One-third of gamers feel businesses don't care about them
YouTube and Facebook are the two most dominant social platforms for gamers. Across these platforms, gamers have a 43% higher watch time for social video than all other audiences on social media.
Where do gamers spend their time on YouTube?
Yet brands are missing a trick. A recent study has revealed that a third of gamers feel that brands don't actually care about gamers, and almost three out of five (55%) of gamers say brands try to sell them products or services that are not relevant to them.
The Social Chain Group's Media Chain has recently released a report looking at gamers attitudes toward brands. Its Gaming the System study shows that a third (33%) of gamers feel that brands don't understand gaming culture and almost half of gamers think brands try to use "generic gamer language" when speaking to them.
The data team used primary and secondary data and interviews across 2,027 gamers from Media Chain's social-first communities in the first half of 2019 for the study.
The survey shows that a third of all gamers make comments on new purchases on social and leave reviews. They speak online about purchases they have made, and 57% of respondents seek out alternative opinions on social before making a purchase.
In fact, 58% of gamers actively seek out meme content on social, and 33% of gamers second screen on social media while they game. Almost four out of five (78%) say that social media and video channels are their main source of gaming news.
What do brands get wrong when they market to you?
However, they are intolerant of marketing that interrupts their user experience. Almost two out of three (62%) of young gamers use an ad blocker -- yet 58 percent of all gamers want brands to support and sponsor the gaming series and content they want to see.
Gen Z gamers (gamers under 24 years old) are 52% more likely to pay extra for convenience or ease of delivery for a product they care about.
They are also 25% more likely to pay for better quality clothes than millennial (gamers aged between 25 to 34) and mature gamers (gamers over 35 years old). However, millennial and mature gamers are 25% more likely to pay extra for better quality food than Gen Z gamers.
Tom Sweeney, director of gaming at Media Chain, said:
"Time spent by gamers consuming traditional media is decreasing, and their time spent consuming social content is on the rise.
To appeal to gamers, brands need to start shifting their spend away from programmatic, away from traditional media, and into social content -- either creating it themselves, or supporting a creator that the audience is already connected with. It's as cheap as it'll ever be as supply currently outpaces demand -- but that will change as brands realize the value of this audience."
Photos: Retro computer games that Eastern Europe played as Iron Curtain fell
Previous and related coverage:
Under 45s trust bots over humans with personal data
We are becoming more and more concerned that AI will replace humans in business. Now, a new study shows that digital assistants appear to be more trustworthy.
Gen Z wants a top-notch tech stack before they will apply for a job
Although Gen Z respects and admires the technology that makes life easier, it has little tolerance for hiring companies who refuse to adapt to the times.
Three-out-of-five businesses say social is the best way to attract new customers
It's not only Business to Consumer (B2C) markets that love social media; now B2B companies are seeing its value.