Social media can be a great place for Game Devs to build community and network. As a Narrative Designer, I feel comfortable on LinkedIn, (carefully curated) Twitter, Instagram, and Itch.io. I dabble on Discord. But tbh it’s a little overwhelming for me.
This week, I had the pleasure of meeting with social media specialist Whitney Lauritsen. https://whitneylauritsen.com/ Prior to our meeting, Whitney generously conducted a review of my socials and gave me such insightful tips that I want to share with you.
This week, I had the pleasure of meeting with social media specialist Whitney Lauritsen.
First, it’s important to know why you are on social media. My goals are:
Building a supportive game development community
Creating content as resumé verification
Expressing my perspective as a gamer who is fascinated by the marriage of story and game mechanics to create emotional player experiences
Documenting and sharing the visual beauty of life
I’ve been able to implement some of Whitney’s tips immediately, but… some of them are gonna take me a bit of work! Here are Whitney’s tips in alignment with my social media goals:
Take full advantage of the Upper About Section. This is the first thing people see without having to click on anything. Make it easy for them to get to know you. Try this formula for the upper About section: three items separated by upright lines: | What I do | How I can Help| Relatable Personal Fact(s) about Me|
Whitney’s example: "Podcast Host and Digital Marketing Advisor | In between reducing online overwhelm for clients, I savor coffee and take road trips in my Tesla Model 3"
My first draft: "Narrative Designer • Science-Fiction World Builder | Incorporating screenwriting, set design on Star Wars & Matrix franchises, teaching, & architecture. I love volcanoes, aliens & sacred sites -- sometimes all at once."
My second draft: "Narrative Designer • Science Fiction World Builder | Flavorful words, 3-D Creativity, & Critical Thinking. Passionate about marrying story events with game mechanics & environment to create emotional player engagement."
Find and populate the “Talks About” section with #hashtags, i.e., #storyandmechanics, #storydrivengames, #teamwork, #gamewriting
Find and populate the “Providing Services” section with my services, i.e., dialogue, item descriptions, pitching, story arcs, lore, character descriptions, etc. Note: LinkedIn only allows their pre-approved service names -- so you'll need to get creative here.
Continue posting once a week
Put more description in the lower “About” section. This will help with SEO
Ask for and offer recommendations to trusted colleagues
Ask for and offer skill endorsements to trusted colleagues
Revise Banner image to be a single strong statement over a clear graphic image, Use Canva LinkedIn pre-sets to create perfectly proportioned banner. Experiment with different looks and see what responses you get.
Select twenty people in Game Development for relationship building
Divide that list into groups of five people to check in on per day.
Comment on/Share their posts -- with authenticity!
Rotate through your list once a week
Provide consistent, positive, and supportive comments and you will be noticed
You will be remembered and… perhaps noticed by their contacts
Revise Banner image to be a single strong statement over a clear graphic image, Use Canva Twitter pre-sets to create perfectly proportioned banner and easily modify you LinkedIn banner. Experiment with different looks and see what responses you get.
That’s it! Those are my next steps.
Check out my progress:
https://archi-scribe.itch.io/
And…Good luck in your own path to meeting your goals with social media! Let me know what you think about social media for game developers. Which platforms are you using?
How did I meet Whitney? Through my membership in Australians in Film! AiF sponsored a Global Industry Session on Creating Social Media Content. http://www.australiansinfilm.org/ Whitney was our expert speaker!
Why Australians in Film? I’m a dual US/Australian citizen. And as a former filmmaker in Australia, I will always keep my toes in the water of the supportive Australian filmmaking community.
Whitney Lauritsen
http://www.australiansinfilm.org/