6 Tips for Marketing Your Mobile Game
It
wasn’t that long ago that developers had to spend painstaking amounts
of time and money to develop a mobile game. You’d have to code
absolutely everything, including the common elements like basic buttons
and navigation menus. Fortunately, with the advent of game engines like
Unity and Unreal, that’s no longer the case; it’s easier than ever to
build a game from a framework.
But this means that today’s developers have a new challenge to focus on: How do you successfully market that game?
Marketing
is just as critical a part of the mobile game industry, helping
developers and publishers alike attract new players, generate revenue,
and enjoy success amid a sea of competition. Here are some tips to help
you along.
1. Understand Your Audience
You
can’t just target “gamers” as a whole; they come in all kinds of types,
from casual and social gamers to role-playing and strategy and more. A
game that’s supposedly for everyone is really for nobody at all.
So just like with any marketing strategy, you need to understand the audience you’re trying to target. Here’s how you do that:
- Market research tools: You can’t understand who you don’t know you’re trying to understand or the devices they’re gaming on.
- Analyze gamer behavior: What does your target audience say on social media or gaming forums?
2. Leverage App Store Optimization
You can take extra measures to boost your game’s visibility in the app stores, making it easier for people browsing to find it. Simply put, it’s SEO for the app store:
- Research:
Again, you’ll always need to start off with good, quality research.
Include the most effective keywords in your app title and description.
- Visuals: Eye-catching icons and compelling screenshots are key to draw in user attention.
- Feedback: When you do your research, listen carefully to the results so you can adapt your approach.
Of
course, following the usual best practices doesn’t automatically lead
to better results. You’ll also need to conduct live A/B tests to get the
feedback that tells you whether or not your approach is working.
3. Add Captivating Visuals
Speaking of visuals, you’ll want to expand that creativity into your social media ads, video ads, and the game itself. Imagery can have a profound effect on your campaign:
- Gameplay trailers and teasers:
A strong gameplay teaser showcases the unique part of your mobile game
and gets potential gamers excited to try it out for themselves.
- Social media platforms: Post your concept art, in-game screenshots, and other exciting visuals on social media to build anticipation in your audience.
- Consistency: If you update your in-game assets, make sure you also change the visuals across social media, your website, and the app store.
4. Test and Soft Launch
When
your game reaches beta status, you can send it to testers, bloggers,
and journalists to give it a try, and then incorporate their feedback
into your updates. Likewise, at the soft launch stage, keep the game
announcement to a smaller market so that you can monitor performance and
fix any bugs that are found.
It’s
also a good idea to test audience activity, including how willing they
are to make an in-game purchase. Tests should be ongoing, in fact, so
that you can always bring something beneficial with each update.
5. Advertise on Social Media
Why
promote your game on social media instead of a website or a blog?
Simply put, people are always scrolling for new content, and they don’t
often have time to search through your whole FAQ to find what they’re
looking for. Instead, sharing video gameplay on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and other platforms can get your point across instantly.
6. Work with a Publisher
As
controversial as this tip might seem, signing a contract with a
publisher may well be your best marketing move. Gaming publishers are
usually themselves successful developers who want to increase their
reach with their audiences, and they do so through the marketing
channels they’ve established.
Working
with a publisher can also give you resources you couldn’t get
otherwise, in terms of both finances and assets. They’ll also help your
game reach more people than most can do on their own. But one thing to
keep in mind is that the publisher typically wants about half the
income.
Key Takeaways
Developing a mobile game is no longer the most difficult part of the process; making sure that potential players find it is. More than the usual marketing measures, that means app store optimization, paid advertising, community management, and even influencer marketing techniques. Use them correctly, and your game will be the next big hit!
