Focus on Your Site, Not Your Competition
I’ve become a big fan of PocketGamer.biz in the last year. It is delivering news, editorial and features content about the absolutely chaotic mobile games market and really establishing itself as a place to go and get a handle on what’s going on in the greater industry.
Reading different viewpoints and seeing how reporters are getting more insight into the business is a good thing. Keith Andrew wrote an interesting op-ed about “games industry scandal,” asking us to take a moment before choosing a side on the next hub-bub that pops up on our Twitter feed.
His point is valid and it’s good to hear journalists are trying to get more clarity before making a call on something. But he also said something that stood out for me as much more important. He wrote:
“As an editor on a games website I know that, if we're even half an hour late on a story rival publications have already set live, we might as well not bother. People will have read the news elsewhere already, taken a view and moved on.”
This is a dangerous mentality for games media. Always being first is just not a very feasible business model. Scoops are going to come and go. Different reporters at different publications are going to have better relationships. So in today’s Search Era, where reading 10 stories about the same topic is as easy a Google News Search, it concerns me the gaming media is so concerned about running a news story after another site posted it. I am reminded of an old coaching cliché, “We’re going to focus on us and if we do what we need to do, we’ll win the game.”
Instead of worrying about always being first, make sure you’re always right. Then, focus on these three areas:
Build Your Own Brand: If an editor thinks it isn’t worth his or her time to post their own news story don’t believe in their site’s brand value. Just because somebody read a breaking story on one website doesn’t mean they won’t want to see what their preferred website has to say about it. Really big news, which is what so much of the games media leans on, motivates interest, and leads to people who will read anything and everything they can get their hands on. Let’s use the recent Breaking Bad finale as an example. I read multiple stories on several sites about the epic conclusion to one of my favorite shows. I already was reading recaps on Esquire and Hitfix but for the finale I read stories all over the place, including The New Yorker and EW. I really enjoyed the coverage on EW and I’ll likely be back for more. They’re a pop culture publication and it was clear they cared deeply for moments like this. I understood their brand quickly and will be back for more. Build your brand, make sure readers know what you stand for and why it should matter to them as part of your audience. For example, if a site has really strong readership with PS3, don’t be afraid to make it a bigger focal point of your coverage than Xbox 360 (or vice versa).
Value Your Writers: If there is one thing I learned from working in newspapers, it’s that people appreciate a certain sense of reliability from their news publications. They want to read the local columnist three times a week. I’m a big sports fan and have developed loyalty to certain writers. Stewart Mandel at Sports Illustrated does a terrific job on college football coverage and I read all of his work. I grew up reading Tom Shatel for the Omaha World-Herald and I often will wait up late to read his post-game columns. This is happening in video game media as well. Two great examples are Leigh Alexander and Patrick Klepek, who have both built their own cache in different ways. Leigh nurtured her own audience and carries it with her to multiple publications as a freelancer. Patrick worked at several sites and built trust as a solid news and features writer. When he landed at Giant Bomb, it was a great fit and I’ll further explain in my next point. Sites who can establish a relationship between their audience and editorial staff will benefit from it.
Community Is Brand, Sometimes: Branding isn’t just a matter of saying what you are and doing your best to live up to it, although that’s really where it begins. For games media, it’s also about enabling your community to help you deliver on your brand values. Destructoid and Giant Bomb are two of the best at this and really built their businesses by establishing an amazing dialogue between editorial and their audience. I got a chance to meet the community managers for Destructoid at PAX and even got one of my co-workers, Kerbal Space Program lead developer Felipe Falanghe, to don the Destructoid helmet.
They do a great job of harnessing the passion for games as part of their brand and creating this amazing feedback loop that keeps their community coming back for more. Gamers want to be part of the discussion, which is why sites like Kotaku are so impactful in the industry. Give them the chance to help boost your brand so the next time you miss a scoop, you know it won’t matter. Those guys are going to want to comment on it on your site with your community.
Hopefully editors will realize losing scoops isn’t the end of the world but another chance for them to prove why their site is the best place to read about the news of the day.