In the ever-evolving landscape of mobile applications, gaming apps have risen to unprecedented heights, establishing their dominance in the competitive mobile app market. The games segment is the largest and highest-earning category for mobile apps and generates approximately 60% of total app revenue worldwide.
The rise of smartphones and tablets has fueled the popularity of gaming apps, providing people with an accessible and enjoyable source of entertainment. With an abundance of games catering to different preferences and age groups, from casual puzzles to immersive multiplayer adventures, the gaming app industry has become fiercely competitive and financially lucrative.
In this article, we will preview creative strategies that are designed to captivate, convert, and capitalize on the opportunities presented by mobile advertising, to maximize your gaming app’s earning potential.
Quick Links
- Creative Strategies to Boost App Downloads
- Creative Strategies to Win Back Your Lapsed Users
- How to Avoid Creative Fatigue in Mobile Games Creatives
- Conclusion
Creative Strategies to Boost App Downloads
- Show users what’s new in your app
Showing your audience what’s new in your app creates a sense of excitement and anticipation around new content and features. By regularly updating and highlighting these additions, you not only keep users engaged and interested but also foster long-term user retention and satisfaction, as they continuously discover and enjoy the latest enhancements your app has to offer.
- Highlight gameplay boosters, levels, mini-games
When you bring gameplay boosters, levels, and mini-games into the spotlight, you unlock several benefits. Your users will be enthused by the added variety these features bring, injecting fresh energy into the gaming experience. By offering new challenges, rewards, and moments of delight, you create an immersive journey that increases app usage and fosters a loyal and enthusiastic user base.
- Put game characters in focus
Focusing on game characters, especially if they are well-known and well-liked, helps create an emotional connection between the game and the player. Highlighting popular game characters can also attract new users who are drawn to their familiarity and reputation, expanding your app’s reach and potential user base. This strategy can enhance the overall player experience and foster a dedicated community of enthusiastic fans.
- Show a gameplay comparison between a player and another person
Incorporating a gameplay comparison feature into a gaming app is effective at motivating users to improve their skills and beat their peers. With feedback prompts such as “You’re Losing,” “You Can Do Better,” or “Dare to Challenge?”, players are encouraged to surpass their own personal bests, becoming more engaged with their gaming buddies. Furthermore, the gameplay comparison feature cultivates a sense of community and social interaction, leading to heightened social engagement and exciting multiplayer experiences.
Creative Strategies to Win Back Your Lapsed Users
- Provide daily game bonuses or perks
Daily game bonuses (or perks) in a gaming app encourage users to play the game more frequently and incorporate the game into their daily routines. These bonuses can include anything from in-game currency to exclusive items, power-ups, or boosts, that are only available for a limited period. Additionally, daily bonuses can help users progress through the game more quickly and provide a sense of accomplishment, which can further encourage them to continue playing and exploring the app.
- Feature limited-time or recurring game events
Limited-time or recurring game events in a gaming app can create a sense of urgency among users, encouraging them to play the game more frequently. These events can include special challenges, competitions, or rewards that are only available for a limited period of time, such as holidays, seasonal events, or in-game celebrations. By providing users with unique and exclusive content that is only available for a limited time, the app can increase user retention, drive engagement, and create a more vibrant and dynamic community of players.
- Help the users with some tips and tricks
Providing users with helpful information and advice on how to play the game proves particularly beneficial for inexperienced players. This extra coaching makes it more likely they will find the game satisfying and enjoyable, and more likely to become regular users.
- Incorporate seasonal elements into your design
Seasonal design elements add a touch of freshness and relevance to your app, capturing the attention and interest of users. By aligning your design with the current season using festive holiday decorations, thematic backgrounds, or special events, you can create a more dynamic and captivating gaming environment.
How to Avoid Ad Fatigue in Mobile Games Creatives
We can all recall a specific TV commercial that caught our attention with its creativity and intriguing storyline but rapidly became annoying once seen it too many times. Slowly but surely, positive sentiment will erode over time if advertising frequency rates are not carefully guarded.
Ad fatigue is a phenomenon that affects mobile ads as well, causing users to experience a sense of boredom, irritation, or disengagement when the ad has been seen too many times.
Ad fatigue can be a significant challenge for marketers and advertisers, decreasing the return on investment (ROI) for longer campaigns. To address this, various strategies can be employed, such as altering creative elements, targeting different user segments, and adjusting ad frequency and placement. A solid creative strategy is helpful but below are some other effective approaches to help combat ad fatigue.
- The power of ad formats
Choosing the right ad formats for each campaign objective is a crucial decision that can significantly impact the success of an advertising campaign. Different ad formats offer unique advantages and are suited to specific campaign goals. For instance, if the campaign objective is to raise brand awareness, visually engaging formats like display ads, video ads, or interactive rich media ads work best. By aligning the ad format with the campaign objective, advertisers can optimize their ad messaging, creative elements, and targeting, to achieve the desired outcome.
- Mastering Metrics
Monitoring the metrics that align with each campaign objective is key for a successful advertising campaign, whether it’s focused on retargeting or user acquisition.
Each campaign objective requires specific metrics to assess the effectiveness and track progress. By clearly defining the campaign objective and identifying the relevant metrics, advertisers can gain valuable insights, improve their performance, and make data-driven decisions to optimize their advertising efforts. The metrics worth analyzing to evaluate the effectiveness of a creative strategy are Click-through Rate (CTR), Install Rate (IR) Conversion Rate (CR), and Cost per Install (CPI). Jump to the BONUS section of this article for more details.
- Continuous Testing
In a highly competitive app market, it’s essential to continually test and iterate different elements of the marketing strategy to optimize performance. By running experiments and analyzing the results, marketers can gather valuable data and insights to make informed decisions and achieve better results in their mobile app marketing efforts.
One effective method for analyzing and evaluating the effectiveness of a creative strategy is through Variant testing. The process identifies the top-performing ad, known as the “champion,” and continues with new iterations to introduce fresh “challengers”. This ensures the winning creative stays relevant, allowing advertisers to maximize effectiveness and increase campaign success.
BONUS: Ad Creative Tool Kit
Need more detail? Download our Creative Tool Kit and get actionable insights on:
- Choosing the right ad format to scale your campaign
- Creative strategies by vertical
- Helpful tips for the design of your ad creative
Conclusion
Effective creative strategies are essential for achieving success in gaming app marketing campaigns. In a highly competitive market, it is crucial to implement strategies that not only captivate but also engage users. By constantly testing and iterating, advertisers can make informed, data-driven decisions to enhance the effectiveness of their mobile app marketing efforts. To discover how Aarki can assist you in this journey, feel free to reach out to us by sending a message.