The online gaming industry is in full bloom reaching heights no one would have imagined a couple of decades ago. However, one question lingers in everyone’s mind – how can the company successfully promote its gaming business in order to attract a substantial market share and maintain a leadership position in the industry? Marketing forms one of the core strategies for any type of business, not leaving out the gaming niche, and without them, your business will never thrive. But, what works in the gaming industry specifically? Below is the list of tricks and tips that will attract new customers and retain the current effectively.
1. Promotions
When you think of promotions, the first thing that crosses the mind is limited offers from your favourite store, or that “buy one get one free” option at Walmart. However, promotions not only work in retail and e-commerce stores but in the gaming industry as well. They form one of the leading marketing strategies used by gaming companies to acquire, retain and re-engage players. They work well when introducing new games, showcasing new features and piquing the gamer’s interest. Promotions can be done in several ways including:
- Bonuses – Bonuses such as £20 free no deposit casino will definitely attract players to your games. They can be offered in the form of deposit bonuses, welcome bonuses, refer-a-friend bonuses, reload bonuses, cashback bonuses, sign up bonuses and sticky bonuses;
- Free play – This enables players to try out the games for fun without real money;
- Loyalty Programs – One of the programs you can initiate is a Frequent Gamer Points, which allows the players to earn points for any activity on your gaming platform. These points can then be used for different benefits;
- Cashback Promotions – These promotions return a percentage of losses incurred.
2. Limited and Timed In-game Events
This strategy works best when you want to retain players. It can be done by creating in-game events on your site after completing the tasks the gamers can receive some rewards and benefits. This encourages clients to continue playing. Examples of ways to incorporate this strategy include offering gamers ticket-based tournaments. The tickets can be sold for a specified duration and can be used to participate in tournaments within a specific time frame, e.g. 24 to 48 hours. This can also be done by establishing creative ideas during specific events, e.g. Christmas, World Cup, Easter e.t. This strategy can result in an outburst of activity on your platform for the short-run. If the events are constantly held, the potential of the gamers coming back is often relatively high.
3. Push Notifications
Push notifications are classic and used globally by established brands and startups within all niches. They should be simple, fun, non-spammy and serve to notify and remind gamers of available options they have interacted with previously. Companies in the gaming niches that deal with sports betting or casino apps should definitely apply this genius strategy to engage and communicate with current gamers.
Several gambling apps today send notifications to the players that remind them of games or races that are upcoming. In addition, such service also encourages players to place quick bets based on the gamer’s past gambling history. Push notifications are statistically proven to increase engagement by more than 40% and can boost retention by more than 100%.
4. Adopting In-game Customer Relationship Management Strategies
These strategies enable gaming companies to maximise returns on investments by retaining players on their platform. The strategies allow companies to reinforce close relationships with customers and treat gamers differently according to information gathered based on spending potential/patterns and general game preferences.
CRM strategies are valuable in all business niches including gaming. This is because they have the potential to store and provide in-depth information about the gamer’s statistics such as time spent on games, average bet range, losses and wins made. This information can, in turn, be used in predicting future visit frequency, the individual’s desired rewards and create customised/personalised offers.
5. Affiliate Marketing Strategies
Affiliate marketing is the strategy that involves partnering with gaming operators or networks of affiliates who promote your brand using banners, links or any other appropriate content on their sites in order to earn commissions. In the gaming industry the following affiliate marketing strategies are available:
- PPC advertising – In this channel, advertisements are displayed beside or above organic search results for specific keywords. PPC stands for Pay per Click and is statistically proven to be 45% effective;
- SEO Driven Affiliate Marketing- Search rankings are optimised in this strategy by the use of relevant content with specific and appropriate keywords;
- Community Affiliates – Online forums can be used to drive traffic to your gaming website. They help in building relationships with gamers and acquiring new players.
All in all, the above-listed affiliate marketing strategies are bound to work if used appropriately. However, there are a few things to avoid. First, avoid spam messages within forums, emails or in push notifications. Ensure your content is relevant and the keywords used in SEO strategies are not overused and make sense within the content. Only resort to white hat SEO techniques.
To conclude, remember that the smaller online gaming business is, the more ingenious strategy mix you will need to use. Focus on channels that will best reach your target and emphasize on creating a one of a kind experience that will keep players coming back.
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