a “creative twist” on creating something that appeals to the social network’s audience.

I think, like any other social media, be aware and listen to your followers, engage them, don’t do marketing for them, and genuinely try to have fun creating unique content that works on TikTok. New types of content are gaining every day too, so don’t be afraid to be unique and put your own creative touch on things.

TikTok in gaming is still in its infancy, and several other companies are still expected to invest in more content for the platform. Certainly, companies and players can only gain from the approach.