Nowadays, online games are gaining great popularity among the wide audience of social network users. The development of this trend is mainly associated with the new technologies being constantly introduced to the gaming market. According to the analysts of the information technology industry, the emergence and further spread of the trend are due to the fact that users prefer playing games in social networks in addition to simple chatting. In such a way, users have a common gaming database, with results they can share and discuss. Such games can be real-life simulators with an interesting plot and some useful features.
Online games, including real money pokies, which have been developing dynamically in recent years, are still evolving since gaming giants – Bigpoint, Trion Worlds, Perfect World – are going to release the new products in the near future. Today, the number of browser and online games in Germany is estimated at 12 million, and it is constantly growing. Thus, the most popular games among Facebook users are Mafia Wars, FarmVille, and City Builder.
Users “Buy into” on New Ideas
Here are some of the most effective strategies that social networks use to get consumers to discover and enjoy the newly released games in the industry right now as well as some tips on how you can take an advantage of this.
- App stores that synchronize with social platforms
Perhaps the hottest trend now is the synchronization between the Apple Store and accounts in social networks. Thus, Pinterest has recently announced partnership with Apple, which will allow users to consolidate their favorite applications on a virtual whiteboard. For the first time, Apple is working with a third party to provide recommendations.
- Paid promotion in social networks
Online marketing forges ahead. And this, undoubtedly, proved the tendency of promotion strategies in social networks. The examples of the multibillion-dollar success of Facebook mobile advertising, accounting for more than 69% of their revenue, and the continuous infusion of Twitter on the market were paid advertisements on social platforms. This is the main goal for most developers. And the reason explaining why the games are promoted through those channels is undoubtedly associated with the higher number of users on such platforms. The large target audience coupled with the increased complexity of application analytics allows marketers to accurately target players who will respond well to the promotion. In addition, it is assumed that this trend will grow rapidly. While we could see changes in social platforms, the huge numbers of users gathered by social giants and targeting opportunities provided to marketers will continue to expand in the long run.
- Actuality of games and results preservation in social networks
The biggest and most widespread reasons for using social networks in game marketing are the role of the platforms in improving the “sensations” of the game. Merging the gaming product with social networks can be incredibly useful for increasing engagement and retention in the game. Players can share their experience, rates, and achievements in the game.
All in all, the above features of social networks contribute to the development of gaming market thus assuring the success of each new release.
People like use social media and many them of play online games so it’s a win-win!
I think the biggest issue is that gaming social networks for the most part are fragmented. It’s more common for gamers to seek social media instead where it’s most convenient to connect with just about anyone, without limitations (e.g. cap on the number of people in a network, roles/permissions, etc.). But probably the biggest outlier is Discord, because you can have tons of separated communities for the same game.