Why should mobile marketers add influencer marketing to the UA mix?
Looking for a comprehensive guide to Influencer Marketing for Mobile Games? Check out our FREE Guide to Unlocking App Growth with Influencers and Podcasts.
Influencer marketing for mobile games has become a more prevalent topic today, with more teams looking to understand the exact benefits of the channel. Whilst many still hold the misconception that it’s largely a vanity channel for brand awareness, the reality is, when executed well, Influencer Marketing can be a powerful channel in the mobile marketing mix – offering many short and long-term benefits – from increased user acquisition to improved brand equity.
That said, influencer marketing is still a relatively under-utilised channel in the mobile game UA mix. Budgets are often insufficient, resources limited, and processes for analysis and measurement are short-sighted.
So if you’re struggling to justify influencer marketing for your mobile game, or on the fence about its value in your marketing and UA mix, here are 5 reasons why you should consider it-
1. Influencer marketing diversifies your UA and marketing mix.
Traditional UA channels for mobile games are becoming increasingly vulnerable to privacy and data regulation changes. Besides, the increasing competition is leading to more ad saturation and rising costs.
This means the frameworks and strategies for success with these channels can easily break down or stop yielding results – which leaves the marketing mix vulnerable if these are the only channels in your mix.
Besides, optimising any channel comes with a learning curve and trial and error. It takes time to figure out the optimal set up and best practices, and if you only implement these channels once your regular traditional once stop working, you’re left with a lag period where you’re not drawing in nearly enough users or revenue.
Diversifying your channel mix from the outset prevents these risks and makes it easy to pivot to or scale alternative channels in case your traditional channels break down or start to stagnate.
2. Leveraging channels like Influencer Marketing for mobile games creates a competitive advantage & differentiation
Traditional UA channels are non-negotiable for MOST game marketers. However, that in turn means these channels have become saturated, and it has become harder to stand out and capture consumer attention through these channels.
On the other hand, not all gaming brands invest in alternative channels like influencer marketing. Less competition from similar gaming brands means your game can really stand out. Besides, channels like Influencer marketing involve content creators presenting their point of view of why they enjoy your game – which not only adds credibility and an authentic endorsement for your game, but also provides creatives that can’t be replicated by competitors, which really helps your brand stand apart from competitors.
3. Influencer marketing can inspire a creative refresh
Traditional ads and branded narratives can get repetitive and inauthentic. It’s also common for teams to hit walls with their creatives.
Leveraging channels like influencer marketing for mobile games, however, shifts the onus for the creative narrative onto content creators. Whilst they follow your brief to guide the general direction of the ad and ensure brand safety and alignment, the rest of the concept falls to them. Besides, influencers know their audiences well – they know what kind of tones, narratives, and content actually engages them- which saves you the deeper consumer research, testing, and iteration needed to figure this out internally.
Embedding your game into influencer content also allows you to leverage multiple narratives simultaneously, which means you can target and appeal to multiple audience segments at the same time.
Additionally, the fresh perspectives and unique ways in which creators weave your game into narratives or the features they choose to emphasise can even inspire your internal creative teams!
4. Influencer Marketing can improve the performance of traditional UA channels and build broader conversations
Leveraging influencer marketing for mobile games builds context, not just clicks.
At first, users may ignore your ads on traditional UA and marketing channels, but start paying attention and taking interest after they hear their favourite creator mention your game.
Beyond driving acquisition, they build trust, and add to the legitimacy of your ads elsewhere.
Besides, even repeated exposure to your game through creator content builds brand equity in the long term. Not all users convert immediately, but these channels can be massively instrumental in building a broader funnel and driving long term growth.
5. Influencer marketing helps reach untapped audiences
Not all users can be reachable through traditional UA channels. Whether it’s banner blindness, ad fatigue, ad blockers, consumer skepticism, or something else – some consumers just won’t respond to ads on traditional channels.
However, it doesn’t mean that these audiences won’t be interested in your mobile game. So how do you reach these consumers?
Even if these consumers don’t respond to traditional ads, they DO follow content creators and influencers across social media.
One of the benefits of Influencer marketing is that promotional content feels less intrusive. Which means that consumers who usually avoid traditional ads are more likely to pay attention to endorsements through influencer channels.
Which means leveraging influencer marketing for mobile games can help you reach audience segments who have the potential to convert, but may otherwise never do so if you stick purely to traditional UA channels.
Influencer Marketing for mobile games: The key to a resilient and dynamic mix
Influencer marketing is an essential part of the mix for industries like beauty, and e-commerce. And whilst streamers are a common part of the mix for hard-core games, influencers are still a less often explored channel for more casual and hybrid casual mobile games!
Contrary to more hardcore PC/Console games, casual mobile games aren’t just for ‘gamers.’ Rather, they’re often positioned as ‘relaxing rituals,’ ‘fun hobbies,’ ‘challenging puzzles,’ and so on. Influencers can be the perfect channel to drive home these narratives through authentic means.
Overall, influencer marketing for mobile games has massive benefits across the funnel. Whilst the strategy, ideal platforms, content types, and so on will all differ based on the type of game, objectives and so on, the fact is, influencer marketing has become essential for building a mobile marketing mix that drives profitable growth in the long term.
Check out our free ‘Guide to Unlocking App Growth with Influencers and Podcasts’ for more insights on how to get started with influencer marketing for mobile games.
If you’re looking to work with an experienced mobile gaming influencer marketing agency, get in touch with our team here.