How to market your mobile game in 2016

8 years 4 months ago

The programming has been done, the game is up, the marketing materials have been created.  Now it is time to get people to see it.  You have a number of options, and there is no silver bullet.  Here are the methods that we have used so far to promote Edges - A Fun Puzzle Challenge.

It should be noted that you need to get some initial reviews on the app store before you really start spending money.  Plead with your friends to help.  We were lucky enough to have alot of friends supporting us.

Facebook Ads

If you are going to pay for advertising, it is hard to find a better place to put your money.  We have run a number of campaigns on Facebook and have learned alot.  The benefits are easy to outline, you get to show a video that autoplays to an audience of your choice.  The issue you may come up with is that it is hard for this method to be profitable.  The cost to get an install may well be more that what a user to your game actually brings you in return.  However, this is the best way to get people to actually take a look and install your game.

A few tips for Facebook Ads:

  • Make sure you include the Facebook SDK in your app before you launch.  Without this you will not be able to track which ads are actually generating results.
  • Use the custom audiences to remarket to people who have watched your video.  After a big ad blast you can get some valuable audiences that know who you are, these people are highly valuable to you and you can remessage to them cheaply.
  • Be prepared to spend more money than you are taking in.  The cost per installs are rising daily.
  • Use this opportunity to not only get the word out, but to find who your audience actually is.  Age, gender, and interests.

Review Sites

Use the free ones!  Here is a list that we have used.  This is a slow process for sure, but it is the best bang for your buck on getting noticed.

Social Media

This is also a free avenue.  You should at least have Facebook and Twitter.  Do everything you can to get likes on Facebook and get your friends sharing your content.  For Twitter, find hashtags that are relevant and tweet often.  The beauty of twitter is that you can reach people for free all day long through trending hashtags.  It may not immediately pay off, but the more followers you gain the more people will retweet and the more your app will be seen.

Build More Games!

Every game you make builds your brand and helps your other games get noticed.

Anything I missed?

We certainly could use more information on what to do.  It has been hard to get our paid game off the ground.  You have to keep pushing forward, for most games it seems like it is more of a marathon than a sprint.  Every bit of exposure helps.

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