Organic Marketing Channels

1. Overview

In the previous tutorial you explored types of user acquisition, both paid and organic sources and why you need both metrics to analyze and balancing marketing efforts with actual gameplay/game design.

In this tutorial you’ll be exploring organic marketing channels, with specific examples and some tips. Explore these different channels in more depth so you can pick what’s best for your game!

In this tutorial you'll explore how to use organic marketing channels to:

• Optimize your App store

• Build your list

• Build your audience

• Use content marketing to stand out from the crowd

• Grow your app

2. App Store Optimization (ASO)

In the digital marketing world, search engine optimization (SEO) is known as the most valuable, long-term, and inexpensive solution to marketing.

In the app store ecosystem, this is known as ASO. ASO is the ongoing process of testing and measuring updates to app store marketing assets, with the goal of increasing visibility and driving more downloads.

The idea behind app store optimization (ASO) is that by using the right title, keywords in the description, and images, you can make your game more discoverable within an app store that contains millions of apps.

Just like search engines do with SEO, there are many (likely hundreds) of ranking factors that determine which app is shown to a particular user.

Some of the most important ranking factors include:

• The name you give your app

• The image you use in the description

• The number of ratings

Many app stores are also becoming smarter, and look for other signals (such as update frequency, number of reviews, and average review score) to rank apps.

But don’t try to game the system by manipulating these elements – it doesn’t pay. Your app description should be as natural and authentic as possible.

3. Optimize your app store presence

There are eight key things you can do to ensure your app store is optimized:

1. Include a strategic keyword in your title

1. Write an engaging, detailed description

1. Create engaging visual assets

1. Use eye-catching screenshots

1. Ask for reviews and ratings

1. Reward your users

1. Make frequent updates

1. Test different variations

Explore them in more detail next!

4. Include a strategic keyword in your title

The title of your app in the app store is arguably the most important element of ASO, because it’s the most obvious when displaying search results. Apple App Store and Google Play Store heavily scrape for keywords in an app’s title.

Make sure that you name your app appropriately and find the balance between being concise, unique and relevant. The challenge is that you need to be clear, catchy, and include a keyword in less than 30 characters (Apple) or 50 characters (Google).

There are many keyword tools available online such as keywordtool.io. One way to do this is to choose a relatively short name and then add up to three keywords as a description. Consider the following examples:

• Splash – First Person Shooter

• Wild West – Shooter Game

• Conqueror – Strategy Game

5. Write an engaging, detailed description

Your description is where you can go into more detail about why someone would want to use or app or play your game. Include strategic keywords, and consider adding things like game review websites you’ve been featured on and testimonials from players.

Find ways to call out certain parts of the text within your description to make it easier for people to scan. One example is to use bulleted lists of features to quickly provide information about the app. While this is a good opportunity to add keywords to your description, don’t insert them just for the sake of including them.

Make your description as natural (or organic) and useful to your potential players as possible. Remember that the first 100 characters are visible before the user has to click “more” to read the rest of the description, so it’s important to make your first sentence or two the most engaging.

Top Tip: For Apple's App Store description, the first three lines of the description field should give potential users the core description of your app. Since iOS 11, only the first three lines of text are shown before displaying the “more” button to expand the description.

6. Create engaging visual assets

The icon of your app is the first point of engagement for many potential users. Research shows that a great icon can significantly increase potential user interest and app downloads!

Changes can happen in the sticky header in the Apple App Store so this is why it is so important to have a good icon.

7. Use eye-catching screenshots

The main overall message that you’re trying to send to app stores is that your game is popular, as measured by:

• The number of downloads

• How frequently it’s downloaded

• Your ratings in the store.

You need to maintain a conversion-focused mindset, and include screenshots that will make someone more likely to download your app. Each screenshot should showcase a different feature or aspect of your app, and include visible callout text that incorporates keywords.

Even though you’re allowed to add many images, only the first three screenshots are featured in the search results. You can include a short video and use a thumbnail image as one of those three screenshots to help you stand out.

8. Ask for reviews and ratings

When it comes to ASO, app stores want to provide the most value for their users. If two games in the app store are relatively similar, the app store will choose to surface the one with a combination of a higher number of reviews and a higher overall score. This is why it’s crucial for you to get good ratings early on.

The easiest way for you to collect reviews from your players is to use the native review functionality provided by app stores like Apple and Google, so that it’s a one-click review process.

To get the best results, you need to collect the right kind of feedback at the right time. If you prompt some of your early users after a positive experience in your game, like when a player wins a level, they’ll be more likely to give you a positive review. It can also be valuable to be responsive to your community and respond back to reviews.

9. Reward your users

You can also reward users with in game currency (similar to a rewarded ad mechanic) in order to prompt users to want to give a review.

Do your research at the App and Google store for many example games with good reviews to get some inspiration!

10. Make frequent updates

App stores tend to display new or fresh apps, so you should update your app frequently. App stores like to see that the app is actively being maintained, there are no major bugs, and that it works on the latest devices.

As you continue to make updates, you should consider your paid ad strategy as well. If you’re updating icons in the app store, for example, it’s a good practice to ensure your ad reflects those changes to keep their experience of your app consistent. This is important for both visuals and the description itself.

11. Test different variations

Using testing platforms like Google Experiments or StoreMaven, you should continually test how you present your game to refine and optimize your results. Those tools allow you to A/B test your screenshots, titles, descriptions, and more. It’s rare that someone gets it perfect on the first try, but if you keep testing, you’ll learn what works for you.

Now that you have considered eight key things you can do to optimize your app store presence, it's a good idea to analyze how your own app or game is presented if you’re ready to do so.

If you are not there yet, create an action plan to help you prepare to optimize your app store presence.

Next, let’s consider the importance of public relations and media.

12. PR and Media

Getting press for the launch of your game can be one of the greatest marketing achievements. This is incredibly tough to do, but if you’re successful it can drive consistent, quality players for a long time.

Grow your contacts

The key to attracting press attention is to build your list of suitable media contacts, create real relationships, and craft a perfect pitch. To start building your list, you can use a tool like BuzzSumo to discover the most popular pieces of content for a certain subject.

For example, if you search for “mobile games” you can filter the results to find the most popular pieces of content. Once you have this list, you will be able to identify types of websites you’ll want to target and their authors. You can also export all of this data into a CSV file, to analyze the information further.

With this list, you now know who you need to start following on social media.

You can also use a tool like JustReachOut.io to find similar lists of contacts along with their email addresses. Another helpful tool for finding a journalist’s email is emailfinder.io.

Pitch your app

Journalists like to be pitched by email, and want the email to be short, relevant, and timely. Don’t send an email until you’ve built up a bit of a relationship with that person (for example, retweeting their content or commenting on one of their posts). Engage with them authentically, and begin to show them who you are.

Once you’ve established some type of relationship with them, send them a short email about why your game would be relevant to their audience. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t receive an immediate response. You may need to send several emails before one of them hits the right target. This can be a long process, but it’s a rewarding one.

Now that you have learned how you can establish relationships and build your list, let’s consider how you can use content to market your game.

13. Content Marketing

Creating content like blog posts, videos, or tutorials can be one of your most powerful channels to build an audience. It’s cost-effective, can help you build your brand for the long term, and can reach millions of people.

Content marketing isn’t new: on WordPress alone (one of the most popular blogging platforms), 70 million new blog posts are created every month. Over 300 hours of video content are uploaded to YouTube every hour. It’s becoming harder than ever to differentiate yourself in a crowded marketplace. Effective and engaging content marketing also takes time.

If you’re looking to build a long-term brand and become known as an authority in a particular area(for example, game development, game design, or idol games), then content marketing could be right for you. You may need to experiment with different forms of content marketing, to identify what is:

• The best to increase your audience the most

• The easiest for you to produce

1. Identify your topic

To be successful, find a topic that you’re knowledgeable and passionate about, that you want people to associate with you and your brand, and that could help others. The best content is:

• Authentic

• Transparent

• Detailed

A simple example, and an easy way to differentiate yourself from other apps, is to document the journey of building your game from beginning to end. Imagine how powerful a story that could be, walking through the game development process, showing all of the gameplay design and giving players a taste of what to expect.

2. Create the content

Creating that content is actually quite easy to do – you just need to be deliberate about your actions. You still create the same game, but you take a bit of extra time to write down some insights throughout your day, or take some photos while it’s being created.

3. Share your content

Once that content is created, you can reach out to websites and blogs that write about game development or game design, and ask them if their readers would be interested in your behind-the-scenes story. You’ll be surprised at how many people take you up on your offer. Remember that those websites are constantly looking for new content for their users as well, so it’s a win-win for both of you.

14. Content Marketing: Case Study

An example of successful content marketing is Brawl Stars, by Supercell.

Their YouTube channel has over three million subscribers. They have various types of videos that they upload, including live streams of the game and appearances from popular influencers. You’ll explore influencer marketing in more detail in Paid Marketing Channels

Now let's look at an unconventional way to market your game organically: Guerilla Marketing.

15. Guerrilla Marketing

After all of the work you put into developing your game, you want to get as much exposure for it as possible (without spamming website comment sections). You need to put in the hours to promote your game to the right people. The good thing about this strategy is that it’s completely free. However, it requires a massive time investment.

Consider the following ideas for using guerilla marketing to promote your game:

Partnering with game websites

You can get a lot of attention for your game by partnering with existing game websites like IGN, GameSpot, or PocketGamer.Biz. These websites are constantly looking for new content to please their audiences, so if your pitch is solid, then they’re likely to say yes to writing about your game. One tactic you can try is to offer an exclusive to the website’s audience, like a unique coupon code or custom piece of content.

Just like when you share your content, you need to engage with others in the most authentic way possible. Try to the authors of content that you like, connect with them on social media, and build a real relationship with them. This increases the likelihood of receiving a warm response when you reach out to them about your game.

Targeted social media posts

One of the most underused features of social media apps like Facebook and Linkedin are the groups. There are thousands of groups on those platforms where you can connect with people sharing any interest or profession. These include channels where game developers can talk shop, gamers can discover new games, and game review websites can find fresh content. If you can be a part of those groups, it will make your launch even easier.

While traditional social media websites like Facebook and Twitter can work well, look for niche websites that are more relevant to your audience. For example, Discord is a dedicated, topic/forum based messaging and communication software made specifically for gamers. Focusing your efforts on this platform may bring you better value. Depending on the audience you’re looking for, websites like Reddit or Steam Community could bring you much higher return on your investment.

Similarly, you may be able to tap into less obvious but relevant communities with sites like Quora and Stack Overflow. But be careful not to spam the group. The best approach is to be authentic, as an actual member of the group participating in other discussions and adding real value. If you make it all about you and your game, no one will care. If you take the time to build up your name within the community, it could pay real dividends.

An even less obvious choice is using your own game app to grow your game. Let's explore how you can leverage your own app to grow.

16. In-app growth: Referral growth strategy

When most people think about marketing their app, they think about different channels like social media or paid ads, but often one of the most powerful levers of growth isn’t even a channel at all. It’s your own app!

If you manage to build a referral system within your app, it could be one of the biggest drivers of growth for your game out of every one of these marketing channels.

How can it work in practice?

Dropbox, a cloud-based file storage solution, grew 3900% over 15 months almost entirely from their simple but effective referral strategy. The idea was to use their own users to fuel exponential growth in the company’s early days. Dropbox offered additional storage to people if they referred their friends. The referral program was effective because:

• It was directly tied to the usage of their product

• The more people that were invited, the more people would use the storage

• Users started becoming hooked

• This created a viral loop of referrals

The most remarkable part of the story is that Dropbox achieves this growth within 15 months. In September 2008, they had about 100,000 users. By December 2009, they had 4 million users.

Identifying the right point for referrals

Of course,Dropbox's Growth wasn’t due exclusively to referrals, but they’re one of the most famous cases of a successful referral program. The key is to identify the best moment to prompt a player to refer someone. Make it at the most relevant and appropriate time for your players. For example, Dropbox included theirs in the final step of the onboarding stage. This makes sense for them: their target users are eager to start storing their files, so it makes sense that they would get excited about extra storage.

Most referral programs within a game use incentives to invite friends to play, so you should also think about how you could make your game more compelling by adding social elements. Ask yourself if there’s a way to make the game even better when you play with or compete against your friends. Let's look at some tips next!

17. In-app growth: Tips to create a referral strategy

The best way to create an effective referral strategy is to:

• Make the referral process part of the gameplay design

• Make your referral program feel natural

Research shows that referral programs work. A study by the University of Pennsylvania found that referred customers were more profitable and more loyal than customers acquired by other channels.

Nielsen also conducted a consumer survey which showed that “recommendations from people I know” was rated as the most important influence on customers’ buying habits.

Perhaps the most interesting piece of research is a Texas Tech University finding that 83% of consumers are willing to refer after a positive experience, yet only 29% actually do.

This research suggests that referral strategies offer an amazing opportunity to drive growth if they are correctly implemented.. Your customers are also more than happy to refer other people if you ask them nicely, and at the right moment.

18. In-app growth: Cross-promotion

If you have a portfolio of apps, another way to leverage your own app is through cross-promotion.

This strategy involves introducing your existing player base to your other games. This means you can benefit from player brand-recognition and loyalty, especially if your games are within the same genre.

Now you have learned there are so many organic ways to market your game, you may be wondering how you will decide what to do when. Next, you’ll explore some tips on how to prioritize.

19. Deciding which channels are right and how to prioritize

Your app store listing is essentially a website for your game and something you should really focus on.

Either through organic discovery, any of the channels mentioned above, or paid efforts, potential users will arrive at app store listing before ultimately converting and installing your game.

Making the most of this page and continuing to optimize this page should be the main focus of your organic efforts.

The other channels will come down to time and resources. In the next tutorial, you’ll explore paid user acquisition channels. Once you’ve done this, you can evaluate all of your channels and decide which ones make the most sense for you to focus on.

Things can change and you can also always add channels to your marketing mix later on. Remember, use a testing mindset and be open to trying out various things before you find what works for you.

20. Summary

In this tutorial, you have explored how to:

• Optimize your App store

• Build your list

• Build your audience

• Use content marketing to stand out from the crowd

• Grow your app

In the next tutorial you’ll:

• Explore types of paid user acquisition

• Explore the ad ecosystem

• Investigate what to consider when selecting ad networks and platforms

• Explore attribution and mobile measurement partners