Understand the promotion path of social + games in three minutes

Recently, two major domestic Internet giants announced their respective financial reports. NetEase's online game revenue in the second quarter of 2017 was 9.43 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 46.5%. Among them, " Fantasy Westward Journey " mobile game and " A Chinese Ghost Story" mobile game are still the core key to NetEase's year-on-year growth in net income.

Tencent's total revenue in the first half of the year was RMB 106.158 billion, a year-on-year increase of 57%. Revenue from smartphone games increased by 54% year-on-year to approximately RMB 14.8 billion. The growth in revenue from smartphone games was driven by existing games (such as the multiplayer online tactical competitive game " Honor of Kings ") and new games (such as the action game " Contra: Return ", the role-playing game "Dragon Nest Mobile Game" and "Classic Edition of Tianlong Mobile Game").

The increase in mobile game revenue fully demonstrates that the development of the market has not slowed down due to the saturation of mobile dividends. It is precisely because of the slowdown in the growth trend of mobile games that users' requirements for various aspects of gaming experience have gradually increased. The mobile game market has shifted from "winning by quantity" to "quality first". As a result, the marketing routines of mobile games have become more and more flexible. Large manufacturers have taken advantage of IP dissemination, and small companies can still gain a place through word-of-mouth dissemination.

An effective marketing promotion plan is formulated under the premise of accurate positioning of the target group. It not only requires a multi-dimensional analysis of the communication channels and the temperament of the game itself, but also requires the integrated use of various channel products and marketing methods. According to the experience summary of WeAD advertising game optimizers, mobile game promotion needs to be optimized and diagnosed from five aspects.

1. “Look” and think, different types of gameplay

When you get the promotional appeal for a mobile game, you should first classify its gameplay and type. Different categories of games have different themes, game settings, target groups, and presentation forms, and their audiences are also different. For example: RPG role-playing games, which have a strong desire to win in battles and a sense of gaming nostalgia; FPS shooting games, which are military war themes, pursue visual effects and operations, and are more suitable for male players. MOBA competitive type, with fragmented time, is suitable for young e-sports groups; simulation development type mainly targets otaku, fujoshi, singles, and the second dimension. Thinking by “looking” is to position the character of the game.

2. Judging by “smell”, basic user portrait

Under the guidance of lean operations and scenario marketing, the more segmented a product's guiding analysis of its audience is, the better. Optimizers can directly screen based on age, gender, region, broad dimensions and other conditions. The activity/interaction rate of younger age groups is relatively high, while the paid conversion rate of older age groups is relatively better. People in different regions also have their own preferences for game types. Judging by "smelling" is an effective way to identify basic users.

3. Implantation through “asking” directly hits the pain points of people’s hearts

Take Tencent Games as an example. Due to its huge base of social users, it has unique advantages in the period of traffic and social dividends. As early as 2015, it laid out the pan-entertainment industry, and made strong combinations in film and television, literature, animation, e-sports and live broadcast , laying a solid barrier for its film and game linkage. The influence of word-of-mouth communication in circles based on interests is the most authoritative. Only by grasping the psychological demands and interests of users can we hit the mark in the presentation of creative materials and the guidance of copywriting . Implantation by “asking” is the best match for user behavior .

4. Insight after “cutting”, detailed user portrait

Why do we need to optimize user portraits twice? The first-level basic portrait is like locking the range, and the second-level precise portrait is like locating the coordinate map. According to the user's APP download preference, the most direct feedback is to increase the conversion rate from advertising display to registration. The designated account delivery increases the game user hit rate. Such gradual optimization is the basis for high conversion. Post-cutting insight is an essential medicine to guide conversion.

5. Post-diagnosis and multi-dimensional data orientation

Finally, based on the above, we need to screen and allocate the correlation, similarities and differences, and interest points between users and products. For coastal cities with high game activity, we can use designated game accounts of the same type. For a strong IP, we can use multiple behavioral analyses of basic data + game interests + download preferences. Group characteristics are by no means single and unchanging. It is a necessary way for all current game brands to use social platforms to achieve quantitative and qualitative changes in game promotion . Diagnosis after “judgment” is an absolute guarantee of cost-effectiveness.

The following example provides the path for diagnostic optimization:

1. Information flow blog post

Format: single image, multiple images, animated images, video

Features: Various presentation forms, relatively long blog words (140 words), rich content

Suitable for game types:

AR PG action mobile games (e.g. Diablo)

Card strategy mobile games (e.g. Dota Legend )

Legend IP mobile games (e.g. Legend of Mir 2 )

Material display: A cool action game that directly attracts attention with fighting scene videos, and emphasizes "genuine and unparalleled" and "authentic" in the copy.

Delivery effect:

Interaction rate: 9%-13%

New users: 800-1500 per day

2. Information flow application

Format: 4-grid, 6-grid, 9-grid

Features: Click the image button to download directly or jump to the APP Store. Pictures show more complete content than blog posts. Stronger visual impact

Suitable game types:

Martial arts MMORPG (e.g. Swordsman World)

National war MMORPG (e.g. Zhengtu )

Fantasy ARPG mobile game (e.g. Wings of Fury )

Material display: Martial arts MMORPG type, using classic IP to create a martial arts style, the nine-square grid displays exquisite painting style and characters, and then uses the brand effect to help strengthen and improve.

Delivery effect:

Interaction rate: 5%-7%

New users: 1500-2000 per day

3. Information flow graphic card

Format: Pinsu Big Card, Pinsu Video

Features: The large picture shows the content clearly and comprehensively, and the download button can directly jump to the download or APP Store.

Suitable for game types:

Mobile card strategy games (e.g. Onmyoji )

MOBA competitive mobile games (e.g. Honor of Kings)

Material display: Rich display forms and multi-category presentation. Game screens, spokespersons, and strong IPs can be used to create visual impact. Multiple entrances can be used to achieve direct jump downloads.

Delivery effect:

Interaction rate: 1%-1.5%

New users: 200-400 per day

According to the targeted method diagnosis, corresponding strategies are given:

1. Strong IP: The game has strong dissemination and topic popularity. Well-known IP mobile games can be relatively broad in targeting, focusing on a wide range of potential players, using gender screening, and targeting game interests.

2. Typicality: For games with relatively fixed gameplay such as Hearthstone, the effect can be achieved by specifying game accounts of the same type, as well as some anchors, e-sports players, and game vertical media accounts.

3. Other categories: Most games are of this type. Choose relatively precise dimensions, such as specifying some game influencers and game APP preferences (referring to people who frequently download a certain type of APP) to improve account conversion.

Mobile game operation and promotion diagnosis practical diagram:

Based on the advantages of the platform, leveraging the high spreadability of Weibo and the long-tail traffic to feed back to the game, we have completed full platform coverage from social + game. Optimizers provide operational guidance on creativity, data, and services, and provide the most detailed diagnosis for the rationalization, intelligence, and optimization of game promotion.