The State Of Social Media And Online Gaming

Online gaming companies have been slower to embrace the world of social media than might have been expected. Having had a dominant presence online since Internet use became widespread in the late 1990s, and being pioneers themselves, one might have expected that online casinos would have recognized and understood the importance of social media before many other industries.

However, this hasn’t really been the case, and online gaming is only now catching up and using social media as an effective way to reach and engage a new customer base.  As an example, until recently many online casinos hadn’t appreciated the importance of Twitter and didn’t exploit the medium to its fullest potential.

This is beginning to change, with the main driver being that people are now beginning to use the internet differently. An online gamer today won’t automatically go to Google when they’re looking for a site—there are too many out there and a search doesn’t offer specific enough information, as most players want to play particular games or are looking for certain playing conditions (e.g., welcome bonuses, play through requirements, payment methods, etc.). Instead, they’ll visit players’ forums, to get more specific advice as to where to play or use social platforms to crowd source

In addition, the rise in popularity of gaming on social platforms, such as Zynga poker, has meant that games that were traditionally the preserve of online casinos have now become much more mainstream, as people can now play games like Texas Hold’em via social media platforms such as Facebook.

A third factor has been that social media has seen online gaming companies lose some control over their brands. Players are quick to go on to Twitter or if they feel they’ve received poor service or an online casino has not been completely fair or transparent. Such bad reports go viral in the gaming community very quickly, and because online casinos haven’t been sufficiently across social media, they haven’t understood the power of positive engagement.

However, the situation is changing now and you will find that online gaming sites are much more active on social media today (www.online-casinos-canada.ca a casino review portal lists a number of well-known casinos such as 888.com which have developed effective social media strategies). Most major brands now better gear their social media to meeting players’ needs and expectations and have a much stronger presence on the main social media platforms.

Anyone who uses Facebook on a regular basis and has even a slight interest in online gaming will have seen the ad campaigns that most major players in the market now run, as they have realized this is an effective way of attracting players to their casino games based on hot movie and video game franchises.

Some online casinos are now taking this engagement to the next level and are seeking ways in which their own games can be played on social media sites. For instance, 888 is about to launch an app that will see real money bingo, casino and slot games played on Facebook.

Now that online casinos have discovered ways in which they can make social media work for them, expect to see their innovative technical and commercial savvy come to the fore, and the ways social media is used may well move in new directions as a result of their input and engagement.

As an avid gamer, I decided to take a closer look at what the online casino scene had to offer, and found a well executed infographic to be the source of information I needed to get into this topic. Judging from the infographic itself this casual form of online gaming is a way for people to relax after a hard day at work, a way that wasn’t available to them a few years ago.

Choosing A First Class Online Gaming Casino

(Click Infographic To Enlarge)

Infographic courtesy of Norsk Casinoguide – Image courtesy of Kim Hong-Ji/REUTERS