- Influencer marketing ideas for mobile gaming (with examples)
- Published 19/04/2023
- 10 min Read
- Written by Julia Shandrokha
Table of contents
Over the last decade, traditional advertising methods have been supplemented, and in many cases replaced, by more modern approaches that utilize the power of digital platforms. Among these, influencer marketing has emerged as a potent tool for businesses across a range of industries. This strategy involves partnering with influencers who have a broad social media following and can sway the purchasing decisions of their audience.
One industry that has particularly benefited from influencer marketing is the world of mobile gaming. The gaming industry has come a long way since the era of heavy consoles and elaborate setups. With the advent of smartphones and tablets, mobile gaming has gained massive popularity. The entire video games market is expected to reach $384.9 billion in 2023. And the largest market within it is the mobile games one – it’s projected to reach the volume of $286.5 billion in 2023, which is more than half of the total.
Mobile games market growth
Despite the impressive growth and popularity, the mobile gaming industry is also a fiercely competitive space. High-quality games are being churned out at a rapid pace, and standing out in this crowded marketplace is a daunting task. This challenge is why many companies are investing significant resources into marketing their games.
Enter mobile gaming influencers – individuals who command a vast audience of gaming enthusiasts. These influencers, many of whom live stream their gameplay or create engaging gaming content, are an ideal medium for gaming companies to promote their products. The connection these influencers have with their audience is more intimate and credible compared to traditional advertising, which makes their promotional efforts more impactful.
In this article, the Famesters influencer marketing agency we help you delve deeper into the role of influencers in mobile gaming, how to choose the right influencer, and examine successful influencer marketing campaigns. This guide will provide actionable insights to inform your strategy and influencer marketing ideas for mobile gaming.
THE POWER OF MOBILE GAMING INFLUENCERS
Influence and reach of mobile gaming influencers
The mobile gaming industry is a unique ecosystem where influencers hold an exceptional power in swaying consumer behavior. With the rise of streaming platforms such as Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming, influencers have managed to cultivate a vast and engaged following. The success of influencers lies in the genuine connection they share with their audience, the trust they’ve built over time, and their credibility as seasoned gamers themselves.
Their reach spans across the globe, cutting through various demographic segments. By live-streaming their gameplay, sharing insights, tips, tricks, and reviews about games, influencers attract millions of viewers. This vast and passionate audience is a fertile ground for marketing efforts, making influencers the perfect vehicle for promoting mobile games.
Impact of influencers on marketing and promotion strategies
Mobile gaming influencers can bring about a paradigm shift in how games are marketed and promoted. Their involvement in the marketing process can significantly boost a game’s visibility, reputation, and user base.
- Enhanced brand visibility. Influencers can introduce a game to their massive audience base, ensuring high visibility. This exposure can be particularly valuable during pre-launch and launch stages, creating anticipation and excitement for the game.
- Increased credibility. When influencers share their genuine experiences with a game, it can positively impact the game’s reputation. Their endorsement serves as social proof, encouraging their followers to try the game.
- Effective content creation. Influencers are adept at creating engaging content around the games they play. Whether it’s a walkthrough, a review, or showcasing a new feature, their content can enhance user engagement and stimulate interest in the game.
- Boost in downloads and user base. Leveraging the power of influencers can lead to an increase in game downloads and registrations. As seen in the pre-launch campaign for Infinity Ops by Azur Games, influencers were instrumental in driving 1.3 million pre-registrations for the game.
- Reviving older games. Influencers can play a critical role in rekindling interest in older games. By revisiting the game or highlighting updates and new features, they can attract both new players and those who might have previously moved on to other games.
By capitalizing on the power of influencers, you can design effective marketing strategies that resonate with your target audience and boost your games’ success.
TYPES OF INFLUENCER MARKETING STRATEGIES IN MOBILE GAMING
The dynamic landscape of mobile gaming requires equally agile marketing strategies. By leveraging the power of influencers, gaming companies can craft impactful campaigns that cater to the varying stages of a game’s lifecycle: pre-launch, launch, and post-launch. Let’s delve into each of these in more detail.
Pre-launch campaigns
A game’s journey begins long before it hits the market. At this stage, the focus is on building anticipation and creating a buzz around the game. This is where influencers can play a pivotal role.
- Introducing the concept. Influencers can introduce the game concept to their followers, sparking initial interest. By sharing details about the game’s genre, mechanics, characters, and storylines, influencers can pique the curiosity of potential players.
- Creating buzz. As part of pre-launch promotions, influencers can build anticipation through various strategies such as teasing game features, revealing sneak peeks of gameplay, or discussing the game in community forums and live chats. This can create a sense of intrigue and excitement, setting the stage for a successful launch.
Game launches
The launch of a game is a critical phase, and influencer marketing can help make a significant impact during this stage.
- Unveiling gameplay. At the game’s launch, influencers can unveil the gameplay to their audience. Live streaming the first play, sharing their initial reactions, and exploring the game’s environment can provide potential players with a taste of what to expect.
- Creating sponsored content. Influencers can create sponsored content around the game’s launch. This could take the form of dedicated game reviews, highlight reels, in-depth gameplay videos, or even collaborative streams with other influencers. This diversified content not only enriches the user experience but also enhances the visibility of the game.
Post-launch campaigns
The work doesn’t end once a game has been launched. Post-launch influencer marketing can help maintain the game’s momentum and ensure its long-term success.
- Reviving older games. As part of post-launch promotions, influencers can revisit older games to rekindle interest. Through retrospectives, ‘let’s play’ videos, or challenges, they can attract both new and returning players to the game.
- Promoting new features. As the game evolves post-launch, new features, modes, or characters might be introduced. Influencers can showcase these updates to their audience, thereby sustaining interest and driving ongoing engagement.
In summary, influencer marketing offers you an arsenal of strategies to generate excitement, increase visibility, and enhance user engagement at every stage of a game’s lifecycle.
HOW TO IMPLEMENT INFLUENCER MARKETING FOR YOUR MOBILE GAME
Implementing a successful influencer marketing campaign for your mobile game involves a thoughtful process, from identifying the right influencer to measuring the outcomes of the collaboration. Here are some key steps to consider.
Finding the right influencer
The first step in leveraging influencer marketing for your mobile game is to find the influencer who can best represent your brand. This requires exploring various platforms such as YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and even gaming forums, where influencers often cultivate their communities.
Consider influencers who align with your brand’s values and aesthetics and whose audience demographics match your target market. Be sure to evaluate their credibility, reputation, and engagement rates to ensure that their influence will translate into meaningful impact for your game.
You can also use influencer marketing platforms like BuzzGuru that help automate your search and discover the most relevant influencers. BuzzGuru also provides statistics and data of each influencer and shows what games the influencer has already promoted.
Setting clear expectations
Once you’ve identified the right influencers for your game, it’s crucial to establish a clear agreement outlining the expectations of the collaboration. This should include details such as the type of content to be created, frequency of posts, duration of the campaign, and any specific messages or features that should be highlighted.
Remember, transparency is key. Both parties should be fully aware of their responsibilities and deliverables to ensure a successful partnership.
Allowing for creative freedom
While it’s essential to have a defined plan, it’s equally important to allow influencers creative freedom. Influencers have gained their followers through their unique style and approach, so it’s beneficial to let them infuse their personality into the content. Great gamers can even suggest their own influencer marketing ideas for mobile gaming to help you.
That said, influencers should respect the game’s identity and adhere to any branding guidelines provided. Striking a balance between creative freedom and brand alignment is crucial for authentic and effective influencer content.
Measuring results
Finally, the success of an influencer marketing campaign should be measured against predefined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). These could include the number of views or likes on influencer-created content, the number of game downloads or registrations resulting from the campaign, engagement rates on posts, and comments or shares that indicate the audience’s sentiment.
Understanding these metrics allows you to gauge the effectiveness of the campaign, learn what worked and what didn’t, and refine your approach for future collaborations.
Effective influencer marketing for mobile games involves a meticulous selection process, clear communication, creative flexibility, and diligent performance tracking. By mastering these aspects, you can significantly boost your game’s visibility, engagement, and ultimately, its success in the competitive mobile gaming market.
5 EXAMPLES OF EXCELLENT MOBILE GAMING INFLUENCER CAMPAIGNS (CASE STUDIES)
Exploring successful case studies can provide invaluable insights for your own influencer marketing efforts. Here are five notable mobile gaming influencer campaigns that leveraged unique strategies to achieve substantial results.
Azur Games pre-launch campaign for Infinity Ops (Destiny Warfare)
Azur Games implemented an innovative strategy by launching a pre-registration campaign for their game, Infinity Ops. They collaborated with several YouTube influencers who created engaging content to introduce the game and encourage pre-registrations. They even incentivized this with special bonuses, such as in-game currency, for those who pre-registered. This resulted in 1.3 million pre-registrations, highlighting the power of pre-launch campaigns with influencers.
Ubisoft influencer collaboration with H20Delirious
Ubisoft partnered with YouTuber H20Delirious to promote Far Cry 5, capitalizing on the influencer’s audience of over 11 million subscribers. H20Delirious created a series of videos playing the game, which received millions of views. This example underlines the effectiveness of collaborating with influencers who have a strong rapport with their followers, as it can lead to high viewer engagement.
WildWorks collaboration with Ryan
In a unique approach, WildWorks designed a game around popular YouTube influencer Ryan from Ryan ToysReview. Ryan served not just as an ambassador but was integrated into the game as a main character. By incorporating an influencer directly into their game and having him play it on his channel, WildWorks managed to reach a vast audience, as evidenced by the millions of views on Ryan’s gameplay videos.
Brawl Stars launch influencer marketing campaign by Supercell
Supercell used a different approach for the launch of Brawl Stars. Instead of collaborating with the most famous gaming influencers, they partnered with influencers who were already playing their other games. They used a series of pre-launch live streams to create anticipation and successfully generated over 5 million registrations even before the game was officially released.
FGTeeV sponsored video for BarBarQ
In a collaborative campaign, BarBarQ partnered with the popular YouTube channel FGTeeV to promote their game. FGTeeV, a family of gamers, integrated the game seamlessly into a narrative, presenting the gameplay in a story-based format to their 10 million subscribers. This approach demonstrated the importance of creating engaging, original content that goes beyond straightforward advertising.
Want to see a more detailed case study? Here’s another case showing the power of influencer marketing leveraged by a mobile gaming brand: Famesters helps ChillBase acquire users from Tier-1 countries
These cases illustrate the wide range of strategies that can be employed in mobile gaming influencer marketing. Whether it’s capitalizing on pre-launch excitement, leveraging the credibility of influencers, or finding innovative ways to integrate influencers directly into the gaming experience, these strategies can significantly boost a game’s reach and engagement.
IN CONCLUSION
Influencer marketing has proven to be a potent tool in the mobile gaming industry. With the ability to reach millions of engaged followers, influencers can drastically increase a game’s visibility, engagement, and downloads.
As you’ve seen from the case studies, strategies can vary greatly, from pre-launch campaigns to create anticipation, to post-launch promotions to revive an old game or introduce new features. The key is to find an influencer whose audience aligns with your target demographic and whose content style matches the ethos of your game.
It’s important to remember, however, that a successful influencer campaign doesn’t merely hinge on the influencer’s popularity. Rather, the authenticity of their content, their genuine interest in the game, and the creative freedom they are given to incorporate the game into their content can often be the distinguishing factors between a successful and unsuccessful campaign.
By clearly defining expectations, allowing influencers to add their unique touch to the promotional content, and carefully measuring the results, companies can harness the power of influencer marketing to take their games to new heights. As mobile gaming continues to grow in popularity, influencer marketing will undoubtedly remain a key component of successful promotion strategies. It is an exciting time for mobile game developers to experiment with and reap the rewards of this powerful marketing tool.
If you need any help with finding the right influencers for your mobile game, building a successful marketing strategy, or want an experienced agency to run your campaign, contact Famesters. We have 6+ years of experience in promoting mobile games with the help of influencers and are ready to serve you!
Frequently asked questions about mobile game influencer marketing
What is mobile game influencer marketing?
Mobile game influencer marketing involves partnering with popular social media personalities who play and showcase your game to their followers. These influencers have the power to significantly boost your game’s visibility and credibility because their endorsements are seen as genuine recommendations, not just advertisements.
Why is mobile game influencer marketing effective?
Influencers have established trust and rapport with their followers. When they recommend a mobile game, their followers are likely to take their word for it and try out the game. This trust translates to higher engagement rates and more downloads as followers value the influencers’ opinions over traditional advertising.
You can learn more about the influencers’ impact on consumer opinions and decisions from this article: How influencer marketing impacts consumer behavior and purchase decisions.
How do I choose the right influencer for my mobile game?
Identify influencers whose content style and audience demographics align closely with your mobile game’s target market. Review their engagement rates, content quality, and how their personality could mesh with your game’s theme. An influencer whose style resonates with your mobile game’s concept will deliver the most impactful promotion.
What should I include in my collaboration agreement with an influencer?
Clearly outline the expectations, deliverables, content frequency, specific game features to be highlighted, and compensation details. Also, discuss content approval processes and any branding guidelines the influencer needs to follow. This ensures both parties are aligned and aware of their responsibilities.
Here’s an influencer contract template crafted by the experts of the Famesters influencer marketing agency. It’s free. You can use it anytime to make sure you include all the vital things in your own influencer agreement.
Can mobile game influencer marketing help with launches?
Sure! Influencers can create pre-launch hype by teasing game features, sharing beta tests, or discussing upcoming launches in their content. This builds anticipation among potential players and can drive significant traffic and player engagement upon the game’s release.
What kind of content should influencers create for my mobile game?
Let influencers craft varied content like gameplay tutorials, challenge completions, detailed reviews, or live streaming sessions. Encouraging them to embed their authentic reactions and unique commentary will enhance the content’s appeal to potential players.
How do I measure the success of my mobile game influencer marketing campaign?
Before even starting, you should set your expectations and KPIs so that you can track them later. Track metrics such as engagement rates, viewer retention on videos, increase in your mobile game downloads and in-game purchases, and social media mentions. Use analytics tools to monitor traffic sources and assess how much influencer-driven traffic converts into active players.
Learn more about it from our articles:
- How to set and measure influencer marketing KPIs
- How to measure influencer marketing ROI: a comprehensive guide
Can influencers help revive interest in older mobile games?
Influencers can spotlight major updates, expansions, or special events within your game to attract new players and re-engage lapsed ones. Their fresh take on the game’s new features can rejuvenate interest and boost player base.
What is the cost of mobile game influencer marketing?
Costs can vary widely based on the influencer’s reach, the complexity of the content, and the campaign’s length. Some influencers may accept in-game perks or commissions based on the traffic they generate, while others may require upfront payment based on their follower count and engagement rates.
How long should a mobile game influencer marketing campaign last?
The campaign duration should align with your marketing objectives. Short-term, intensive campaigns are great for launches, while ongoing, less intensive collaborations can maintain engagement and boost long-term player retention. Adjust the length based on campaign performance and marketing goals to keep the momentum going.
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