Why mobile game developers should take influencer marketing seriously

The mobile game market is saturated, and user acquisition costs are out of reach for many small developers. But a new avenue of marketing is emerging with influencers, according to a new report from Chartboost, one of the companies that is making this new tactic easier to pull off.

YouTube and Twitch video creators, otherwise known as influencers, have become the premier source for information on mobile games, Chartboost said. Their work may not seem as refined, scripted or canned as normal advertising, but it is viewed as authentic. And that counts for a lot among today’s consumers — especially as research firm Newzoo forecasts mobile gaming to hit $36.9 billion this year.

We saw that this week at our own GamesBeat event on influencers in New York. Sponsored by Samsung, the event focused on the perspectives of influencer marketing from a panel that included Marco Mereu (cofounder of Roostr, now a division of Chartboost); Jesse Divnich, vice president of strategy and insights at Tilting Point; and mobile gaming YouTuber Francisco “TheGameHuntah” Albornoz. We’re doing another event (fully booked at this point) in Seattle today with Amber “Miss Destructo” Osborne; Z2 executive Lou Fasulo; and Amazon’s Lumberyard senior leader JC Connors. We’re have more coverage of these events coming soon.

Above: Chartboost’s influencer marketing report.

Image Credit: Chartboost

According to Google, 90 percent of gamers watch YouTube videos at least once a week for game advancement tips, gameplay and game discovery—with more than half of all views occurring on mobile devices. Likewise, consumers trust what influencers have to say, Chartboost said. A recent Nielsen study found that 66 percent of consumers said they trust consumer opinions posted online—the third-most-trusted advertising format.

Chartboost said that marketers are increasingly taking notice of influencers and influencer marketing. That’s because many mobile games are getting lost in a sea of other titles and influencer marketing can cut through the noise, enable better app discovery, and keep players highly engaged.

The report said that influencer marketing is an essential part of a holistic user acquisition strategy, and it works pretty well on mobile because the results can be tracked. YouTube and Twitch enable players to get a good look at a game before they adopt it. YouTubers and Twitch streamers accept paid campaigns for the games they like, but consumers trust the content. On top of that, the paid content results in organic free attention from other followers.

Chartboost’s Roostr, a marketplace that connects gaming influencers with mobile game developers, found that 30 percent of views come after the end of a paid influencer campaign. YouTube stars like PewDiePie (who earned $4 million from his YouTube channel in 2013) get a lot of press attention, but even smaller personalities can have a big impact on a mobile game’s bottom line, Roostr said.

Above: Influencer history

Image Credit: Roostr