"Social media and UGC should not be viewed as money making initiatives"

Aug. 26, 2008 - PRLog -- Is it due to a fear on the part of iGaming companies that by applying these principles and applications, there will be a distraction from the act of gambling i.e. customers spending money at a site?

Justina Cruickshank, Managing Director, Marmalade, certainly thinks so.

Speaking with bulletbusiness.com's Ritesh Gupta, Justina said social media and UGC should not be viewed as a money maker in the first instance.

"Instead, it should be viewed as a way of better communicating with your players and fostering greater customer engagement. Companies that I have seen embrace UGC and social media in the igaming sphere are Bragster, Blubet, Pikum, SpadeClub and Gnuf," shared Justina, who is scheduled to speak during Bullet Business' iGaming Marketing Forum 2008, to be held on 28-29 October in London this year.  

She added, "However, many people do not see these companies as sufficiently strong on the gambling front. Rather, they are seen as more social networking than gambling (sites). Bragster, Blubet and Pikum operate peer-to-peer token based business models, so there is no real money betting – they call themselves social betting sites. SpadeClub, because it is based in the USA, is a subscription-based poker operation. Only Gnuf has a business model that is normally seen in igaming where real money rules. The challenge is in adopting a model that allows you to achieve the right balance between social media and gambling."

Feedback and commentary is a critical element in providing the highest level of service. It is critical to assess whether this viewpoint has found a place in iGaming industry.

When queried on what role can web 2.0 play in retention or creating loyalists, Justina referred to affiliate marketing model.

"If you look at how the affiliate marketing model of acquiring customers works in iGaming, you will see a common thread: affiliates use their sites as a review tool that enables customers to choose the right gaming site for them. Feedback and commentary has always been an important element of the acquisition of players," said Justina.

"However, how this extends to retention and creating loyal players has yet to be fully seen. A player who joins a site through an affiliate may not have a brand connection with the site they actually play with – this is retained with the affiliate who they trust. Most likely the feedback mechanism returns to the affiliate rather than with the gaming site," added Justina.

According to her, the affiliate then becomes almost a second tier brand advocate (or not if they review badly).

Web 2.0 if employed carefully, could allow a gaming site to have more first-hand communication with their players – not removing the need for affiliates - but ensuring that first tier brand advocates can be created.
Justina said web 2.0 just means that a gaming site can create an environment in which their players belong.

"This helps them extend the brand by appealing to human social interaction needs and allowing the customer to feel in control of their experience. iGaming sites can do this by integrating touch points through their site that encourages our basic human need of social interaction to be realised," she said.

A section of the industry feels currently there is a cautious approach towards social media/ networking as there is danger of losing control when one opens up to `conversational media' around their  brand.

Assessing whether this has largely been the concern of iGaming players, too, Justina said this doesn't seem to be a major issue with iGaming companies.

"I think the main concern is whether or not they believe players will continue to spend money or will the player be spending time 'chatting to their friends'. The benefit of social media is in creating stickiness to your site and brand. Not only this, you can find out more about your players so you can target your marketing in a more personal way. Web 2.0 isn't all just about 'conversational media'. There are different aspects of it that can be applied that could benefit," she said.

And to do it effectively, Justina says, you do have to admit to giving up an element of control of your marketing.

The iGaming operators also needs to evaluate the synergy between the profile of iGaming consumer as well as the power of social media, which is all about expressing yourself and makes consumer in-charge of content.

In fact, taking reference from the online travel industry, which has aggressively used social media, an online travel company in the US has proved to be an exception when it comes to using sites like Facebook. According to the company, the social networking in its truest form is for the 15 -25 age demographic. Positioning a site with social networking as a key component can alienate the more mainstream audience, which isn't 15-25 for e-commerce travel.

However, Justina doesn't agree that social networking in its truest form is the 15-25 year old age bracket.

"That age group may have popularised social networking but its nature is being exploiting by everyone. I think social networking largely depends on the common interest that is held between the participants. We have to remember that the essence of social networking is realised with the greater the number of participants. That's why Facebook works, it feeds on numbers. That is social media in its true form," said Justina.

"So for me the question isn't should iGaming companies market to social networking sites because they might be hitting the wrong age demographic, but more can social networking sites based on no common interest i.e. general sites convert browsers into paying customers? That is a more interesting question as I believe they can't," concluded Justina.


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