Video Game Marketing 101: Best Strategies And Tips To Increase Your Game Visibility & Success
by Ievgen Dubravin Last update: August 28, 2024
💡 Highlights
- It is possible to promote a video game even with a limited budget.
- Cross-promotion is one of the success strategies for video game marketing.
- Solid partnerships with influencers may give a new target audience.
- SEO and content marketing give long-term advantages.
- Events like the Tokyo Game Show, E3, Gamescom, or PAX are great promotion methods.
- Ads on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok bring potential players.
The modern video game market is skyrocketing, offering new games every month, from AAA releases to indie games. If you are a game developer and want to attract more players to your title, you need to be aware of video game marketing and its main tactics. We have lined up the most successful marketing methods that may help you promote your game to a new audience.
The Importance Of Game Marketing
According to Statista, the leading gaming developers are Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts (EA), Take-Two Interactive, Ubisoft Entertainment, and some others that you have definitely heard of. And still, despite their undoubted popularity, they invest millions to promote their new games online.
Digital marketing for the gaming industry is the main way to promote new products via search engines, social media, and influencer collaborations. Why is it so important? Thanks to the right marketing tools, you may find the appropriate audience, create a fan base, and receive pre-orders before the game launches.
Moreover, effective game marketing can significantly boost brand awareness. This means your product will gain recognition among gamers, expanding the brand’s reach and increasing your profit.
Effective Video Game Marketing Strategies
Various video game marketing strategies, such as cross-promotion, social media engagement, content marketing, target advertising, and others, may help in effective growth. Let’s discover top-notch methods for marketing games online.
Cross-promotion
Cross-promotion is a strategy used in marketing to gamers, which includes cooperation with other top-rated brands, platforms, or franchises to achieve more popularity and enhance visibility. Thus, you can tap the existing audience of your partners, counting on enhanced credibility. Think about it: if your product is promoted by well-known and reputable brands in the gaming area, players may trust the brand they already know and try the promoted game.
The Fortnite x Marvel collaboration is an example of successful cross-promotion. Epic Games cooperates with Marvel to bring various characters to Fortnite and create in-game events that attract the attention of numerous fans of both franchises.
| Pros | Cons |
| Fast access to a new audience | Creative differences |
| Boosted trust from fans | Possible negative associations |
| Shared resources | |
| Unique thematic events |
About GameTree Promotional Program
If you seek a solid cross-promotional partner, our promotional program at GameTree will be an excellent pick for game marketing. We offer customized promotional campaigns that help you target a suitable audience according to your game genre and features. GameTree is a new-generation gaming platform that provides personalized game recommendations to its users. Thus, you can be sure you’ll reach your target audience without spending an AAA title’s marketing budget.
Partnering with GameTree, you can promote your gaming product to 1,000,000+ potential players. In addition, you’ll get valuable information about your game’s performance with our comprehensive analytics tools, thus understanding your audience better and being able to improve your product features and optimize your game’s appeal and success.
Ready to take your game to the next level? Don’t wait for the perfect moment; seize the opportunity now. Fill out an application for cooperation and make sure your game is discovered by the right audience.
Influencer Partnerships
According to comments on Reddit, many indie developers do understand the influence of bloggers in the gaming industry but don’t know how to use it to their profit. Influencers have one thing you don’t have yet – users’ trust, so you can use it to your benefit by collaborating with them.
Working with bloggers includes content creation, posting reviews, game tutorials for followers, personal recommendations, etc. Another effective indie game marketing strategy is collaboration with bloggers to organize raffles or contests. This attracts a new audience to your game and fosters a sense of community among potential players, making them feel more connected and engaged.
| Pros | Cons |
| Different demographic audience groups | Unpredictable results |
| Authentic recommendations | Possible reputation risks |
| Increased trust | |
| Flexible budget plans |
Social Media Engagement
Social platforms are excellent tools in any video game marketing campaign if you want to create a community for gamers’ engagement and real-time feedback. YouTube or other streaming platforms may be useful to show the game process, creating a wide range of real-time video content, attracting the attention of numerous fans.
Discord, GameTree, Reddit, Twitter (X), and other social platforms for gamers can make your title more recognizable and allow gamers to follow your brand, engage in conversations, etc. Having a social media channel costs nearly nothing, but a proper strategy can bring you more sales.
| Pros | Cons |
| Direct interaction with game fans | Not fast results |
| Boosted reach and visibility | The need for community management |
| Cost-effective solution | Possible public criticism |
| A wide range of content formats | Algorithm dependence |
| Real-time feedback |
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
If your game has an official website (and we hope it does), you may catch organic traffic. In this case, SEO will become an integral part of marketing for games. It is a cost-effective solution that guarantees boosted brand trust. Simply put, your game will be easily accessible via search engines and more people will find it.
Though search engine optimization is a cost-effective option, it works only in the long run. It requires a thought-out strategy, consistent SEO experts’ work, and valuable content creation. If you’re releasing the game in a month or don’t have enough resources for regular SEO work, this method won’t work for you.
| Pros | Cons |
| Considerable organic traffic | Time-consuming strategy |
| Cost-effective solution | Constant algorithm changes |
| Boosted brand trust | The need for technical skills |
Content Marketing
User-generated content is another powerful game marketing strategy, especially for companies with limited budgets. Players create content in any format, such as screenshots, videos, reviews, or fan art, and tag your brand’s social media profile. Your task is to encourage them to do so and interact with them. Pay special attention to Twitch and YouTube streamers – they promote your game by simply playing it!
Though UGC is hard to analyze in marketing terms, it’s still a huge source of free content and native promotion. Yet, be careful if you want to use the content creators share – it may be protected with copyright.
| Pros | Cons |
| Advanced brand loyalty | Resource and time-intensive |
| Reasonable budgets | Issues with tracking effectiveness |
| Boosted SEO results | |
| Long-term advantages |
User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content is another powerful game marketing strategy, as it always has more trust from the audience. Players can use any format, such as screenshots, videos, reviews, or fan art, and tag your brand’s social media profile. You may encourage users to create unique content by organizing contests with prizes. Moreover, I advice you to pay special attention to the videos and live-streaming of the game process that players will provide. This format is trendy on Twitch and YouTube platforms.
| Pros | Cons |
| Increased trust | No content quality control |
| Cost-effective solution | No analytics tracking |
| Different content types | Possible intellectual property issues |
App Store Optimization (ASO)
How to market an indie game via app store optimization (ASO)? It is also a crucial stage of marketing that can significantly boost your mobile game’s visibility and conversion rate. App store optimization makes your game stand out on app store pages, increasing the chances of attracting potential players. It boosts your mobile game’s visibility and conversion rate in the Google Play and App Store.
| Pros | Cons |
| Better conversion rates | Possible algorithm challenges |
| Organic growth | Long time required |
| Featured placements | High competition |
Targeted Advertising
Indie game marketing also involves using targeted advertising based on audience features. These paid ads can be placed on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and video platforms YouTube and Twitch.
With targeted advertising, you can reach potential players interested in your game on specific platforms. The major con of this video game marketing approach is that it is paid, and you should have a big budget to manage it properly. On the other hand, it will give you hot leads – people who are interested in your game and are ready to download it.
| Pros | Cons |
| High conversion rate | Possible misalignment of ads |
| Personalized ads | Technically complex tools |
| Various budget plans |
Press Outreach
Another essential element of video game marketing strategy is publishing press releases, interviews, and news on third-party sites. These can be free publications and the inclusion of your game in ratings. Moreover, you can use a paid format for content placement if you have the necessary budget.
Press outreach is needed to increase brand awareness, trust, and interest in the game. You can reach new audiences by posting news and press releases, gaining industry recognition and validation from reputable journalists, and boosting pre-orders and sales.
| Pros | Cons |
| Boosted visibility among the audience | High competition in the gaming area |
| Cost-effective marketing method | Time and effort |
| Long-term results |
Event Participation
Finally, attending industry events is also a part of game marketing. You may find fascinating gaming events to promote your product, connect with potential players, and create solid relationships within the industry. Yet, keep in mind that participation in such events is paid and it costs a fortune, so think twice whether this approach is for you.
Such events may be local or international, including major conventions and even online webinars. If you want to join the AAA community, attend well-known events like the Tokyo Game Show, E3, Gamescom, or PAX. Yet, if you’re just at the beginning of your journey, it’s better to focus on more niche, local indie events.
| Pros | Cons |
| Increased brand awareness | Considerable cost |
| Fresh feedback and insights | Unpredictable results |
| Industry connections |
Crucial Steps In Any Video Game Marketing Plan
Video game marketing involves numerous steps, but we can divide them into three categories – pre-launch marketing, day-launch marketing, and post-launch activities. Let’s discuss each of them.
Pre-launch Marketing
Pre-launch marketing in the gaming industry begins with familiarizing the target audience with your game while it’s still in the development stage. Sure, you need to create teaser campaigns and publish them to boost the anticipation and curiosity of potential audiences.
Moreover, it’s crucial to create a community around your game where fans discuss all topics, share some content, and interact. To be candid, our GameTree app will be a masterful place for like-minded people to share their thoughts on your future game. Furthermore, you may utilize Discord, Reddit, or other social media to let the audience know about your next title. Another brilliant idea is to write to well-known gaming bloggers to start promotion campaigns.
Last but not least, you may suggest beta testing and pre-order options with exclusive bonuses for fans. You can offer privileged in-game items, early access, or special editions for fans who will share reviews about the beta.
Day-launch Marketing
Day-launch game marketing is a wow event for both developers and fans. On this day, you may host a live stream to show gameplay demonstrations and organize giveaways to attract a broader audience to a new product. What’s more, you can host developer Q&A sessions to answer questions from players.
Do not overlook collaboration with influencers to stream the game presented in real-time and engage new fans. You may also provide day discounts for new gamers or propose exclusive in-game items to boost purchases.
Post-launch Marketing Activities
After the game is finally released, and you’ve got your first players, marketing activities are not over. It is time for post-launch marketing to keep interest in your game product and attract even more players. Release updates, interact with gamers via all marketing channels, ask them for feedback, and organize in-game events with generous prizes.
You may also collaborate with influencers and launch paid advertising campaigns like Facebook and Google, targeting new players.
Post-launch marketing of video games also includes processing each fan’s reviews, including negative ones. You should show that your brand wants to grow and improve its popularity. Besides, you may plan special in-game events or promotional campaigns for holidays and anniversaries.
The Dos And Don’ts Of Indie Game Marketing
Do:
Don’t:
GameTree – Your Best Solution To Marketing A Video Game
How to market a video game? You may try the GameTree promotional program and be sure your game will find its audience. We are a progressive community with over 1 million users and may become your effective promotional space without effort.
You only need to present your indie game on our platform, get it reviewed and ranked, and steadily grow your audience within GameTree and beyond it. Our unique algorithms let gamers find titles according to their interests and skills, so you will quickly gain a loyal fan base that will support you. Whether you’re creating an indie game or an AAA title, GameTree will boost your success and connect you to the gamers’ world. Sign up for our promotional program and achieve sustainable results!
