How to get your fans to make content about your brand

How do you make people care about your brand so much that they'll make content about it?

One effective way to do that is to have a consistent theme or storyline that progresses or updates over time. This allows your fanbase to form and follow your journey. And one industry that's done this especially well is the world of video games!

'Let's play' videos, where creators film themselves playing games, are one thing.

But generating constant discourse around changes or updates made to games needs a loyal audience that's immersed in that world.

Two popular game franchises that have fostered strong communities are Final Fantasy XIV and Super Smash Bros. One bounced back after ruthless criticism, and the other thrives almost entirely off mystery and fan service.

Let's unpack exactly how they created a fanbase so strong, their audience can't help but make content about their games.

Final Fantasy XIV deletes itself

The team behind this multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) made a bold move in response to poor reviews and poor sales. They deleted the game and replaced it with a new one.

Three years after its release and after endless complaints and constructive criticism, the team behind Final Fantasy XIV introduced a new feature. This was simply a small, red dot in the sky that grew bigger and bigger as time went on.

The red dot was actually a moon heading for the game's map. A plot device at the centre of a new in-game storyline where players had to stop 'Project Meteor' from happening.

In the end (spoiler alert), everyone fails to stop the moon. It hits the ground and wipes out the whole game in real time.

Behind the scenes, though, this in-game apocalypse was actually masking the release of FFXIV: A Realm Reborn.

This was an entirely new game released 9 months after the previous game died. It carried over ex-players' accounts and fixed most (if not all) of the last game's biggest issues.

The build-up to the meteor's impact and the mystery behind it attracted tons of speculation amongst players. They contributed to game forums and produced videos to discuss possible theories. The unpopular FFXIV built up a lot of hype over Project Meteor. And, ultimately, its replacement was received much more positively.

This story goes to show the power of brands who not only take criticism on the chin, but weave their changes into the 'lore' of the product itself. It also shows the important of listening to your audience and giving them what they’re asking for.

Super Smash Bros. brings fighting fan fictions to life

When you think of gaming crossovers, few franchises come to mind ahead of the Super Smash Bros. (SSB) platform fighting series.

SSB games are made by Nintendo. So the brand can put characters (or 'fighters') from their other franchises in it without a hitch (such as Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon). But getting other licensed characters in the game is a legal nightmare.

However, the last 2 entries in the series, SSB for Nintendo 3DS & Wii U and SSB Ultimate, have downloadable content (DLC) packages. These allow players to buy new characters and download them straight to the game.

Prior to this, fans would speculate on the next fighters to be announced. They'd debate whether certain characters were even possible, given the legal processes involved.

This commentary led to sloughs of online community discussions and videos of creators discussing possible characters and likely announcement dates.

These last 2 SSB games have been especially successful. And it's because Nintendo bowed to many fan demands. They built an exciting yet mysterious air around new fighters that left fans drooling for more characters.

Because the franchise only announced a new character every few months, fans had to be in it for the long run. This only made them more hungry for new info, which made content creators more excited to feed it to them!

If you want to create the same kind of hype around your brand, it’s time to think about how to use your audience feedback and maybe even suspense to get people talking. If you do it right, your fans will do the brand promotion for you.

-Devin, Copywriter