Sega and nDreams alum Dan Sheridan has set up his own community management and social media agency in SheriMedia. We caught up with the man himself to find out more
Tell me about your company.
I founded SheriMedia to provide the industry with an agency-like service for community management, social media and influencer marketing. In the same way a company would hire a PR agency there seems a need for a similar offering from an experienced community professional. A company find themselves in a situation where they need to outsource a role or a product has done better than expected and they need an extra pair of hands to come on board in the immediate term and help with a certain element of their overall strategy (content creation, event staff, crisis management, guidance and strategy to help a junior team) that's where myself and my team of experienced community managers would jump into action.
How has the last year been for you?
Last year I have been working in the VR industry as communications manager for the UK's biggest developer and publisher of VR games and experiences. It's been an incredible year and I have learned a lot about the VR industry. Patrick (nDreams CEO) is a credit to the VR and games industry and a real inspiration for me as a new entrepreneur.
What recent successes have you had?
Leading the communications strategy for Shooty Fruity at nDreams was a big success for the company, as it is now the highest rated PSVR shooter, according to Metacritic, I'm really proud of that and the effort the development team over at Near Light to release the game to such a high standard.
What challenges are facing your sector in the market?
There are a few challenges for community management, social media and influencer marketing teams. The internet doesn't sleep and maintaining a consistent 24/7 voice can be difficult at times, even more so if something happens offline and becomes a crisis online.
Partnering with the right influencer to represent your brand can be a challenge, my advice would be to consider more than just the number of followers/subscribers a creator has - have a look at the number of engagements - comments, likes, dislikes, shares - or how fast the channel is growing. (SocialBlade is a great resource) Alternatively leveraging micro-influencers on growing platforms like Instagram are a great way for a brand to connect with their target audience and tell emotive stories - two examples of why a company may consider to partner with SheriMedia as we have experience in providing 24/7 global channel management and have relationships with influencer agencies that manage top tier talent around the world.
How did you choose your company name?
I've been working in the entertainment industry (games, film and music) since leaving University back in 2000. People are going to do business with me because they know of my proven ability to get results, and they already trust me to deliver to a high standard. Therefore, I decided to base the company name on part of my own name - I've usually been known as 'Sheri' in all the companies I have worked for, and so SheriMedia Ltd made sense.
What do you think are the most exciting market trends in games right now?
Massive last person standing style games e.g Fortnite and PUBG both dominating viewership on streaming platforms like Mixer and Twitch and the continued rise of eSports viewership. I was recently reading a report from Newzoo that said the audience will reach 380m by the end of 2018. I'm also keeping a watchful eye on the VR market and especially wireless technology - definitely opens up new possibilities for interacting with the medium and hopefully wire-free VR will convince influencers to create exciting new content.
What are your aims for the coming year?
My aim for the coming year is to establish SheriMedia as the go-to partner for providing community management, social media and influencer marketing. I'm primarily targeting indie developers and companies that have a need for the aforementioned services. Word-of-mouth is very powerful and since announcing my plans to start my own business I am already in early talks with leading agencies and video game developers - it's a very exciting time for me.
Contact:
[email protected]
0208 1337 071
@SheriMedia on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
