Article: Reinventing yourself on Facebook? Games Workshop gets it bang on

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**Sidstyler**

I don't mind the new page either, but I get the feeling the author is just mistaken. He seems to be assuming it's a replacement for the last FB page which served as GW's public face and that's not really what it is, it's just representing one small facet of the company like the BL and FW pages, or the individual store pages. Nothing's really changed, GW is still kinda hiding from the internet boogeyman (which is kinda their own fault for being unapologetic douches when they got called out for their overly-litigious behavior/overstepping their legal bounds/straight-up bullying someone thinking they could get away with it and having it backfire bad), and I don't really get the feeling that GW actually cares about my opinion or wants to engage with the community that much.

**Devoted-to-the-machine**

Kilkrazy wrote:
It doesn't matter if your idea is right or wrong. If people like the page they will read it.

This concept is not only flawed, it is just out in out wrong when it comes to social media.

A guy on FB started posting pictures of tattoos he did in his home. These pieces of “art” were some of the worst things ever done with ink and the human body. He gained more followers then some of the highest paid most skilled tattoo artists in the world. We are talking about Japanese masters and American founders of whole genres of tattoo art like Sailor Jerry. Yet he was just bad. Not just bad almost abusive in his application of ink to skin.

I think we all remember things like “lemon party” and “2g1c”

Honestly my fiancé has more business like Tide detergent on her friends list.

Sometimes bad things on the internet including social media get attention. Sometimes from shock and sometimes by name alone. A familiarity with a product makes you say like even if you could care less. I liked the old GW FB and I only went to it once.

**carlos13th**

Sidstyler wrote:
I don't mind the new page either, but I get the feeling the author is just mistaken. He seems to be assuming it's a replacement for the last FB page which served as GW's public face and that's not really what it is, it's just representing one small facet of the company like the BL and FW pages, or the individual store pages. Nothing's really changed, GW is still kinda hiding from the internet boogeyman (which is kinda their own fault for being unapologetic douches when they got called out for their overly-litigious behavior/overstepping their legal bounds/straight-up bullying someone thinking they could get away with it and having it backfire bad), and I don't really get the feeling that GW actually cares about my opinion or wants to engage with the community that much.

Its a very bury my head in the sand lalalalaa I cant hear you attitude.

**Steve steveson**

Good lord. A trade publication (Not related to GW) looks at how the made a mess and reinvented themselves on FB.
It's a simple bit in a trade publication written to show that you can turn your poor on line relations around.

People call it propaganda, question the bias of piece. How long before someone comes along and accuses them of "white knighting"? This is exactly the reason why most interaction with "The Public" goes south very fast for GW. If even something like this gets accusations leveled against it...

**Rayvon**

Steve steveson wrote:
Good lord. A trade publication (Not related to GW) looks at how the made a mess and reinvented themselves on FB.
It's a simple bit in a trade publication written to show that you can turn your poor on line relations around.

People call it propaganda, question the bias of piece. How long before someone comes along and accuses them of "white knighting"? This is exactly the reason why most interaction with "The Public" goes south very fast for GW. If even something like this gets accusations leveled against it...

Must admit, I was a bit surprised to see the reaction considering its just really a nothing piece.

**TheAuldGrump**

*Shrug*

And there are others saying that it is not propaganda, just inaccurate and/or incomplete.

That GW has not reinvented itself, merely that another portion of the company did not self destruct - but that the writer of the article either withheld or did not realize that the FB page does not represent the company as a whole.

So my critique is that it is a poorly researched article - a puff piece, not some dire plot to help GW separate gamers from their money. And that the author likely did not think that the article needed much research, otherwise the article likely never would have been written.

People can say good things about GW without it being propaganda - for example, I think that the terrain sets are reasonable value for money and worth looking at. (Okay... maybe that was more grudging than positive, but....)

It was simply the way that the author was willing to gloss over the limitations of the site that bothered me - it is an okay (not great, not terrible, maybe a bit above average) Face Book page.

The article is a below average example of the breed.

Some of the individual GW stores do at least as good a job on their FB pages - and those stores deserve more credit.

The Auld Grump - to conspire literally means to breathe together... I doubt that there was a conspiracy here, just a lazy writer.

**Azreal13**

[quote=Steve steveson 565385 6313937 63a30813c2d2fc5943b33ad0f44eff31.jpeg
People call it propaganda, question the bias of piece. How long before someone comes along and accuses them of "white knighting"? This is exactly the reason why most interaction with "The Public" goes south very fast for GW. If even something like this gets accusations leveled against it...

**Easy E**

I think the intersting part is that tGW were not afraid to simply retreat and restart rather than try to revitalize an already messed up FB page.

Therefore, if you are about to have some bad publicity and are a major company, feel free to pull up stakes for a while. Let the storm blow over; and then start again.

**PhantomViper**

Easy E wrote:
I think the intersting part is that tGW were not afraid to simply retreat and restart rather than try to revitalize an already messed up FB page.

Therefore, if you are about to have some bad publicity and are a major company, feel free to pull up stakes for a while. Let the storm blow over; and then start again.

They didn't restart anything. The page that the article talks about isn't the page for GW PLC, it is just a sub-page for their Digital Editions, like there are sub-pages for Warhammer World, and for a bunch of individual stores, and for Forge World, etc...

That is what people here are talking about, they didn't re-invent or restarted anything...

**Easy E**

Uh huh. You say potatoe, and I say potato.

They had an online FB presence that they shut down and left. They now have opened a smaller and more focused FB page for their online focused products.

What is the difference really?

**fishy bob**

The difference is that they didn't shut down their online presence, because the pages for FW and their individual stores didn't shut down.

The article is trying to tell us that GW left Facebook entirely and that now they're back, which isn't true. They either did not leave Facebook in the first place, or they did and have not come back, depending on how you choose to look at it.

**Sidstyler**

I guess it's hard to see a difference when you keep willingly and blatantly ignoring what makes it different.

**TheAuldGrump**

Easy E wrote:
Uh huh. You say potatoe, and I say potato.

They had an online FB presence that they shut down and left. They now have opened a smaller and more focused FB page for their online focused products.

What is the difference really?

You answered your own question: 'A smaller and more focused FB Page' is the difference.

What the author of the article missed was that by being smaller and more focused the page is also not covering the entire range of the GW games - just the digital aspect. *EDIT* I am not saying that is a mistake - having a separate page for digital media would have been a good idea anyway.

The other thing that the author left out was that the old GW FB page wasn't that bad - it was the way that GW was handling it that was bad. Instead of addressing problems they ignored them, and deleted references to those problems whenever they could.

The problems didn't go away, and folks noticed that the person maintaining the FB page was covering their ears and going 'La la la, can't hear you!'

Not the thing to do when your screw up has gotten international attention.

The new digital media FB page has not had a major screw up to try to cover - so is untested in that regard.

The Auld Grump

**jonolikespie**

I'm curious but I haven't got them on my facebook, does the digital page delete comments left right and center for not agreeing with them/mentioning other company's products/etc like the old one?

**Pacific**

I suppose the test will be when there is another 'Spots the Space Marine' incident or similar.

In my mind, a success would have been re-opening the main company facebook page, and going beyond that - full discussion forum, with staff who are able to speak with authority. Let people give their comments (be it good feedback or grievances). Letting the customer feel that they are connected with the company that they are buying products from, not just consumers who must put-up, shut-up, and be happy with what they are given.

That was the impression given by the closure of the FB page - to stick fingers in ears, and to be honest serve to derogate the customers. Getting it 'bang on' would need them to reverse that decision, and confront and show some respect to their customer base in as open a manner as possible. This is a step in the right direction, but really is side-stepping at the same time.

**xruslanx**

jonolikespie wrote:
I'm curious but I haven't got them on my facebook, does the digital page delete comments left right and center for not agreeing with them/mentioning other company's products/etc like the old one?

one would assume they take the same stance on trolling, yes. Just because something is on facebook it doesn't give you the right to post whatever you like on their wall.

Though if you can think of a legitmate reason as to why you'd need to post something like that on their wall i'd assume they'd repy to it. Try it and see?

**MeanGreenStompa**

Opening another page on facebook, being forced to interact with modern technology, is not reinventing yourself.

GW faces the same problem over and over again because the problem stems from the mentality at the helm of the body corporate. It believes in a 'moat and wall', it believes it is better served operating in the dark, it believes it's own hype and self praise and it believes that engaging with press and media is dangerous to it. It believes it must protect and hide it's self from the world rather that get out there and be a force to be known, respected and successful. Instead it has become Miss Havisham, dwelling in safe stagnant self assurance and paranoia.

Whilst the company holds these things in mantra, it will, uroboros-like, continue the ritual of tepid, tentative and suspicious interactions with the online community and wider world, something it cannot control and therefore holds in contempt and fear, it will continue to react with hyperbole, aggression and sledgehammer tactics, these tactics will continue to be exposed, thus earning them condemnation from the wider community, they will react by retracting back again and on and on the wheel will turn.

The change must come from the top of the company. The change in thinking and interacting with the community and the rest of the world.

That will not happen with the current board nor with the Kirby mindset to the corporate culture, the 'little red book', the frankly ludicrous 'Imperium speak' in management and promotion (commissar-styled 'executions' of 'poorly performing' staff, for example, or demanding belief in the company using the actual catchphrases from the game, 'thought begets heresy...' et al), the overweening arrogance and hiding behind castle walls and moats must be replaced by a welcoming, open and responsive company that challenges it's self and recognizes that the market has changed and is still changing against their interests, if it is to thrive again and survive in the long term, not just opening another facebook page, to be operated by people with no link to the board or senior management (not least because most of the senior management no longer know anything about the product or it's customer community).

**Shadow Captain Edithae**

Considering that their goal was to cut themselves off from direct criticism, closing down the main GW Facebook page was probably a smart move towards achieving that goal.

The aspects I dislike about GW are with the wider corporation - how its run and managed at a high level: their price hikes; downsizing of box content (e.g. LOTR/Hobbit - 24 model boxes to 12 model to 10 model); overly zealous IP and legal departments that persecute fan sites (threatening forums that name themselves "Warhammer Alliance" etc); Cease and Desist threats to other manufacturers who dare to make things with the most vague of similarities to Warhammer 40K; trying to copyright decades old Sci-Fi tropes like Space Marine.

The smaller facebook sites for their subsidiaries like Forgeworld and Digital Editions, and the individual GW Stores are run by the staff of those subsidiaries/stores. They're not in charge of the corporation, they're not responsible for the things I dislike about GW and I have no problem with them, so I have no desire to hassle them and post complains or criticism of GW on their pages. When GW has another price hike, or does anything I don't like, I won't go to the Facebook page of my local store and complain about it to them.

They (the people in charge of the overall company) are basically using the less senior staff members of their subsidiaries and stores as a human shield to insulate themselves from criticism and engagement with their customers.

**jonolikespie**

xruslanx wrote:
jonolikespie wrote:
I'm curious but I haven't got them on my facebook, does the digital page delete comments left right and center for not agreeing with them/mentioning other company's products/etc like the old one?

one would assume they take the same stance on trolling, yes. Just because something is on facebook it doesn't give you the right to post whatever you like on their wall.

Though if you can think of a legitmate reason as to why you'd need to post something like that on their wall i'd assume they'd repy to it. Try it and see?

If I were to post on there that imo GWs models were no better than most the others on the market and ask why I should invest in a GW game over any of their more reasonably priced comptitors it would be trolling to a point but also a legitimate question.
The old page would delete that imediatley though, and I am curious if this one would to.

**xruslanx**

jonolikespie wrote:

If I were to post on there that imo GWs models were no better than most the others on the market and ask why I should invest in a GW game over any of their more reasonably priced comptitors it would be trolling to a point but also a legitimate question.
The old page would delete that imediatley though, and I am curious if this one would to.

Uh, I would regard that as trolling. It is not a reasonable question because it has a question mark, it's just trolling.

A reasonable question would be "are you guys going to be working on any IG", or "Will we see Lord Solar Macharius return?". Not "Your models suck and are expensive, why is this so?", regardless of how you dress it up.

**wowsmash**

That is a legit question. If your to busy sticking your fingers in your ears and not listening to your customer's then maybe they need a kick in the butt to get their attention.

**jonolikespie**

Exactly, even thought their competition is growing rapidly GW are yet to admit they have any and there is a big taboo about mentioning their competitors in case little Timmy realizes GW are not the entire hobby.

I think whether or not this new facebook page is any better than the last would be determined by how well they handle privateer press' name being thrown around.

**TheAuldGrump**

I also suspect that part of the reasoning behind the move to digital codecii is that GW has noticed the the High Street Stores are not raking in the dough like they used to - so they want to invest more in this weird thing called the 'Interweb'.

That they have noticed the shrinking, even if they do not want to publicly admit that it is happening. (And thus we have both one man shops and digital codecii - one to slow the bleeding, the other an attempt to find another route, to put two metaphors into a blender and hit 'frappe'....)

If anybody thinks that mentioning the competition on a GW site is 'trolling' then they need to take a look at the sites belonging to the competition - where other companies are mentioned on a regular basis - sometimes even by the moderators of the forums....

Heck - Paizo went so far as to suggest a competitor's product over one of their own in the introduction to an adventure in one of their Adventure Paths....

Deleting reference to the competition does not delete the competition....

The Auld Grump, and sometimes they are not even competition - sometimes they are a complimentary product....

**jonolikespie**

TheAuldGrump wrote:
sometimes they are not even competition - sometimes they are a complimentary product....

No such thing. Any money spent on the hobby that doesn't go directly into GWs pocket is money stolen by low life scum looking to leech off GWs hard work