All right, you claim to have created an interesting game that people will love. It sounds great, except for the fact that if you fail in marketing it, nobody will notice. Undoubtedly, the number of indie gamers is rising, occupying 18% of the total share today, but targeting them successfully can be tricky.
With the competition getting increasingly cutthroat, how can you stand out? We'll help you achieve that by exploring the best indie game marketing strategies, such as creating 3D ads by hiring game outsourcing studios, leveraging social media, and more.
Indie or independent games are developed by individuals or small companies without financial backing from major publishers. When you partner with publishers, they might impose creative limitations on you, which isn't the case with indie game development. Indie game developers have all the freedom to experiment with new game designs and explore various gameplay ideas.
Many people complain that AAA titles have started to seem redundant and boring. Therefore, indie games feel like a breath of fresh air with their distinct art style and storytelling. Some of the most famous examples of indie games include Stardew Valley, LIMBO, Super Meat Boy, Hades, Undertale, and more.
Lack of visibility is one of the major reasons behind the failure of indie games. Let's help you overcome these with these practical and proven game marketing tips.
You don't just want to acquire users; acquiring the right users at the right is what really matters. User acquisition campaigns can be more effective than ever with advanced analytics. As a result, you can design highly targeted campaigns by understanding player preferences and identifying who likes your game most.
Here are some excellent strategies to refine user acquisition in 2024 and beyond:
You can apply these strategies through popular and effective platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Google's Universal App Campaigns have proven invaluable for A/B testing of ad creatives across various networks. Facebook allows you to target new audiences whose preferences match the existing ones, helping you expand your reach.
A successful example is the legendary mobile game Clash Royale, which used A/B testing and lookalike audiences. With these approaches, the Clash Royale team successfully fine-tuned their marketing approach. As a result, every new marketing campaign was more successful than the previous one. Today, around 60 million people play the game, which is only expected to increase.
While you are at it, use 3D ads to reach a wider audience. Evidence suggests that 3D ads can make a brand more appealing to 66% of the audience, which might not be possible otherwise. Moreover, people are likely to share such appealing ads with their friends and family, helping you reach even more people. Hire quality game outsourcing studios to craft appealing 3D ads for your marketing campaigns.
Have you ever watched a short game clip on TikTok and taken aback by the gameplay? You're not alone; it shows how powerful social media can be in indie game marketing. Numbers don't lie: there will be around 6 billion social media users by 2027, a massive market ready to be tapped.
When selecting a social media platform, it is crucial to understand which will serve your needs best. Barring YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Discord, and TikTok are the most popular social media platforms. Here is a small dataset to drive this point home:
You can use Facebook for long posts, Twitter for short descriptions, and Instagram for posting screenshots and concept art.
Make sure you have dedicated accounts and pages for your games where you post regular content. Share thrilling videos, catchy screenshots, and social media-savvy descriptions to keep the audience engaged. Try to experiment with your content and track the progress to know if it's working.
Responding to user messages is an often overlooked part of social media game promotion. People often contact you about gameplay problems or suggestions you should address effectively.
Do you know that 50% of app discoveries happen through app store searches? That is a startling number and tells us why ASO is so crucial for advertising a game. If you want people to discover your game on the app stores, aligning its name, keyword, and description with the store's algorithms is indispensable. Moreover, you must optimize your game for iOS and Android.
Here is how you can optimize your game for the app store.
These ASO techniques can help you make your game more discoverable and appealing to the players.
While it's enticing to go all in and show everyone what you have developed, doing otherwise might be more beneficial. A soft launch means releasing your game to a limited audience, gathering feedback from them, and making necessary changes before you go all guns blazing. Doing this will help you release a flawless final product appealing to a wider audience.
Moreover, a soft launch helps you understand the market sentiment towards your game. With this feedback, you can vastly improve your gameplay mechanics and increase the chances of garnering positive reviews in the long run.
The following tips will help you have a successful soft launch for advertising a game:
The success of your full launch depends heavily on the effectiveness of your soft launch. When you take it gradually, you have a higher chance of fine-tuning your game and impressing the audience.
Around 9% of the global population follows at least one gaming influencer, amounting to 715 million. It shows how impactful gaming influencers are in our age. Connecting with them can create valuable content for your audience and increase your game's visibility. Partnering with influencers will help you reach audiences through blogs, YouTube, and Twitch. According to Twitch Tracker, 26,875 games were streamed on Twitch in the last week alone.
Game influencers have a lot of leeway in the market, with their positive word usually being a highly credible stamp of approval. Moreover, they can include keywords related to your game in their content, which improves your ranking on search engines.
Following are some of the tips that can help you promote your game through influencer marketing:
Having a positive relationship with the influencer community can have a significant impact on the prospects of your game.
In a world of social media where stiff competition is the norm, promoting indie games requires effective marketing strategies. From ASO to social media outreach, all the techniques described in this guide will help you learn how to market your indie game.
Cominted Labs is an affordable game art outsourcing company, offering our creativity at prices that perfectly fit your limited finances. Having worked with over 50 reputed companies, we guarantee the highest quality 3D ads you can get anywhere.
Visit our website and read our testimonials to discover why we are unique. Once you're done, book a call with us and let us help you find a strong footing in indie game marketing.
