I’m entering my eighth year of using Instagram as a publisher, and I continue to really enjoy the community, engagement, and photos there. I say that both as a publisher and someone who enjoys scrolling through to see what others have posted–I’m inspired as a designer by the way people talk about and photograph games there.

Back in 2019, I wrote a post that discussed different strategies used by publishers on Instagram and how they impacted follower counts and engagement (likes and comments). I followed it with this 2023 post in which I shared a sheet of publisher Instagram links and stats.

Before I get to the updated list (which is both embedded below and found here), here are a few observations and some examples of recent posts that I think provide a good strategy for Instagram engagement:

• My preferred Instagram strategy is of enthusiasm, variety, elevation, and a personal touch. While I’m happy to show off our games in different ways (specific components, games in action, staged thematic photos, etc), I think it sends a powerful and welcoming message to augment those posts with photos of other things I love–things that have an impact on me as a publisher and as a person.
• I try to invite engagement by asking a question on nearly all of my Instagram posts, as I genuinely want to learn what other people enjoy too.
• I find that consistency is key. I post once every morning on Instagram.
• Only the first 10 words or so of an Instagram post are visible when someone is scrolling, so I try to use that precious space to share (a) the name of the game and (b) impactful words that will inspire further reading.
• When I recently asked people what they most value from publishers on Instagram, they mentioned a focus on artwork, info about ongoing releases, posting about other publishers’ games (i.e., not just your games), and positivity.
• Since my previous post, short videos have become significantly more common on Instagram. Big Potato Games has embraced this format, and they’ve had the biggest growth of nearly any publisher on the list.
• Instagram now actively encourages users to add music to their posts. I highly recommend against doing adding music to posts, as many people scroll through Instagram in places where they don’t want an unexpected audio blast.
• Instagram is a highly visual platform. Taking and choosing the right photo(s) makes a huge difference, which is tough to do when you’re trying to play a game (I don’t want to turn casual gaming into photoshoots).
• Instagram Stories are an easy way to share (and appreciate) the Instagram posts of fans and content creators who are talking about your games.
• You’re allowed to put one URL in your profile name, and I think Linktree is the best link to use there, as it’s essentially a link to other links (your website, other social media, current project, etc).

Here is the list. I’ve sorted the top 10 most followed publishers at the top, then the rest are in alphabetical order. You’ll see that there isn’t necessarily a correlation between a publisher’s level of financial success and their Instagram follower count. There are some heavy hitters among the top 10, but there are also some major publishers for whom Instagram just may not be a priority. And that’s okay! There are many ways to reach people.

I’ve kept the 2023 stats for any publishers that were on the list then so you can see which publishers have seen a big change over the last 3 years:

Also read:

• Kickstarter Lesson #243: Instagram
• Finding Your Style and Growing as an Instagram Board Game Content Creator
• 20+ Instagram Strategies and My Recommendations

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