3 Marketing strategies available to independent game developers

In some obscure places there are companies like Hogrocket, an independent studio based on the iOS platform to develop a puzzle game, Tiny invaders, which has bizarre creations (which created the Geometry War). The working background of the AAA-rated gaming company.

They all have a triple-a marketing theory that keeps the game secret before it is released, is closer to the journalist than the user, and insists that mass distribution is the way to push the game to release itself.

Other sites, such as spilt Milk Studios and gamesbrief, also talk a lot about game marketing (such as spilt Milk's series of Game marketing Diaries).

Between the two types is an independent developer like Positech, whose game developer, Cliff Harris, has invested a lot of money in partnering with Google to promote the marketing of its games (such as "The Nonsense Space campaign" and "Democracy 2") and to focus on marketing benefits. Cliff that if independent developers do not play marketing, it is tantamount to a waste of resources. So for the independent game, what is the most suitable marketing strategy, what kind of marketing strategy for your business model?

1. Biching Marketing Strategy

This is a strategy that most people think of when considering game marketing. The retail nature of traditional games drives the emergence of this strategy. In the physical world of AAA games, you have only one marketing opportunity. The issue date is the key to this kind of marketing. And all the data is important.

A chief financial officer from one of the top 5 publishers in the world told me he was able to predict whether all of its sales would break through 10,000 according to the first week of the game. Good sales means that retailers will continue to place the product on the shelves by ordering it again. The digital distribution platform emphasizes this point. Visible distribution of the first week of marketing will determine the success or failure of a game.

There is no doubt that many of the game's marketing through careful planning to meet the game release this day, the game companies have to plan to release the PR news, advertising marketing in television, to professional media and outdoor platform to put ads. If a game fails, then all the people will quickly move to the next masterpiece of marketing planning work. This is an expensive, focused and risky strategy.

While this strategy works, you have only one chance. In the triple-a industry, all big issuers with financial resources and risk appetite dare to bet. But for independent developers, they are not able to take the risk and should not do so.

2. Data parameter-oriented marketing approach

This is about marketing that is influenced by data parameter standards, without the need to consider factors such as publicity, PR, collaborators, and retailers. This is an analytical but ruthless approach. By using Google keyword ads, Facebook ads and proxy alliances to attract users and push users to gradually turn into buyers.

This approach is extremely decisive and ruthless in analysis. Agent league? Abandon it. Google advertising is not effective? Change it. Rather than having fun, this approach focuses more on finding users and turning them into buyers, prompting them to spend more. Note that this approach is not related to the design of feedback parameters that are used by most social game developers.

Data-driven marketing campaigns can be a free MMO, a traditional hard core download game, or any game that needs to be introduced to users. "Gratuitous space battles" developer Cliff Harris is not a champion of free games, he is also strongly advocating this type of marketing. He believes that everyone who makes a living by making a game should be good at this kind of marketing, after all: it's like a real time strategy game, but unfortunately we have to invest real money to get points.

Zero-budget-indie-marketing-guide (from creativefluff.com)

3. Franchise Marketing

This is a marketing strategy that needs to establish a long-term relationship with the user. Interact with users by releasing content for free, selling products to them, and encouraging them to share product-related content with their friends.

Seth Godin (game State Note: Yahoo's former vice president, high-yielding international best-selling book author, one of the most influential business thinkers of the day) is the originator of franchise marketing. He has numerous publications related to the subject, which I cannot enumerate, and you can learn about it in purple cow or his blog.

Andrew Smith of the spilt Milk studio has adopted a slightly different approach to implementing the franchise marketing strategy. He uses Twitter, postings, and networks to portray himself as an amiable and different player, more humble and honest, so he gets the trust of fans and the news media, and when Andrew asks someone to forward his tweets or share his promotional content, Everyone will be happy to serve them.

The significance of franchise marketing is that you can establish a long-term close relationship with the user. Your goal is not just to sell things to them, you also need to allow them to remember the person who promoted the game in five years time. That's what AAA marketers don't understand, even if they do it, because users want to communicate with content creators rather than marketers. Therefore, the franchise marketing method is the most suitable for independent developers.

Biching, reference data or contact user? Which method should we use? These three methods are not mutually exclusive. You can use it at the same time (though it will cost you a lot of money and time). Personally, I don't quite agree with the first marketing strategy mentioned above. Because this is more suitable for AAA-rated game distributors. They are more professional, competent and have more resources to cope with the inevitable risks.

I prefer to build friendly relationships with end users (which means you need to know who they are.) If you can't get in touch with them, contact them via email, twitter,facebook,youtube, or your relationship stays in a superficial form.

If you can observe this method and judge whether it is effective or futile, then I think it can be supplemented by a directional, data-oriented marketing approach. I've been in touch with a lot of independent game developers, but when it comes to marketing, their first reaction is PR (a component of put-in marketing) and advertising (a particularly expensive marketing approach). Instead of limiting yourself to these methods, think of yourself as an independent developer, using as many tools and techniques as possible to build a consistent relationship with your users. You're not going to regret this!

This article is from: http://gamerboom.com/archives/37816
Original English: Http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/NicholasLovell/20110919/8398/Three_ways_to_market_your_indie_g