PlayStation - Social Media Monitoring Part 2

As we found out in last week’s social media monitoring post, PlayStation has a word of mouth issue. Despite having the highest sales, PlayStation isn’t as popular of a search term as Xbox or Nintendo. Even the announcement of the PlayStation 5 didn’t help drive searches to surpass Xbox’s search numbers. In this part of my social media monitoring of PlayStation, I’ll look at fans’ sentiment about the brand and suggest ways for PlayStation to improve its traffic and overall brand awareness.

Brand Attitudes

A Socialmention analysis of PlayStation and Xbox shows that Xbox maintains a slightly higher level of strength and passion compared to PlayStation. This means that Xbox has a higher chance of being discussed on social media and that people will do so repeatedly. PlayStation, however, has a higher sentiment ratio, so fans are more likely to speak positively about PlayStation than they are about Xbox. As we saw last week, PlayStation has more followers on social media, so its reach is higher than Xbox’s.

Xbox's Social Mention

PlayStation's Social Mention

PlayStation 5's Social Mention

An analysis of PlayStation 5, however, paints a staggering picture of positive brand attitudes about the anticipated new console. There are 59 positive posts compared to 1 negative post, so fans are reacting positively to the announcement of the PlayStation 5. As we saw last week, some fans were disappointed by PlayStation’s announcement of the PlayStation 5, but this seems to be a minority opinion. Fans’ passion is an impressive 65 percent, so the likelihood of fans repeatedly discussing the newly announced console is high. This should give PlayStation some optimism. Though word of mouth about the brand is lower than that of Xbox's, people are exited about the PlayStation 5. PlayStation can leverage fans' positivity to increase the brand's word of mouth.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths - PlayStation has the highest number of sales compared to Xbox and Nintendo. This means that its base is significantly higher than its competition, which gives PlayStation a head start leading into the next generation of consoles. It also has the most followers on social media, so its messages reach more people.

Weaknesses - Despite higher sales and social media followers, PlayStation is talked about far less than its competition. Searches for the brand are far outnumbered by those for Xbox and Nintendo. This can be a potential danger for PlayStation. Xbox, its main competitor, could steal potential PlayStation customers because the word of mouth for Xbox is much higher than it is for PlayStation.

Opportunities - PlayStation 5 is an exciting opportunity for PlayStation. With a new console, PlayStation can seek to improve its word of mouth and explore new markets for the brand.

Threats - PlayStation’s biggest threat is Xbox, whose Google searches far outnumber PlayStation’s. Though PlayStation has the highest number of sales with this generation of consoles, Xbox has the ability to seize the upper-hand with its next console. Word of mouth for Xbox is incredibly high, so the brand can tap into that to potentially increase its base.

Recommendations for PlayStation - Engaging the Groundswell

PlayStation Experience

PlayStation’s best bet is to utilize the groundswell to its advantage. A few weeks ago, I discussed how PlayStation exceeds at talking with the groundswell, but I think it can improve at it. Recently, PlayStation hasn’t hosted its community event called PlayStation Experience, a convention where fans, developers, and PlayStation executives meet to discuss PlayStation and play upcoming PlayStation games. The convention was a hit with fans, who were able to meet like-minded people who enjoyed the brand as much as they did. PlayStation should make PlayStation Experience an annual event. Having community-driven events like PlayStation Experience will energize the groundswell by increasing word of mouth and making fans into promoters of the brand.

New Audiences

With the PlayStation 5, PlayStation has the opportunity to reach new audiences. By doing this, PlayStation should attempt reach a diverse audience that has yet to be tapped in the video game community. Video games are traditionally marketed at men, but 46 percent of gamers are women, a demographic that is largely ignored in the gaming community. PlayStation, therefore, should focus on marketing to marginalized groups that have been traditionally ignored in the gaming world. Some PlayStation games, like The Last of Us II, feature strong women in leading roles, so PlayStation should continue making games for diverse audiences.

Increasing word of mouth
Word of mouth about PlayStation is very low compared to its competitors. To succeed at launching a successful console next year, PlayStation needs to increase its word of mouth. The best way for PlayStation to do this is to increase searches in traditionally stagnant times of the year.




A Google Trends analysis of searches for PlayStation in 2018 shows a typical year for searches of the brand. The highest amount of searches appear around the holiday season and in June, while the rest of the year has fairly low searches. To offset these low search periods, PlayStation should host conventions, release games, or create events during these times. Hosting PlayStation Experience sometime in the earlier part of the year would help drive traffic then, helping increase PlayStation’s word of mouth. PlayStation has begun to release a series of videos called “State of Play.” In these videos, PlayStation announces new games or releases to trailers for upcoming games. Periodically releasing these videos throughout the year will help drive higher search results.

Embracing and listening to the groundswell
PlayStation does a great job at talking to the groundswell with its blog. There, PlayStation executives and game developers can write blogs to update fans about the brand. PlayStation, however, should improve at listening to and embracing the groundswell. The PlayStation Forums allow fans to congregate online and discuss the brand with like-minded fans. While this is a good way to energize its fans, PlayStation needs a way to better hear what fans have to say about the brand. Starbucks' "My Starbucks Idea," for example, is a good model to follow to listen to and embrace what fans have to say. PlayStation could adopt a similar model to understand qualitative concerns of PlayStation fans.

Conclusion
PlayStation is an interesting company to follow. One on hand, its financial success and social media reach is completely unrivaled. Conversely, word of mouth about the brand is significantly lacking. With the release of the PlayStation 5 only a year away, PlayStation has an opportunity to improve its marketing to reach a more diverse audience. Engaging with the groundswell will help the company improve its word of mouth, giving PlayStation a leg up over its competition leading into the next generation of consoles.