Game Marketing through Online Community - Literature review Example

Game Marketing Through Online Community

Overview of methods

It is beyond any doubt that the nature of the research that is proposed should be recognised as qualitative. Indeed, the focus of the study will be placed on the manner in which people develop a certain perception of games when they are exposed to their marketing online. As a result, it is logical to utilise those methods which will generate the kind of data that will have the sufficient amount of explanatory power. Two following methods will be used in the course of the research: netography and focus groups. The use of the former is justified by acceptance of this method in the academic world when it comes to investigating phenomena of online community. The use of the latter method is conditioned by the peculiarities of the study, particularly by its nature and the kind of information sought.

Netography

To begin with, it may be useful to identify the object of this method and what it will be applied to. According to Burton (2009) the kind of virtual communities which are identified as “bulletin boards” should be targeted. Of course, one should not understand this term literally: it may be difficult or almost impossible to find bulletin boards that are created by and for the gamers. If one carefully investigates the meaning of this notion, one will be able to see that groups that are formed by people in social networks that are devoted to a particular game can be characterised as bulletin boards. The term was coined by Kozinetz and it would be logical to apply it in the research.

Speaking of the reasons why netography should be chosen among all other methods, one should point out that it possesses several advantages that greatly contribute to the success of the research. First of all, Takhar-Lail (2014) notes that netography is capable of developing a holistic perspective on the phenomenon in question which will reinforce the validity as well as the reliability of the results. In addition to that, it will provide an in-depth analysis of the communication of the people who belong to a virtual community in the least obstructive manner. Finally, given the current level of development of technology, it will be less time consuming if compared to all other methods.

The application of the method in question should be carried out in the following steps. Bradley (2013) notes that the first of them will focus on planning. This means that the researcher has to develop a comprehensive plan which will guide one through the research. This plan will include the ultimate goal, the scope, and the techniques. Thus, the goal would be to examine the perception of marketing of games in the virtual community, the scope will cover several games-related groups in Facebook, and the techniques will include analysis of the content, the comments, and the available trends. The next step is entry: a researcher will use one's account and join several groups that appear to be active enough to provide the sufficient amount of information. Comunello (2012) notes that data collection, which is the next step of netography, should be carried out in a systemic manner. This means that the researcher will fill in a field journal, carefully noting the date and the observations. This should be carried out for a period of one month. The next step will involve interpretation of the data. This is when the field notes will be heavily used: several trends will be identified and their development will be carefully examined.

Zikmund and Babin (2012) believe that ethical considerations should be taken into account by the researcher in the course of the study. This means that it is unacceptable to perform some steps that will deceive the people. As a result, the researcher should refrain from posting comments that will deliberately provoke negative discussions or will make the people online behave in a certain way. Another point that should be mentioned is that if certain evidence was obtained in the course of a private conversation, a person should be warned that one's words may be later published in a research. However, this rule does not apply to the comments made in the group since this is identified as public speaking.

The last step of implementation of netography is researcher representation. It is particularly important that all the results which were obtained in the course of the study are interpreted correctly and presented in the most comprehensive manner. The researcher should not forget that this study will be reviewed by the academic world and it is crucial to make sure that all the guidelines are adhered to and the results are represented in the best manner. Another point that should be mentioned is that the researcher will allow other scholars to interpret the data which was obtained thus starting the discussion regarding the phenomenon which is being explored.

Focus group

It must be noted that the research in question will not use the conventional form of focus group, but its variation: online focus group. The latter will include up to ten people who will be selected to participate in the research. It must be noted that some of these people may not each other, they might even be a part of a team that plays online regularly. However, if they are not familiar with each other that will not have any negative impact on the research.

There are several reasons why online focus group should be chosen as one of the methods that are used in this research. According to Kamberelis and Dimitriadis (2013), this method is able to save time significantly for several reasons. First of all, if the meeting of the group occurs online, then the researcher will not have to spend the time on to get to and from the agreed place. Another point that should be mentioned is that meeting online will make agreement on time easier for all the people who decide to participate in it. What is even more important is that this kind of method seems to be the most suitable for the topic in question: since the research focuses on online community, it is logical to engage methods that rely on technology and the virtual environment.

If one considers the aspects which are connected with the implementation of the method, one will have to stress the following points. First of all, as noted by Bryman (2015), it may be crucial to install the needed software. On the one hand, the latter should enable several people to communicate online easily and without additional efforts. It is possible that Skype may be chosen as the best software since it is free, popular and allows conference calls that engage up to 25 people. In addition to that, the researcher will have to install a piece of software that will record the conversation and deliver it in a file that can be edited later. It is obvious that prior to the conference call, every person should be warned that the communication will be recorded.

The second point to consider is selection of the subjects. Hai-Jew (2014) argues that the people that are chosen to participate in the focus group should be able to provide the information that is sought by the researcher. This means that they should be well aware of games, online community, and the manner in which they are marketed in the latter. It may be particularly useful to select individuals who are not only knowledgeable but are also able to express themselves well and are eager to share their knowledge. This will contribute greatly to the quality of the discussion.

As for the manner in which this discussion will be conducted, one should note that it will be semi-structured. Tagg, Stevenson, and Vescovi (2012) believe that this may be the best way to organise online focus groups since, on the one hand, the participants will be able to provide the necessary information that is sought by the researcher and, on the other hand, there will be room for discussion of something that was not planned. So, the group in question may answer a set of questions which were prepared by the researcher and the latter may also ask additional questions that would motivate the participants to express their views on the current state of affairs.

Finally, one should also pay attention to the manner in which the results which will be obtained, will be analysed. Albert, Tullis, and Tedesco (2010) believe that the file which contains the recorded conference call should be carefully examined, transcribed and then be analysed as a text. This will allow the researcher to reveal important points, certain trends and even comment on the way in which the participants express themselves. Afterwards, the results should be presented in a comprehensive manner will support or reject the hypothesis of the study. That is why the usefulness of the evidence that was obtained should be reinforced by the comprehensive analysis and proper representation. The results that the two methods delivered can be compared in the future.