Wizards of the Coast is choosing to shut down what they consider to be a "former foundation" of their online community....their forums.
On October 29th, 2015 at 10:00 AM PT they are pulling the plug on their forums. I think this is a big mistake. Yes, I get that a lot of the conversation about games is migrating to other social media, but you know what? When you go to places like Facebook, your company information is just a small sliver of the crap-ton of "stuff" being pushed in front of your fan base. So much "stuff" is out there that the owners of those social media sites have to use algorithms to determine how much of what to show.
In other words, you are choosing to bury your content in a pile of other "CLICK ME" content and then handing the reigns over to someone else to dictate what your fans/customers see.
Now I think it would be stupid to not have a social media presence, but they should augment, not replace, your own information/marketing efforts. Company game forums have long been the absolute best place for fans to get information about your products and connect with like-minded individuals. On company forums you get to determine the layout of your sub-forums and you get to decide what is important to get in front of your customers.
Forums can be used to help create a sense of community in a manner that I just don't see from social media. I just don't see this announcement as good news....
0 comments :
Post a Comment