Social media is a powerful and easy way to get new fans (and customers). We love it so much, we wrote an entire guide for indie developers to make the most of their social media campaigns.

But the reality is that social media is not enough, and here are three reasons why.

1. Everyone else is using it.

Every single indie developer on earth is already using social media. Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest are saturated with people sending out messages about their latest releases.

Screaming about your new game isn’t going to do anything if people start to block out the 41 indie developers they follow on Twitter.

 

2. Most users of social media are not looking for new games.

Out of 100 people, maybe 5 or 10 of them are out looking for new games. The rest are just going about their daily business and are not interested in playing games.

Although social media can help you connect to the right users, it is far from the most effective way to reach your target market. This is where press releases, advertising, and real-life networking come into play.

3. It costs you more than you realize.

As we’ve argued elsewhere, your time is valuable. You can either spend it tweeting, or creating your next game.

As an indie developer, your key strength is in making new and interesting games. The time you spend on that task is worth far more than the time you spend socializing online.

Effective social media management takes a lot of time, and it isn’t worthwhile for most developers. Using social media seems free, but there is a real opportunity cost associated with it.

Instead of using your time sending out futile pleas for people to download your game, you can work with a professional marketing firm with years of experience who can get your game out there in a more cost-effective and powerful way.