I’m entering my fifth year of using Instagram as a publisher, and I continue to really enjoy the community, engagement, and photos there. I say that both as a publisher and someone who enjoys scrolling through to see what others have posted–I’m inspired as a designer by the way people talk about and photograph games there.
Back in 2019, I wrote a post that discussed different strategies used by publishers on Instagram and how they impacted follower counts. Though, even as I write that, it really isn’t the best metric for determining success, as the goal isn’t the number itself–it’s reaching the people who comprise that number.
Today I decided to revisit that post, this time creating a Google Doc of a wide variety of publishers, mostly focusing on those who have published multiple games. I’ve embedded the list into the post below; you can also go directly to it by clicking here. I’ve sorted the top 10 most followed publishers at the top, then the rest are in alphabetical order.
Before I get to the list, here are a few observations and some examples of recent posts that I think provide a good strategy for Instagram engagement:
- There isn’t necessarily a correlation between a publisher’s level of financial success and their Instagram follower count. There are some heavy hitters among the top 10, but there are also some major publishers for whom Instagram just may not be a priority. And that’s okay! There are many ways to reach people.
- Instagram is a highly visual platform. Taking and choosing the right photo(s) makes a huge difference.
- Only the first 10 words or so of an Instagram post are visible when someone is scrolling, so I try to use that precious space to share (a) the name of the game and (b) impactful words that will inspire further reading.
- Instagram Stories are the rough equivalent of Twitter retweets in that they’re an easy way to share (and appreciate) the Instagram posts of fans and content creators who are talking about your games. I recommend following hashtags for your games so they’ll appear in your feed.
- Don’t make the same mistake I did: I got too deep using my name (@jameystegmaier) for the Stonemaier Games Instagram, and now it feels like it’s too late to go back. I recommend using your company name for your company Instagram account.
- You’re allowed to put one URL in your profile name, and I think Linktree is the best link to use there, as it’s essentially a link to other links (your website, other social media, current project, etc).
- My preferred Instagram strategy is of enthusiasm, variety, generosity, and a personal touch. By all means, show off your games in different ways (specific components, games in action, staged thematic photos, etc), but I think it sends a powerful and welcoming message to augment those posts with photos of other things you love–things that have an impact on you as a publisher and as a person.
Here are a few examples from publishers (these are the most recent 3 posts as of January 5, 2023):
Here’s the list! This is in no way comprehensive–there are thousands of publishers. It’s just a sampling to look through, follow, and maybe be inspired by. I’d love to hear which publishers you follow and engage with on Instagram (and what about their posts inspires you to chime in from time to time).
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Also read:
- Kickstarter Lesson #243: Instagram
- Finding Your Style and Growing as an Instagram Board Game Content Creator
If you gain value from the 100 articles Jamey publishes on this blog each year, please consider championing this content! You can also listen to posts like this in the audio version of the blog.
11 Comments on “Game Publisher Instagrams to Study”
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Hi Jamey – first off, thank you so much for all of the helpful resources on this blog and on Youtube. My wife and I love the Stonemaier games we have played and look forward to ordering Wyrmspan soon. :)
We have recently started our journey into building a board game publishing company and by far our biggest identified weakness is social media / marketing. Neither of us has really had a big social media presence over the years and while I know the platforms / business strategies through my current full time job, I always struggle with what to post when it comes to my own accounts.
A couple questions I was hoping you could answer (specifically about Instagram as this seems like a main way to reach people in this community):
1. After researching a bunch of companies I’ve noticed that most focus their Instagram accounts on their own games with relatively few posting in significant quantities about others’ games or even non-tabletop related things. Yours seems to be a huge exception to that, however you have used your personal Instagram for your business so it seems easier to get away with. Am I thinking about this too hard or would posting about our family, travel, other things important to us on our company account be seen as not interesting or spam when trying to build a following for a first kickstarter and eventual company? The challenge of course is that we don’t have anything to show *yet* related to our company’s first brand / project but we want to start building an audience as soon as we can.
2. Related to the above question, when is a good time to start posting under a company account ahead of a first kickstarter and launch of the first game? Right now we are pretty early on in design and testing so I would estimate the earliest we could launch is Q1 2025 but as you know this could change – we won’t do it until we are ready and we have an audience behind us. I am hoping we would be at a place to start showing things related to our game / make an announcement / etc. sometime in the second quarter of 2024 but we need to start building an audience to have people care about that…which then circles back to the first question about what we should be posting at this stage. What do you think?
Any advice would be appreciated. My wife and I play a ton of board games and I really appreciate your company’s style and the types of games you publish and our hope is to build a company with a similar approach to yours (1-2 games a year, games that are strategically deep but not overly complex, positive community impact, etc.). We are very excited about our current idea (actually our second idea as it spawned after working a first idea for awhile) so want to do it correctly!
Thanks,
Scott
Thanks for your questions, Scott! I’ll do my best to answer them.
1. Honestly, if I had grown the Stonemaier account using @stonemaiergames instead of @jameystegmaier, I would have used the exact same method of simply sharing my love of games with a sprinkling of Stonemaier-specific information. I think it’s great for people to have a variety of topics with which to connect to you, though if the ultimate focus is gaming, I would recommend that over 50% of posts be about games.
2. Today. :)
Have fun as you continue to work on your game. It’s great that you’re researching and planning so far in advance!
Thanks Jamey, I appreciate the advice!
[…] (Also see this post from early 2023 that showcases game publisher Instagram examples and data in a different way.) […]
I follow a lot of French publishers since I’m based in France and I really like GRRRE Games’ (Nidavellir, Dany) social presence. They like to show their human side (through their staff) and I find some of their ideas to be quite innovative.
Yes, I do find it weird that when I click on the Instagram icon of Stonemaier’s main page I get directed into your personal account.
I’m curious to know why is it that you think it’s too late for you to create a new account. I know it would take a while for you to reach the same follower count, but Instagram is a very powerful tool and I it could be used in a more professional way, the same way you did with your Game Design YT channel but without losing that personal touch.
Honestly, it’s because I feel like I’m accomplishing those goals via the current @jameystegmaier account (on behalf of Stonemaier). I’m there to uplift and have fun; I don’t view “in a more professional way” to be more beneficial than the personal touch I currently offer. That isn’t to say there isn’t room for improvement, but I’m just saying that specific goal of yours isn’t a goal of mine (and mine seems to be working).
> Don’t make the same mistake I did: I got too deep using my name (@jameystegmaier) for the Stonemaier Games Instagram, and now it feels like it’s too late to go back. I recommend using your company name for your company Instagram account.
I’d be curious what you feel is the mistake in this case? If anything, it made the pictures feel more personal instead of being advertisements.
It’s just that if someone searches on Instagram for Stonemaier Games, they won’t find me–it isn’t a search-friendly decision. Also, the company is so much more than Jamey Stegmaier!
Stonemaier Games doesn’t have two adorable cats!
In total, Stonemaier Games employees have 10 adorable cats. :)