The video gaming industry is growing by leaps and bounds. Everything seems to be so well poised at the moment for the industry. The best tools and technology is here and creative ideas are abundant. The external factors like the pandemic have forced people to spend long hours indoors, and most of all, the GenZ and the millennial crowd seem to be madly in love with video gaming and also build their own gaming PCs.
Even though video games are not new – they have been around for at least fifty years now – the industry is growing day by day and is worth billions today. As a game developer, this is the ideal time to join this burgeoning industry. While you may do everything possible to make a fabulous video game, you need to have the right game marketing campaign to attract gamers. Remember that the global gaming audience consists of more than 2.4 billion people, as per the latest available statistics.
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Video Game Marketing Strategies
In this article, we’ll share some interesting and practical video gaming marketing strategies that can help catapult your video game to the top of its niche.
1. Marketing your game using YouTube
The popularity of YouTube has reached indescribable proportions in the last few years. Interestingly, most of your gaming audience is right there on the platform for a considerable period. If you are yet to start your YouTube channel, you should time it right before the launch of your video game. Considering the reach of the medium, you can surely start getting progressive traction faster.
All you need to do is use a gaming video editor to create a promotional video showcasing the best parts of the game, highlighting the thrill or arousing emotion in the viewer, so much so that they are keen to start downloading and playing the game.
Remember to use a trusted and powerful video editor to inbuild impressive graphics with a scintillating background score with the launch date, the USP of the game, the age group, and share tips on how to download or play, etc. YouTube has some incredible advertising tools like playing the video as an ad before starting an actual YouTube video.
2. Leveraging the influence of social media platforms
Besides YouTube, if there is one other platform growing at a break-neck speed, it is social media. There is no stopping this type of platform. In 2020, 3.96 billion people worldwide were active on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram every month. Facebook had the most users at 2.6 billion, and there were 1 billion Instagram users.
The good part about creating video ads for FB and Instagram is that the ads can be very specifically targeted to a demographic segment, people with certain key attributes, etc. But, a word of caution for all gaming developers – you need to ensure that your FB and Instagram video ads are within the required time limit to get maximum traction from your target market. You should refer to a Facebook and Instagram Video Length Guide from a trusted source to know more about this.
3. Influencer marketing for your game
Involve a few top influencers to promote your game. Most influencers work on promotion on a cash basis. Influencer marketing could be costly because it involves paying the influencer, but this strategy can work wonders. Not only do you need to find influencers who are considered specialists in the same niche as your video games, but you should also be certain of their following and community.
Brand sponsorship is another good option – you need to find brands that have a good record of sponsoring gaming companies. Approach them with a foolproof proposal, and if things work, your video game can get an impressive boost.
4. A website for your game
While this strategy upfront may seem to be a bit out of turn, a specialized website for your video game can be a good way to reach out to the market optimally. With a website, you can create relevant content, promote limitlessly, and take advantage of SEO for organic traffic and PPC advertising for inorganic traffic.
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5. App Store marketing
The good news and the bad news is that there are hundreds of games on Google Play and the Apple Store. You need to invest your time and money into using different techniques like App Store Optimization (ASO) for keyword and description optimization. You also could use Google Ads or Apple Search Ads and link your game website to the Store listing.
6. Keep tracking and measuring the success of your marketing strategies regularly
There are enough game analytics and reporting tools that you can use to keep a tab on how your promotional strategies are working and tweak your campaigns accordingly for desired results. Keep doing this regularly so that you are always on the top of your gaming marketing campaign. You may also like to check out the best gaming processors you can use right now.
7. Use multiple app stores
While there is no match for Apple and Android stores, there are others too that you can use to get higher traction and visibility. Some of these markets include Amazon, Baidu, Xiaomi, App Brain, and more.
8. Use gaming podcasts
There are two million active gaming podcasts and 48 million episodes; this is another channel that you can maximize to promote your video game. 76.8% of people spend 7 hours or more every week listening to podcasts and many people today are listening to podcasts rather than watching TV. The millennial crowd and GenZ are more into podcasts; hence, you could find the right people for your video games here.
9. Use Reddit marketing
You can choose Reddit to promote your game. The first activity needs to be around finding the right subreddit or the theme to promote your game meaningfully. Use the search bar to find appropriate subreddits, verify the rules, and find the content of the latest posts.
10. Twitch TV streaming
Twitch, with 15 million active users, was brought over by Amazon in 2014. On Twitch, you can start picture-in-picture streaming of your gaming screen while a webcam focuses on you. Twitch partners are people with the largest views and following, and they earn through advertisement revenues. As a gaming company, you can advertise on Twitch, start a stream, or even sponsor a stream. You can also find the best Minecraft guides here.
11. A marketing stunt
Besides these conventional marketing strategies, you can also get creative and innovate with other publicity stunts to popularize your gaming video. Keep your focus on the content and make it as interesting and engaging as possible so that your game gets the right attraction.
Conclusion
The crux is that you can experiment and choose numerous channels and methods to advertise or promote your video game. As different media and platforms evolve, you can devise newer strategies to propel your video game marketing to the top of your niche.