Growing a Social Media Audience (pt. 1)

Social media constantly changes, and we learn something new every day when promoting our card game! Here is part one of how to get your social media accounts rolling. Creating a social identity for your board game might be one of the hardest parts in the design and marketing process. We struggled for months on what the voice of Cardboard would sound like on social media. Even today that is continuously evolving based on new interactions we have with our followers daily. Below are some tips that we have learned when growing Card Bard on social media.

Rome wasn’t built in a day

This is by far the most challenging and discouraging phrase to swallow. For months you will be posting daily content that you think is great to a non-vocal sub 100 audience. Many times, I’ve wanted to give up on social media because I thought it wasn’t working, or I lacked talent that all these cool influencers have. If you speak to any content creator, they will tell you it took months or even years to gain a following, and to gain an audience for your board game isn’t any different. Remember, you control your timeline — most of the time, this isn’t your day job, so take your time and be consistent when you post.

What is your card game’s voice?

If your board game was your friend, how would they act? Usually, when you are designing a board game, you are creating something that is a more abstract version of your personality — use that when posting. Keyan and I are not only fantasy and music lovers, but we are also huge into internet culture, aka memes. We went back and forth if we should post memes about our game because everyone else we researched wasn’t doing that. Get this — We even had people who manage very large international brand accounts tell us not to post memes. Against their best judgment, or maybe out of rebellious spirit, we started making memes around Card Bard. In the social media realm, that was the best decision we’ve made. This is because it’s a personal touch of an extension of who we are as individuals.

People don’t interact with brands; they interact with others who share the same interest, people that is. Isn’t that what your board game is? More than likely, you are designing a game for yourself, so your social media interactions should have a touch of your personality. If you are uncertain how people would react to your content, try posting to a smaller group of people using your personal account. I post on the Reddit subgroup Boardgame Design, which has close to 5,000 subscribers. I’m not looking to make a big splash, but if people respond to it positively, then I know it’s probably a good idea to post on the Card Bard Instagram.

Follow like-minded individuals

This is a nice way of saying account spamming. Unfortunately, if you are trying to get your name out there, it is a necessity. I hate when random accounts follow me in hopes of getting a follow back — that’s the dirty way of doing it. Find big accounts that share similar interests that you have and would potentially like your game. For us, this was Board Game Geek, Magic the Gathering, and Pokémon.

Besides going down the accounts follower list and following everyone’s account in hopes that they will follow back, look at their recent post, and leave a meaningful comment. DON’T BE CREEPY, I don’t know these people so I will not comment on pictures of them with family and friends. I only comment on images if they are showing off a rare card or a board game that they are playing. This will take a lot of time, but people really appreciate the extra effort you are putting in to try and get a follow back. Remember not to abuse this power; Instagram only lets you follow 50 people per hour, so take a break and remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Post Consistently

If you don’t post daily, then you run the risk of people losing interest in you and the potential to be thrown out of the Instagram post feed algorithm. Posting every day can be tough, primarily if you work a full-time job on top of designing a board game. While at my job from 9-6 every day, I formulate what I’m going to post that night. The best time to post varies by region, but the most active hours tend to be between 7-10. Make it a habit to post after work, and it becomes a lot easier.

Targeted advertising works, and it’s CHEAP!

Some people think that targeted advertising is tough and expensive, but it isn’t. Find a post that is eye-catching that would make someone mindlessly stop scrolling and click on your ad. For us it was one of our memes. The more money you spend, the more visits you are going to receive. For one to two posts I highly recommend spending $5 a day over 6 days that’s $30 in total. This will effectively put eyes on your Instagram and the much-needed likes. From then on, you only need to spend $1-$2 a day over six days to get active engagement. NEVER allow Instagram to target customers automatically, I suggest focusing on people who have these interests: Tabletop game, BoardGameGeek, and Board games. Targeting these users will make sure that every dollar you put into it gains valuable traction.

I love studying social media and influencer culture and could write pages about this. I think if you start with these easy steps, you will see more and more followers for your board game. Stay tuned to our blog for part 2! Also, be sure to check out Keyan’s article about how to take your card game from an idea to a legit print and play.