How to Promote Your Games Using Digital Marketing
Promote your games using successful digital marketing techniques. Learn the best practices for marketing games online so you can build a loyal player base.
The world is not the same for gamers anymore. With the influx of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, the gaming industry is breaking barriers and expanding to as large of an audience as possible.
Mordor Intelligence estimates that the gaming industry will be worth $256.97 billion by 2025. While this may sound interesting, the big question is for marketers.
How can you have a digital marketing strategy that maximizes your brand visibility in the uber-competitive gamer's paradise?
There are plenty of cost-effective strategies that enable you to use the latest digital marketing trends to promote your mobile game effectively.
Let's discuss them further.
- Maybe you have just released a new game.
- Planning to relaunch an existing one.
- You want to get people talking about your game.
There are a myriad of video game marketing campaigns that you can invest in.
Also, thanks to the vast amounts of data we generate, the new generation of video games will offer hyper-personalization in context to customized marketing.
The following tactics will help you lay the foundations of a good marketing campaign and get the publicity your game deserves.
1. Market your Game on YouTube
Don't have a YouTube channel yet? It is high time you set one up for your games. Courtesy of the immense popularity of YouTube, it is the perfect space to promote your game, engage potential players, and get reviews.
Here's what you can do to get things started.
- Create a teaser video about your game and post it on your YouTube channel.
- Include graphics and an original soundtrack to lure in potential players.
- After you have uploaded your video, create an SEO optimized title and description. Add the downloadable link to your description page.
You can also use YouTube advertisements where your teaser will appear as a video ad and be played upon request.
Gamers will have the choice of skipping or watching the commercial, and you can only pay for the service if they have watched till the end.
2. Use App Store Optimization
App store optimization (ASO) is a video game marketing strategy that's similar to search engine optimization (SEO).
It helps game owners to optimize their game application and place it on top of app store searches. The aim is to boost ranking and maximize the volume of organic (free) downloads.
There are several ways to make your game discoverable in the app store’s search results. A few effective ones are:
Find the right keyword
Work on keywords that are relevant to your game. Tools like Appradar.com allow you to choose keywords relevant to your application, overall app performance, top-performing countries, and more.
For example, the app shows the relevant keywords for Solitaired in the image below.
Source: Appradar.com
Use keywords at the right place
You have limited fields to insert your keywords. Therefore, act wisely. For the App Store, we recommend adding keywords in the IAP, developer name, and subscription. It allows 30 char in the App name, 30 char in the subtitle, and 100 char in the keyword field.
For Playstore, go for keywords at the top, middle, and bottom of the long description. Use HTML (bold, H1, color) to highlight the main keywords. It allows 50 char in the title, 80 char in the subtitle, and 4000 char in the description. Do not over-optimize.
Localize your listing
Make your app available in all possible countries and languages. Edit your content according to the country and its culture. Localize your listing and see the results.
Monitor ASO KPIs
Track ASO performance based on the basic parameters like keyword ranking, conversion rate to visit, conversion rate to download, user rating and reviews, organic downloads, organic uplift, and revenue.
Add visual assets
Use icons, screenshots, and videos to maximize your conversion. Ensure your screenshots are relatable, and if it includes text, it should be readable. Keep the background as clean as possible, and do not add unnecessary messages to your image.
Update your app
Updating your app regularly according to seasons and festivals. For example, you can update your icon and screenshots during Christmas or Halloween. You can also change your keywords in the description accordingly.
3. Leverage Mobile Game Promotion Platforms
If you are new to developing games, you may not be a game marketing expert. Being a game developer, it is instinctive of you to design excellent user interfaces and make your game user-friendly. But you may not be good at promoting your game in front of the right audience.
Luckily, there are mobile game promotion platforms that can help you market your game for maximum downloads. For example, some also provide low cost-per-impression (CPI) for mobile games ads.
4. Take Advantage of Feedback and Reviews
Reviews from the app store can help you get a lot of downloads. Therefore, it should definitely be a part of your digital marketing strategy. So, how you get your users to leave feedback and reviews for your app.
It's simple! Ask them. If your players have enjoyed your game and ask them, they would love to review your game.
For example, here's what you can do.
You can use pop-ups in the game, but make sure not to use them too aggressively. You can also ask players to give you useful insight into what you can fix to improve user interest.
Source: Fortnite
5. Use Social Media to Promote your App
A great way to boost user retention is to use social media. You can engage your fans with a funny tweet, a teaser screenshot of an upcoming expansion, or a social media contest, for instance. You can also run your own successful Instagram and Facebook campaigns too.
You will benefit even more if you have the resources to introduce social media into your game.
If you give players the option to tweet about their in-game accomplishments, you will be further able to spread your brand recognition at no cost.
Conclusion
Marketers are trained to go niche by nature, but in the gaming industry, marketing is for everyone. Crafting a more inclusive, welcoming brand identity will attract more attention and foster greater trust with people.
These tips will help you launch your marketing campaign and get the players you need. If you think we have missed something in this list, let us know in the comments.