HELLOOOO.
We're back! Welcome to a new year of the Community Dev Newsletter! π€
This year, in an effort to show what *actually* happens in the job of a community manager, I'll make more of an effort to address actual work issues I dealt with for the month, and how they're resolved - as long as it doesn't reveal any secrets, of course.
Also! I'll be at GDC this year as part of the panel for GDC Pitch: Day 1. See you around?
This month's newsletter dives into:
- The TikTok ban and preparing for constant social media change
- New community activity: dealing with the weight of player expectations
- Several related marketing/community resources and job posts
Okayyy January was chaos
In case you missed it, TikTok was banned in the U.S. on January 19th... and then came back again after 14 hours. (And, suspiciously, seems different.) When it comes to change on social media - whether an entire platform shutting down or an algorithm shift - it can cause a lot of confusion for those of us who work with it.
When it comes to social media work, I tackle it from a few core pillars:
- Expect change. Vine shut down, Tumblr got censored into slight oblivion, Twitter got bought by a guy with too much money and ego. I find there's less use in trying to predict the future and more value in being lean and pivot quickly. If we want to use tech words: be agile!
- Spread your strengths. Don't just depend on one social media platform to convey all your updates - you should have at least two you can focus your strengths on and another that you "own" (e.g. an email newsletter of if you do live service, in-game news.)
- Stay on top of movement. Keeping an eye on where your players are gathering is part of being a community manager! Brands don't dictate where people go - people do. Just like how RedNote suddenly became a thing, or how people shifted from Vine to YouTube, it's all about knowing your players.
- Don't stray from your values. In your efforts to be agile, it can be tempting to take shortcuts to build your content or following. Resist that feeling! You want to continue making content that is distinct and valuable for your community, rather than chasing trends that don't make sense or using a tone that feels inauthentic to you.
And of course, communication is key! This is the message I sent to my community team back when we were questioning if the ban would happen (minor edits for clarity.)
- (Privileged Among Us position noted) -- we're fine. Our other social channels are built up, YT Shorts and IG Reels do okay and we can pivot to focus on those instead. I still think the short video content is worth pursuing, esp. since folks have found success on those platforms and tbh I'm curious enough about them to crack them. If TikTok gets removed we can spend a little more focus time on them.
- The Tiktokkers will go somewhere, and we just need to stay on top of where they go if things get banned. It's like when Vine shut down and people moved to YouTube. The key here is less predicting the future, and more setting ourselves up to be able to quickly pivot.β
- I don't want to waste precious brain space worrying about something we don't have control over. (If you want to know more about how my brain works for a lot of work things, I'm definitely in the Circles of Influence camp.)
- Obligatory: I don't think what I'm doing is best practice necessarily, I'm sure plenty of comms directors/social media experts disagree with how loose and unconcerned I am about trying to predict the next trend/platform.
- TL;DR - Continue as normal.
Of course, a lot of this can depend on how big or small your game is. Once you've gathered a large enough community, they may follow you to whatever platform you go. If you're smaller, you'll likely chase whatever platform people go to.
Hope that helps! At the end of the day I think a strong social media strategy is the ability to adapt and stick to a strategy that suits your game's tone and needs, rather than trend chasing or predicting the future.
Community Activity π
Every month we do a skill testing exercise or discussion question together. The one today is actually a submission from a reader - thanks for asking!!
Have an activity idea or want to ask a question? Submit one anonymously!β
The question:
How do you deal with the weight of community expectations?
β
In particular, when you have a community that's really excited about the game, but you don't have the dev power to keep up with everything. I've tried my best to post roadmaps and keep the community informed of what's coming, but I still find the "finish the game faster" and "add [impossible thing]" comments draining.
Feel free to email me back with your answer - I always respond. My answer will be in the next newsletter!
Community Chatter π¬
Here are the interesting and helpful things I've seen this past month.
General News
Games Resources
Community & Marketing Game Jobsβ
βThese are not endorsements.
- βBandai Namco - Social Marketing Coordinator (Irvine, USA)
- βBungie - Marathon Global Community Lead (Remote, some US locations)
- βDaybreak Games - Community Manager (Remote, some US locations)
- βEvolve PR - Video Editor (Remote, Canada)
- βNiantic - Community Program Coordinator, PokΓ©mon GO (San Francisco or Bellevue, US)
- βOddshot Games - Community Manager (Remote, Belgium)
- βPlaystack - PC & Console Games Marketing Manager (Remote)
- βRadical Forge - Contract Content Creator (Remote)
- βRiot Games - Contract Social Media Strategist (Los Angeles preferred, USA)
- βSecond Dinner - Director of Growth (Remote, USA)
- βSilverstring Media - Contract Community Manager (Remote, Canada)
- βTeam17 - Brand Marketing Manager (Wakefield, England)
- βThunderful Games - Social Media Manager (Gothenburg, Sweden)
- βTwitch - Product Manager - Community (Seattle, USA)
- βTwitch - Social Media Intern (San Francisco, USA)
January felt like it lasted 86 years. Things are SO WEIRD right now but sending everyone lots of good chaos energy to make it through.
β€οΈ
Victoria
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3:28 PM β’ Jan 8, 2025
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