Nowadays, mobile games are a serious business, the projected revenue for this marketing sector is estimated to be around US$286.50 bn in 2023, compared to $101.21 billion in 2022. Therefore, game developers have to strengthen their marketing strategies to stay ahead of the curve. With millions of apps vying for the attention of mobile users, promoting your mobile game has become a challenge. Advertisers must be able to blend creativity and data analytics to generate buzz and drive user engagement. In this article, we'll take a deep dive into the world of mobile games marketing, providing you with the best practices to level up your mobile game. Let's get started!
What is Mobile Games Marketing?
Mobile games marketing refers to the set of strategies and techniques employed to promote and advertise mobile games to target audiences. It involves a range of activities aimed at attracting users, increasing downloads, driving engagement, and ultimately generating revenue from users.
Mobile games marketing encompasses various aspects such as pre-launch preparations, app store optimization, in-game advertising, user acquisition campaigns, community engagement, and data analysis.
Effective marketing strategies involve identifying the target audience, understanding their preferences, and crafting compelling messages and experiences tailored to their needs. This may involve utilizing social media platforms, influencer partnerships, and paid advertising to reach and engage with the intended audience.
How to Market a Mobile Game
Marketing a mobile game requires a strategic approach to reach and engage the target audience effectively.
1. Target The Right Audience For Your Mobile Game
Targeting the right audience is crucial in mobile games marketing to maximize the effectiveness of your efforts and ensure that you are reaching the most receptive players. In recent years, the age range of mobile gamers has expanded significantly. While the 25-34 age group remains prominent, there has been a substantial increase in older gamers, with a 17% year-over-year growth in gamers aged 45 and above.
Additionally, research reveals that women make up 70% of mobile gamers. These shifting demographics indicate that the potential audience for mobile games is larger and more diverse than ever before.
To effectively market your game, it's crucial to identify the specific segment of audience that aligns with your game's unique offering and tailor your messaging to resonate with them.
2. Paid User Acquisition For Mobile Games
Mobile gaming has become a dominant force in the mobile market, accounting for half of all user acquisition ad spending, as reported by Adjust. This indicates that mobile games have established themselves as a highly profitable category and are therefore receiving significant investment in user acquisition campaigns.
By investing in paid user acquisition, developers can leverage various channels such as social media platforms, mobile ad networks, and programmatic advertising to reach a broader audience. These campaigns involve the display of a wide range of ad creatives, therefore, since the primary focus lies on converting users through ads, ad creatives are a paramount factor in paid user acquisition.
3. The Importance of Ad Creatives in Mobile Games Marketing
Ad creatives play a crucial role in the success of mobile game marketing campaigns. They are the first point of contact between a game and potential players, which is why it's essential to make a great first impression.
When dealing with Mobile Games, the best performing ad creative formats that not only drives higher click-through rates but also increases conversion rates are Playable Ads, Video Ads, and Rewarded Ads.
In the mobile games market playable ads are considered the best performing format. Playable ads have indeed revolutionized mobile app marketing by offering a multitude of benefits, such as higher engagement rates, improved conversion rates, and a positive impact on ROI.
Another well-performing format are Rewarded ads, which offer to users who engage with them incentives by providing in-game benefits.
Rewarded ads are seen as a win-win for both players and advertisers. Players can enjoy the benefits of the rewards, while advertisers gain the opportunity to showcase their products or services to a captive and engaged audience. This ad format is particularly popular in free-to-play mobile games, as it allows developers to monetize their games while keeping them accessible to a wider audience.
A further widely used ad format is Video Ads. According to a study conducted by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, mobile video ads have shown twice the click-through rate compared to traditional banners and interstitial ads. As a result, incorporating this format into your ad campaign can be a strategic decision to enhance the growth of your mobile game.
Playable and video ads tend to be more expensive compared to other ad formats like banners. However, they are also the most profitable formats in terms of click-through rates (CTR), installs, and return on investment (ROI).
4. Leveraging Data and Analytics
Data and analytics serves as the driving force behind the performance of mobile games marketing, making it essential to understand the core components of mobile measurement and marketing analytics within the gaming context.
By harnessing the power of data, game developers and publishers can gain valuable insights into player behavior, preferences, and engagement patterns.
When focusing on User Acquisition for Mobile Games, there are some critical metrics to measure, such as CPI, ROI, and LTV. Let’s go through them shall we?
First of all ROI (Return On Investment) is a crucial KPI that evaluates the overall long-term profitability and success of your mobile game.This KPI helps you measure the financial returns and determine the efficiency of your efforts, guiding your decision-making process for future optimizations and enhancements.
Another crucial metric to measure is CPI (Cost per install), a popular metric used in mobile games app marketing to measure the cost of acquiring a new user who installs and opens an app.
CPI as a metric helps app developers and marketers evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of their acquisition strategies, allowing them to make data-driven decisions and optimize their campaigns to achieve lower acquisition costs and maximize ROI.
Lastly, LTV (LifeTime Value) is a key metric used in the mobile gaming industry to assess the long-term value and profitability of a user within a mobile game. LTV takes into account not only the initial purchase or in-app transaction but also subsequent purchases, ad revenue, and other monetization streams throughout the user's lifetime within the game.
By calculating the LTV, game developers and marketers can determine the average revenue generated by each user and make data-driven decisions regarding user acquisition, retention strategies, and monetization efforts.
Mobile Games Marketing In a Nutshell
In the fast-paced world of mobile games, where attention spans are shorter than a loading screen, effective marketing strategies can make all the difference.
Targeting the right audience is crucial to casting a wide net with surgical precision, ensuring that every click and download counts. Paid user acquisition serves as the rocket fuel that propels games to the top charts, turning virtual dreams into profitable realities. But the true magic happens when effective ad creatives weave stories that transport players into immersive worlds, leaving them craving for more. And behind every decision, every strategy, data and analytics stand as the guiding stars, illuminating the path to success.
