Virtual worlds use Facebook to gain users

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You might be interested to learn that virtual world IMVU has almost 1.4 million fans of their Facebook fan page.

Why do they use Facebook? Lots of reasons…

  • It’s a marketing and communications channel: IMVU communicates the latest news, competitions and user updates
  • Their users also use Facebook: So it makes sense to go where their users are when they’re not in IMVU
  • Rewards: IMVU offers “secret sales” to their followers on Facebook
  • It boosts viral activity: Push notifications from users extend the viral reach

The second point above is the no-brainer of course. But, you might be even more interested to learn that virtual worlds with users below the minimum age requirement (13) for Facebook for similar purposes (and more, explained later). Let’s not kid ourselves – Facebook is chocka-block with under age users. And it’s also full of users at the higher age range end of these kids/tween worlds.

As shown in the chart below (worlds ranked by average user age), whilst these KT&T worlds are not quite at IMVU levels in terms of followers, they’re not doing badly.

Some of these worlds integrate elements of their virtual world experience into Facebook, therefore broadening their reach. Others (most actually) use it is a marketing and communications channel to speak to their users and the parents of these users (Jumpstart is a great example of this). Others use the Facebook Connect feature to automate the registration process – a great idea.

We recommend that all virtual worlds integrate Facebook into their user customer relationship management strategies and acquisition plans. A high majority of virtual worlds have Facebook fan pages – we’ve shown the top ones above.

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