The Facebook page has become an invaluable resource to marketers in every sphere of influence, and the gaming community is no exception. In tandem with the launch of its newest gaming console, Microsoft hosts a Facebook fan page for its XBOX ONE. Here, they share content, updates, news, and more, all involving gaming and their console.
So how is this working for them? What are they doing right? What else could they be doing? Let’s take a look in our page review!
Visuals
First, let’s address the page visuals. The visual aspect of a page is one of the most important, as it gets an idea or message across with much less user engagement than an article or post, and leaves an initial first impression. Facebook gives a page 2 major opportunities to direct a visual message to its users, and the XBOX page does this very effectively. First, we have the default picture. For this, XBOX has employed its universally recognized “X” logo, as well as its name, “XBOX”. This reinforces the brand name and creates brand awareness. For the XBOX page’s cover photo, we can see 4 very fit individuals in workout gear, with a caption that reads “Work out smarter with famous trainers, only on XBOX ONE”. The XBOX page is doing something quite interesting here. Not only are they advertising the cutting edge capabilities available only on their newest system, but they are also attempting to expand their target market. Generally, video games are not synonymous with fitness, but Microsoft is seeking to change that. Thanks to this cover photo strategy, a fitness fan who lands on the XBOX Facebook page will be much more likely to stay, like, or comment on the page when 4 fitness trainers are the first image that they see.Content
The XBOX page has acquired over 20 million likes, with over 100,000 Facebook users currently talking about it–they must be doing something right. The key is in their content; the page has all of its bases covered by providing breaking news in the gaming community, entertaining videos, promotions, and posts that harbor user engagement. The key to their content is that they are not just pushing ads for their brand, but they are offering useful information that users value, and respond to. A good deal of their recent posts are reminders of upcoming game releases, or trailers of anticipated games. This is valuable content for gaming enthusiasts who like to stay on top of the latest console tech. Promotional events are another tool that makes this particular Facebook page effective, offering deals which gives users incentive to check back often. Notices on new, downloadable content being released keeps users who already own an XBOX or XBOX games interested.They also frequently post comments which ask for user engagement, or commentary from fans, or mini contests, which further the community involvement with the page–a MUST for any aspiring Facebook page advertiser. Additionally – they also have the odd gimmicky post which asks fans to \”caption\” a certain photo. While this isn\’t \”quality\” engagement as such, it gets the job done because given the size of the community, they\’re likely to come across some interesting fans who would have something funny to caption the photo with and drive some conversation.What Could be Improved
The XBOX Facebook page is doing just about everything right (Their likes and followers are proof of that), but that doesn’t mean there is no room for improvement! Up until recently, the gaming community has been a relatively small one, which focused on “gamers” and tech enthusiasts. However, in recent years the gaming community has exploded and gone much more mainstream, with companies like XBOX and Playstation becoming household names. One area in which the XBOX Facebook page could improve would be to further expand this market (they are already doing this a little, as we discussed with their cover photo). In addition, here are a few recommendations that could make this page better:- Gaming Tips. How about the odd little tip about a particular game? Provide interesting shortcuts, talk about moves in the game and provide deeper insight into how to play a particular game better.
- Gameplay Videos. This would drive a crazy amount of interaction. How about the XBOX team puts together gameplay videos of a gamer doing something cool? A 1,000 meter headshot? A perfect 360? Finishing a particular circuit in record time?
- Crowdsourced Reviews. Did a game just come out a month ago? How about a post asking fans to give the game a rating on a scale of 1 – 5, and then put all those reviews together to provide an XBOX Community Score.
