Indie Game Marketing: A 2022 Approach

Being an independent developer is not simple, as you most likely already know. You must do everything yourself, not to mention that you must compete in a market that’s crowded. Since the app stores are offering so many games, it might be difficult to stand out so that people download your game to play it. Further, large corporations with large resources are ruthlessly trampling on Indie developers and forcing them out. In other words, the game is rather cruel.

So, when there’s no budget for marketing, how can you advertise the mobile game you have created on your own? Can it compete with the huge gaming studios?

You can do it, even if it may seem impossible at first. Today, an effective mobile marketing game does not need a large sum of money for advertising or the backing of a large corporation. It’s feasible to do the task entirely on your own and on a shoestring budget. All you must do now is master some fundamental indie mobile marketing techniques. And, of course, devote some of your time and efforts to putting your ideas into action.

To simplify things, here’s a quick primer that will walk you through the fundamentals of independent mobile game marketing. Use these tactics if you want your plan to be a success.

Make a Head Start

You may believe that the best moment to begin advertising the mobile game you have created is after your game has been released. And you’d be mistaken. Of course, you must go full speed at the game’s first launch. However, marketing should begin far sooner. Your objective should be to generate a buzz about your game while establishing its community before it’s released. This will make things simpler in the long run.

Create a Website for Your Game 

Your indie game needs a landing page in its first marketing stages. This is how you save all the game’s key information in one spot.

The game’s social media profile is an excellent free option if you’re out of the funds for building a website.

What Should Your Indie Mobile Game Landing Page Contain?

• Links to the App Store and Google Play
• The trailer for the game
• Links to the game’s social media
• A button that prompts you to take action
• Screenshots
• Game critiques
• Updates and news

Monument Valley, Alto’s Adventure, and Limbo are 3 excellent examples. All these games have attractive landing pages and materials that entice you to play the game. This is the primary goal of developing your mobile game’s website.

Build Appealing Visuals for Your Indie Mobile Game

When creating the visuals for your independent mobile game, think outside the box. You need eye-catching visuals if you want your mobile game to be interesting and players to want to download it. This material should be used to advertise the game via social media and for the game’s website to be promoted on social media.

Make an Incredible Trailer and Promotional Video

It’s critical to have a killer game trailer if you want it to be downloaded. The trailer is what draws players in, making them wish to be playing it.

Ensure the trailer tells the plot of your game. Give a glance at the settings and characters. Include part of the gameplay as well, since this is what most people are interested in watching. Make the trailer thrilling, engaging, and captivating.

For app stores, you’ll also need to create an advertising video. The trailer can be used, but only if it’s short, such as a bit over 2 minutes. The duration of the marketing video could be no more than 30 seconds. It should also include the game’s core operations, features, and advantages.

Capture Screenshots That Will Get You Noticed

Screenshots are another visual content type you’ll need to get people to start playing the mobile game you have developed. When players open the app listing, screenshots are the first things they view. This gives them the ability to generate downloads while having little influence on search results.

Ensure you have high-quality screenshots that accurately portray your game. You may post 5 iOS screenshots to 8 Google Play screenshots. Make sure your gallery conveys your game’s narrative and develops anticipation for it. Inform players on what they should anticipate at certain stages.

It’s important to strategically pick the first 2–3 pictures when making screenshots. The problem is that if they don’t scroll, viewers can only take a look at these screenshots.

As a result, your initial pictures must highlight your game’s most significant elements.

Below are some pointers on how to make high-quality screenshots:

• Use images from actual gameplay
• Keep the text to a minimum and avoid cluttering 
• Match your game’s colors
• The orientation of the screenshot should correspond to the game

Finally, test the screenshots. Before launching the game, try numerous snapshot variants. Testing, on the other hand, does not end here. Screenshots are the most often tested of all the app store items.

You may also create icons, animations, and other visuals in addition to screenshots. All these might come in handy when advertising the game you have developed on the social media platforms you are using for advertising.

Make the Most of Social Media

Social media can’t be ignored, as it has users all around the globe, in the numbers of billions. Moreover, social media is the most successful approach to selling your independent mobile game, whether you like it or not.

Remember that you do not need to use all major social media sites because such campaigns could take a lot of time and effort. You can focus on just one or two platforms where your target audience is prevalent. 

Become a Part of the Indie Mobile Game Community

You should participate in independent mobile gaming communities in addition to social networking. Today, no information is off-limits, so if you can easily find contact data of all Reddit or other social network top executives, it should not take long to find the best mobile game community to engage and gain valuable experience should not be a problem either. 

Remember to Optimize Your App Store Listing

As Statista says, Google Play alone has around 500,000 games. How can you stand out in such a crowded field? App store optimization might offer the answer, and it’s important for your independent mobile game marketing plan. ASO aids in increasing the exposure of your mobile game and the number of downloads as a result.

Being among the top search results from Google is akin to app stores rankings. The approach, on the other hand, is a little different.

Carefully Choose a Name for Your Mobile Game

The name of your game is a one-of-a-kind marketing point. For some, this name determines the users to download or uninstall your game.

In other words, the game’s name is a significant ranking element. As a result, you’ll have to strike a balance between a memorable name and terms essential to your game. According to Tune, mobile games with relevant terms in their title are ranking 10% higher than those without.

Final Thoughts 

You should be able to explore a variety of independent mobile game marketing tactics, as can be seen from this article. Don’t spend all your time designing an amazing new mobile game just to neglect advertising it.

All in all, you are sure to get excellent results from your mobile game marketing campaign the more innovative and persistent you are.