Influencer Sessions: Get To Know @joshsamsoj

We caught up with gaming and tech creator Josh, or as he’s better known online @joshsamsoj, to talk moderation and reporting, marketing to gaming communities, and mental health support online. Read on to discover how Josh stumbled upon making gaming and tech content creation his full time job!

Where does your love for tech and gaming come from?

Ever since I was a kid, tech and gaming has always been a huge part of my life. From getting the newest iPod touch to building my own gaming setup, I’ve always had a passion in this area. I always was fascinated by new and evolving technological tools and how they impacted different aspects of our lives. My first gaming experiences were on the Nintendo Wii and DS and these experiences opened up a universe of creativity which has taken me to where I am today (still loving games and tech!). 

Maybe it might just be a natural outcome of being part of Gen Z, but growing up with all these new and evolving types of technology really has shaped my interests and career paths. For example, my love for tech and gaming has helped me become the content creator I am today. For me, gaming and technology have become more than just a hobby but are rather a gateway to build new connections and innovate. Therefore, my love for tech and gaming really stems from my childhood but has continued to evolve as the tools around me have developed.

How has the rise in gaming/tech creators online impacted the content you make? Do you feel a need to do more in order to stand out?

The rise in gaming/tech creators online has definitely impacted the content I make. With increased competition, there is always a need to stand out and build an individual online identity. One change that I made to my content, especially after 2022, where the gaming/tech creator space had expanded massively, was that in every piece of my content I make, I would have to include my face and feature myself. As prior to this, I would sometimes do videos with a voiceover or with only pictures of gameplay, but creating content with your face in it, is something I believe really helps build a relationship with your audience, while also branding your content as your own. Especially within the gaming/tech space, anyone can post about the latest update or new product release, but no one can replicate your image and persona. Therefore, I do feel like I need to do more to stand out within this space, but the competition is enjoyable. It pushes me to continuously evolve my content and become a better creator. 

@joshsamsoj

Chapter 2 Season 2 was PRIME Fortnite… #fortnite #ogfortnite #fortniteclips #gamingontiktok #gaming

♬ original sound – Josh Samsoj

What is your main goal for creating content?

My main goal for creating content is to build a community and spark new conversations in a positive environment. Whether this be about a specific game feature or about something funny that happened on a stream, creating a positive space where people can talk to others, learn new things and enjoy relatable content is something I’m always looking to develop. All my content is family-friendly, and I believe that creating an inclusive atmosphere for my viewers with my content is something that makes a positive impact on individuals lives. Throughout my time as a content creator, I’ve received many DMs with really kind feedback on my content and support from viewers. Therefore, building this community is a key goal of mine, one that I have held throughout my entire creator journey and that has taken me to where I am today

Which platforms do you predominantly use? Which do you prefer for posting, and for community building? 

When it comes to posting, I actively post on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. TikTok was my first platform and has always been my largest in terms of my audience, with YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat being more recently-developed communities. However, while each platform has its benefits or drawbacks, I feel that TikTok and YouTube have had the best experiences in terms of community building. Very often I notice the same viewers within my streams and in my comments, which is really great to see! Usually, I upload the same pieces of content on each social media platform, as each platform tends to have a different audience. However, I love experimenting with different types of content and sometimes upload something onto one platform to test the audience reaction. This is something I would highly recommend doing, as especially within the gaming and tech space, if a piece of content works well on one platform, it is likely to do well on others. 

@joshsamsoj

What game are you playing in 2025? 🤔 #fortnite #callofduty #gta #gamingontiktok #gaming

♬ original sound – Josh Samsoj

How does community engagement vary on your chosen platforms?

Throughout my creator journey, I’ve had quite a few experiences in regard to community engagement. My main platform is TikTok, where I first started creating content and have built an audience of over 850,000 followers. In regard to my community engagement, TikTok has always been the strongest, most likely due to my long-term audience development. However, with the growth of other social media platforms on YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat, new communities have developed which also have strong engagement. Specifically in the gaming/tech space, there’s always periods where not much is going on within the industry or a game hasn’t had an update in a while and therefore community engagement can be lower than what it usually is. However, most of the time, communities are always engaged in what content I have to create, whether it’s discussing future updates or even just replaying some old gameplay. This is why these niches are so great as individuals within them tend to stay engaged even if external content is minimal.

What is your favourite type of content to create, and which works best for your audience? Is there a juxtaposition? 

Personally, I don’t have a favourite type of content to create. The reason for this is that I love mixing up my content styles and also experimenting with new things. However, when experimenting with different types of content, I am usually able to notice what works best with my audience. Therefore, I then tend to stick with this specific type of content as much as I can. Nevertheless, with social media and the constant emergence of trends, there’s always opportunities to break away from my usual content and do something different. I really enjoy when this happens as it not only involves your audience in widely posted trends but also shakes things up on your page. 

However, one thing that I noticed over the recent months is that sometimes my audiences on different social media platforms respond to content differently. Therefore, it’s all about finding the balance in your content to make sure that everyone is satisfied and you’re not only focussing on one audience.

In your own words and experience, how would you define “influencer marketing”?

In my opinion, influencer marketing can be defined as a strategy that leverages individuals with a strong online presence to promote products, services or brands. These influencers are often seen as trusted voices within their respective niches and create authentic and relatable content that can be infused by brand messaging. Unlike traditional advertising, influencer marketing relies on the influencer’s credibility and relationship with their followers and therefore, it presents a powerful tool to reach target demographics in a more genuine and impactful way.

Why do you think influencer marketing is so powerful in today’s society?

Influencer marketing has become integral in today’s society, primarily due to the ecosystem of social media. While social media has become a hub for information and learning new things, I believe that influencer marketing has become so powerful due to the creation of digital communities. Speaking from a tech and gaming perspective, social media users are consistently building new connections and joining creator’s communities every day within this niche. Thus, with the growth of these communities and conversations within them, brands have taken advantage of this heightened engagement to provide marketing opportunities with influencers. In my opinion, this is a phenomenon which is going to continuously develop in the future, especially as individuals are becoming increasingly more reliant on social media for their news, advice and updates. 

Do you have experience working with brands? How do you decide which brands you would like to work with?

Throughout my 4 year journey as a creator, I’ve worked with a large variety of brands, including YouTube, BBC, TikTok, Epic Games and Asus. With my content spanning across areas such as in-game updates, gaming news, new tech products, industry developments and memes, it’s been amazing to partner up with different companies on campaigns. When it comes to deciding which brands to work with and which projects to dedicate my time to, I usually think about three things: my community, the content and the product. Firstly, in regard to my community, I always decide on brands which would resonate with my community. The brand also has to align with my content and its style. For example, as my content is all family friendly, I would only promote brands which are appropriate for all viewers. Finally, when it comes to the product, the product has to be something I’m passionate about and something that my audience can gain value from. I find these three things to be very important when planning brand collaborations, especially as the main aim of collaborating should be to create mutual benefits for the brand, myself and my community. 

@joshsamsoj

What do you game on? I’m now a laptop gamer with @ASUS @AMD 👀#amdadvantage #amdtufadvantage #gamingontiktok #gaming

♬ original sound – Josh Samsoj

How do you foresee the influencer marketing space changing within your niche in the next 12 months?

In the next 12 months, I foresee significant changes in the influencer marketing space within the gaming and tech niche. As platforms continue to evolve, I believe that there will be a greater emphasis on live streaming and interactive content, especially with platforms such as TikTok live developing rapidly. Additionally, creators with large followings will also become much more notably associated with well-known brands within the niche. For example, when there are new in-game updates and releases, creators will have an active role in promoting these events, which is already happening frequently. Also, there will also be a growing focus on authenticity and transparency, as audiences become more discerning about sponsored content. Therefore, I predict that influencers who create unique content and build genuine connections will see much more success in collaborating with brands.

Based on your experience, what would you advocate to change about online gaming communities?

Based on my experiences, I would advocate for several key changes to improve online gaming communities:

1. Enhanced moderation and reporting systems. This will help ensure more robust and efficient moderation tools to quickly address toxic behaviour and harassment, which I have seen many times within social media comments and live streams.
2. Mental health support. Integrating mental health resources and tools such as in-game and social media in-app timers could be extremely useful in helping educate gamers. Gaming can become very addictive and with that, having direct support can make a significant impact
3. Content/Creator verification. Within the gaming communities, there is often a huge issue of misinformation regarding in-game updates, news and events. Therefore, adopting verification for more creators and their content, could help tackle misinformation and lead to more transparency within online gaming communities. 

How do you balance your online and offline lives?

Balancing my online and offline lives involves setting clear boundaries and prioritising time management. I allocate specific hours for gaming and content creation, ensuring that I have dedicated time for offline activities and personal relationships. It’s extremely important to schedule regular breaks from screens, for example by going outdoors, exercising and doing hobbies that don’t involve technology, to maintain physical and mental well-being.

I also practise mindfulness and stay aware of how much time I spend online, using tools like screen time trackers to help manage my digital consumption. Additionally, I always prioritise social interactions with family and friends, as they provide a crucial counterbalance to my online engagements.

Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Within the next 5 years, I think it’s difficult for any creator to describe where they would be. 5 years ago, I didn’t even know how to upload videos on social media and now I do it as a full time job. Nevertheless, in 5 years time, I would love to continue working within the creator space. Even though my content is normally based around gaming and technology, I would love to expand this more into showcasing my daily life, sports and other interests. Especially with the development of new tools, such as AI to help editing, I’m confident that creating content in the next 5 years will become even easier and therefore, it is definitely something I would love to continue doing. 

What is a piece of advice you would give to your younger self when starting out as a tech/gaming content creator on the internet?

If I could talk to my younger self who was starting out as a tech/gaming content creator, the one thing I would say is to just go for it. Starting is usually the hardest part of any task, but especially when it comes to putting yourself out there and creating content for the world, starting is the best thing you can do. Especially in the current social media climate, many people focus on views, likes and engagement when starting out, but not every post is going to succeed. Even now as a creator, there’s always periods where my content isn’t working and that’s okay. Getting started and staying consistent are the most important things a creator can do when starting off. 

Also, building connections within your niche is an extremely underrated thing to do in my opinion. Within the gaming/tech space, reaching out to creators (whether big or small) and asking them for advice or learning about their specific content styles is always helpful. I would also say focus on what’s trending and continuously update your content style and delivery. This is so important as sometimes your content might do really well for a few months, but it’s crucial to change your content as your niche and audience develop over time.

Our influencer marketing agency and social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

If you want to find industry insights, visit our influencer marketing and social media blogs.

@sociallypowerful