There are lots of great mobile games out there, but while some manage to soar up the charts and make waves with millions of players, others stay under the radar and remain undiscovered gems.
Obviously, it’s important to bring as many people to your game as possible, so marketing is a must-use tool in this context.
You’ll need to use a combination of tactics to boost player numbers over time, so here’s a run-through of the best ways to go about this today.
1. Know Your Audience
One of the fundamental ways to market your mobile game is to get to grips with the types of people you are aiming to attract so that you can better understand what you need to do to win them over in the first place.
Putting together customer personas for audience members according to variables like their age, their outside interests, their approach to mobile gaming, and the amount they’re likely to splash out on their hobby is helpful.
With this data to hand, you’ll be able to determine the course of the rest of your marketing efforts, without having to make guesses about what approach will click most with your ideal demographics.
At Growth Hackers, one of our mobile game clients struggled with low retention, but after we built detailed player personas, their marketing efforts became more precise and their audience grew rapidly.
2. Reach Out to Mainstream Publishers
Sometimes the thing holding you back is your marketing budget, and even if you streamline it as much as possible, it can be tough to get your game seen when you’re competing against rivals with much bigger pockets.
An option here is to get the attention of a large publisher and piggyback on their resources and expertise to level the playing field.
The downside is of course that you’ll have to share any revenues your mobile game brings in with the publisher, and they could also insist on certain mechanical and creative changes to the project which don’t gel with your original vision.
In spite of this, it’s possible to justify the route when you consider that the alternative might be your game languishing in obscurity, making no money whatsoever.
3. Improve App Store Listings
The way that most new players will find your game is through the app stores on which it’s available for download. And the discoverability of apps in this context is defined by the level of optimization that’s gone into the listings themselves.
There are a couple of main aspects to consider here. First, there’s the copy used to describe your game, and then there are the screenshots you include to show prospective players what it looks like in action.
Good copywriting techniques will come into play here because you not only want to grab the attention of casual app store browsers and convert them into customers but also take keyword research into account.
Each app store has its own method for sorting games when particular search terms are used, and there are different trends in the popularity of particular phrases over time.
It’s not a case of finding a bandwagon to jump on, but rather of thinking about how your game should be portrayed, and what you can do to adapt this so that it fits user expectations and appeases search algorithms simultaneously.
Testing out different app store landing pages to see which one connects with the customer personas you’ve put together is helpful if you want to find the most optimal combo of words and images.
At Growth Hackers, we’ve helped a mobile game publisher increase downloads by over 80% in less than 5 months just by optimizing app store listings with compelling copy, strong visuals, and strategic keywords.
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4. Target Multiple Platforms
One thing to note about creating customer personas is that you could discover that certain demographics you want to bring on board aren’t actually found on the platforms that your game is available on at the moment, which could be holding you back from significant growth.
For example, if you’re only making your game available via Google Play for Android devices, but the audience you most want to win over is mostly on iOS, it’s clear that launching on the App Store as well is sensible.
It has long been known that iPhone users earn more on average than their Android-focused counterparts. So while the Android audience may be larger, there’s more disposable income to tap into and more overall engagement with mobile apps and games available on Apple’s side of the street.
5. Leverage Paid Ads
Organic optimization of your app store page will only get you so far. The biggest mobile games are able to grow their player base and stay at the top of the download charts because they’re also spending money on paid promotions.
This can be done in several ways. You could splash out to have your game appear as an ad at the top of the search results on the app stores you occupy. You could choose to run targeted ads on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and Tiktok. You could get in touch with mobile gaming sites and secure on-page ads or even sponsored posts to build momentum.
The one thing to remember about paid ads is that you need to track their performance and drill down into the data to see whether they are generating a decent ROI, or whether they are falling short. At Growth Hackers, one of the mobile gaming company we partnered with relied solely on organic installs, but after we implemented targeted paid campaigns (on Meta, Telegram and TikTok) and monitored performance closely, their player base skyrocketed.
6. Consider Cross-Promotion Opportunities
If you’re already established as a developer with another mobile game that has done decently well and has a growing audience, this is good news for your newer projects as well.
Cross-promotion is a common strategy in this sphere, since it lets you perpetuate awareness of your latest games while also feeding people back into your existing releases, so it can benefit your entire catalog of products.
There may also be other developers out there who will include a promo for your game in their mobile app, either in exchange for payment or as part of a mutual swap, where you do the same for them in return.
7. Provide Game Code to Professional Reviewers
Mobile gaming coverage is provided far and wide online, and you don’t need to be reliant on organically generated user reviews to drive people to your latest title.
Getting in touch with review sites and offering them access to your game free of charge, in the expectation that they’ll cover it with content, is a tried and tested method.
This does of course open up the possibility that you’ll get negative reviews as well as positive ones. But as they say, all publicity is good publicity, and the very fact that the name of your game is being mentioned on authoritative sites will allow it to creep up search results pages by osmosis.
Another thing to try at this point is influencer marketing. Micro-influencers can push players towards your game thanks to their social media followings, and even a small starting point can snowball if you get exposure in the right places.
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8. Adopt Content Marketing to Control the Conversation
Content marketing is a way to take the reins in terms of how your game is mentioned and talked about online. At Growth Hackers, we see times and times again many games let others dictate the narrative, but when we adopt targeted content marketing, the brand controls the story, engagement rises, and player interest grows steadily.
You can create content for your own website, as well as for social media feeds, and also to be distributed and published elsewhere online.
Once again the research you’ve done into your audience will enable you to come up with content that is as engaging and relevant as possible. Don’t be afraid to experiment and test out different styles and formats of content as well, especially if this is your first game. You’ll be more likely to strike upon effective avenues for marketing in this manner if you cover as many bases as possible.
9. Include New Player Incentives
In terms of the things that will draw players to your mobile game when they see your ads and your content elsewhere, incentives such as discounts and bonuses will sweeten the deal and get them over any initial uncertainty.
The types of incentives you provide will vary depending on the nature of your game. If it’s a free-to-play title where you can earn in-game currency or experience points to unlock new features over time, you could pull them in by giving them a bonus amount to get their account started on a solid footing.
If it’s a paid experience, then offering a discount or a free trial of your game will tempt players to give it a go. At Growth Hackers, we’ve helped a mobile game boost new player acquisition by 56% within 9 months by designing targeted incentives that enticed players to try the game and stay engaged.
10. Be Patient and Embrace Change
Attracting players to your mobile game will not happen instantly as soon as you implement some new marketing tactic. While there are some exceptions, most games grow their audiences more slowly over time, before reaching a critical mass and enjoying an explosion in popularity.
You basically need to gain the trust of players in fits and starts, until your brand is well-known enough to sell new releases on its name alone.
It’s also necessary to know that not every approach will work, and when you aren’t seeing the results you’d hoped for, switching tracks is sensible.
Final Thoughts on Attracting New Mobile App Game Players
The amount of competition in the mobile gaming market is intimidating, but the right marketing can turn minnows into big fish. Knowing the market and following the data will put you ahead of the rest.
Growth Hackers is among the best mobile marketing agencies helping businesses from all over the world grow. There is no fluff with Growth Hackers. We help entrepreneurs and business owners attract mobile game players, generate qualified leads, optimize their conversion rate, gather and analyze data analytics, acquire and retain users, increase sales and productivity.
We go further than brand awareness and exposure. We make sure that the strategies we implement move the needle so your business grow, strive and succeed. If you too want your business to reach new heights, contact Growth Hackers today so we can discuss about your brand and create a custom growth plan for you. You’re just one click away to skyrocket your business.
