Poker has always been a social game. In terms of players blossoming social network is a natural extension and a new platform for communication with the same passion and enthusiasm as the poker table. But for companies social media heralded a new era. To some extent, this is the end "business as usual" and the beginning of adaptive interaction.
Despite the importance of social media for the future of the industry, many poker operators ignore the phenomenon of social media. Earth's population is more than seven billion people, about two billion have access to the Internet, about a billion of them are using social networks. On average, one out of five minutes spent online is spent on visiting social networking sites. But very few poker sites use social media opportunities for their promotion or use their passive and reluctant.
Why companies need a strategy for working with social media?Bain Consultancy Studies show that users bring in companies that interact with their customers through social media, is 20-40% higher than companies that are not linked in this way with their customers. Although this form of adding new, sometimes incorrectly interpreted, levels of difficulty, but also adds significant value:
brand awareness and responsenew understanding of customerhigh level of interaction with customers and potential customersbuilding a personal relationshipsentiment analysisdemand analysisunderstanding of the social dimension and the interests of users.
Unlike poker brands, betting companies are serious about social networking. Currently, as a leader on the understanding of the importance of networks and offering relevant content is PaddyPower. However, their poker page is not very popular (over 3,000 fans, while at the core applications - more than 200 million). PKR has almost 70 thousand fans, but at the same time and a disproportionately low level of participation. At bwin.party least 7,000 followers on Twitter, but the situation has to change, as the company is going to give $ 50 million to increase its presence in social networks.
Skepticism about the value of social media in the field of poker is based on the common myths about what can and can not give the brand social networks. Unlike search engine optimization and other direct marketing techniques social media important in the long run. It is a platform for companies to ennoble themselves and build relationships with customers. Rather than duplicate the site or application (as is usually done poker operators), social networks should be used to establish friendly relations with users.
What to expect from Social Media?First of all, fans and followers will be made up of the existing players, so poker rooms do not expect a significant increase in revenues. However, on average, Facebook users 35 of its fans, the active users of Twitter - 115 followers. This is the main value of social media: the presence and orientation of friends and acquaintances, as a result of the establishment of good relations. Social media is not a proven marketing tool in the poker industry, but it should not be categorized as unemployed because no one knows how to use it effectively.