Not even 20 years ago, if slot players wanted to find out anything about a machine or online game, they would be required to find it and play it themselves.
Now, an abundance of slot streamers have flooded the iGaming market, providing slot players with millions of hours of content to educate them on the latest releases, bonuses and jackpot schemes.
Speaking with SlotBeats in the midst of ICE Barcelona, Brian Christopher of BC Slots, took us on his journey as he first broke out creating slot content on YouTube – a platform that he heaped praised onto for its co-operativeness with casino creators.
Christopher explained: “That’s where I started, right? Originally, I just posted some videos on there for fun, and I didn’t really know what I was doing. That’s where I got my big break, I posted a video playing Cleopatra that just went completely viral.
“I looked it up yesterday, it’s got a couple million views on it, and still going strong. I had a huge jackpot on it, and so that’s what really got me started on YouTube. It wasn’t until years later that I thought I should probably add this to Facebook, and then that took off as well.
“Just listen to what they like and what they don’t like”
Brian Christopher of BC Slots
“But for me, YouTube has been really good. They’re great about gaming as well. They allow you to do it, whereas some other platforms are a little more tight on that. We’ve never had any issues with them and they’ve been really great for us.”
As gambling content continues to perform well through Facebook’s algorithm, Christopher noted the differences between his viewership on YouTube compared to his “older” Facebook audience.
“We pretty well put a lot of similar content across each of them [YouTube and Facebook], but there’s different characteristics of our audience in each of them,” he said.
“Our audience actually is a little bit older on Facebook, for example, and the audience is more apt to watching short form videos compared to long form. So we tend to give them a little bit more.
Streeter then questioned Christopher on his strategy of appealing to different audiences and curating content that appeals to the majority of his viewers, which caused the streamer to underline an attentive approach.
“We just listen to our audience,” responded Christopher. “That’s been my goal from the beginning, to just listen to what they want. When I first started my videos, I used to swear in my videos and they told me straight up, we don’t like that. So I stopped, just turned it off, and didn’t swear anymore. Just listen to what they like and what they don’t like.
“It took me probably at least a year to really get comfortable talking”
Brian Christopher of BC Slots
“We just cater to whatever they’re asking for and always want to try and stay ahead of the curve, always reinventing ourselves, trying new things to stay on top.
“When I first started this, there were only a couple of channels doing this. Now there’s hundreds, and they’re all trying to be Brian Christopher, so they’re copying everything I do. I now have to reinvent myself so that we all don’t look exactly the same.”
Despite having to deal with other slot streamers creating similar content to his channels, Christopher did explain how this is “a pretty good compliment” which causes him to “try and help other channels”.
Christopher operated a “boot camp” last year in which around 15 slot streamers signed up to take lessons from him, which included placing more of a focus on personality and characters as “people aren’t just watching for the slot content, they want to know us as people, who we are”.
On the notion of creating a rapport with your audience, Christopher suggested: “People want to see you. We could play the exact same game, have the exact same outcome, and have two completely different videos, so it’s all in how you interact.
“It takes a while to really find yourself in videos, because a lot of people are nervous at the very beginning. It took me probably at least a year to really get comfortable talking, because you’re literally sitting in front of a slot machine in a busy casino talking to yourself.
“At the very beginning, I was nervous. People were staring at me like, what is that weird guy doing over there? You got a camera, you’re videoing, but eventually, you get over that, and you just block out the rest of it and imagine who it is that you’re talking to.
“I just imagine I’m talking with all my fans, and they’re just my friends. So I’m just like, ‘hey, guys, what’s up? Let’s try and get this jackpot together’, and we’ll just have a good old time then.”
With online casino suppliers constantly in a battle to find the next big innovation to engage slot players, Streeter probed Christopher on the current state of the slot industry, causing the casino content creator to point out stifling innovation.
He stated: “For slot machines in general, honestly, there’s just not a lot of new stuff happening. It’s just like what other eight Buffalo games can we come up with? Every time you’re in the casino there is a new one that you’ve never heard of before.
“I fall prey to it too right, if I see a new Buffalo machine landing in the casino – I have to play. I’ve got to try it out, but that’s part of this part of the role that I play, showing millions of people watching the new games that are out and teaching them how to play so that they get that familiarity of a new game that they’ve never even seen before.
“That way, when they next go to the casino they’ll be able to see that game and be like ‘oh I should play that one, Brian showed me how to play it, the bonus is really cool, I have to get that bonus’.”
To listen to Christopher delve into this partnership with BetMGM, the importance of authenticity when working with partner brands and his venture into television, check out the latest episode of the iGaming Daily podcast.
