Screenwave Media Updates!
Hey everybody! It’s been a while since we’ve updated our official blog. We’ve been really busy in the offices leading up to and coming out of Toomanygames, so we felt it was time for an update. I should also take this opportunity to introduce myself — I’m Ian, the new community manager here at Screenwave Media. I’m one of the new faces you’ll see around the office, assisting with communications & marketing going forward. Introductions out of the way, let’s talk about some changes we’ve noticed on YouTube, upcoming titles, Toomanygames, & merchandising opportunities!
YouTube Hashtags
Remember tag stuffing? Well it’s back – kind of. As we’ve all seen, YouTube has rolled out the use of hashtags in search. Since then, many of our channels have reached out to us asking about the best practices for using tags, though it’s not as simple as just putting the most relevant hashtag in your description and calling it a day.
You can use up to 15 hashtags per video, but only 3 show up above the title. Coming up with 15 separate hashtags may seem exhausting, and we agree — we’ve found 5-10 relevant hashtags are optimal. We’ve also seen that putting a tag in the title of your video that’s ONLY one that will show up, so we recommend to stick with tagging the description.
Something to be aware of: one of our channels was using the #FNAF hashtag on 5 videos, each one from the 5 separate titles. The first four videos corresponded with the first four titles, containing numbers “1,2,3,4” while the 5th title, Sister Location, was not numbered. When we searched for the FNAF hashtag, we found the only video that showed up on the first page was the 4th video/4th game. In a numbered series, the most recent video tends to show up, however, this has no bearing on it’s upload date.
If you are interested in bulk tagging your content, while you can add your hashtags manually, that’ll take up the entire weekend. Instead, we’ve been having success using Tube Buddy.
What are the benefits of this? Although YouTube is being vague about the end goal, whenever there’s a change in the algorithm, channels have exploded in growth and popularity. We think this will happen once more for creators who are prepared for the changes.
MEME MACHINE
Our sophomore release, the Puyo Puyo/Puzzle Fighter-inspired puzzle Meme Machine is getting a mobile release on iOS and Android! In addition, the team has also made some updates to the Steam version as well based on player feedback, like the ability to turn power-ups off in VS mode as well as accessibility options to accommodate color-blind players. If you haven’t had the chance to play Meme Machine yet, reach out to your channel manager if you’re interested in getting a code.
TooManyGames 2018
Thanks again to everybody who attended TooManyGames 2018! This was our largest one yet, not only in attendance but also in scope. We were honored to have guests like Charles Martinet & Kenny James, performances from Crush40, Psychostick, & Hyper Potions, as well as having a massive turnout for Smashadelphia tourney and the Philly Fusion Showcase. We’re looking forward to an even bigger Toomanygames next year as our community grows!
The Screenwave Media Apparel & Merch Shop
Has your channel and fanbase grown to the point that you’ve started thinking about t-shirts & other apparel? Let us help you out!
Some reasons why it’s a good idea to start thinking about merch:
Building community among your fanbase
Highlighting personal achievements for your channel
Increasing brand awareness at events
and the extra revenue doesn’t hurt either!
Reach out to your channel manager if you have any questions. We work with a lot of channels by making their merchandising more efficient & streamlined — freeing up their bandwidth so they don’t have to worry about logistics or shipping.
