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The 5 best ways to snag a top gaming influencer

The 5 best ways to snag a top gaming influencer

Yogin Patel is CEO of influencer management agency YPSocial.

With a limited number of top influencers, it becomes quite difficult to get your product or mobile game noticed by the highest echelon of influencers and in the world of influencer marketing, the quality and category of a product are the best determinants of whether an influencer will want to recommend it to their followers.

Most developers of a casual mobile game want to be featured by the likes of Bethany Mota or Alisha Marie. However, only a select few have achieved this. It’s the same situation for games that are in the action or sports category. Wouldn’t it be nice to be reviewed by Dude Perfect or KSI?

There is something powerful when a large influencer (1M subs+) promotes your product or game. The impact is much larger than if a lower level influencer were to promote the same game. These are the type of influencers that can drive your game to the number 1 spot in the Charts.

So how do you attract top-tier influencers to your mobile game? Click on the link below to find out.


Click here to view the list »
  • 1 Know your audience

    Know your audience  logo

    At the top level, influencers are constantly approached by the largest of brands. The marketing managers behind these brands are signing off on contract demands from the influencer, just to meet their quotas.

    Unless you have a very large budget to work with, finding an influencer that has an audience demographic that matches closely with your mobile game, will drastically increase the chances of that influencer recommending your game to their followers for a lower than average rate.

    Influencers don’t want to recommend products or apps that their followers wouldn’t enjoy because they can lose subscribers. Do you think Arnold Schwarzenegger, a major politician, actor, businessman, and famously known for his work in Terminator, would accept a large endorsement contract with a game like Best Fiends? Probably not.

    No matter how much money he would be offered, it doesn’t align with his fan-base, and he would be seen as someone who will do anything for money,. However, a collaboration with Mobile Strike makes sense because his audience consists of mainly male action-lovers.


  • 2 Pull out all the stops to get on their radar

    Pull out all the stops to get on their radar logo

    It’s much easier for your brand to work with an influencer if the influencer is already aware of your product. To get on their radar you have to effectively brand your game. Your studio or firm needs to be active on your mobile game’s social media pages and interacting with users.

    By following, retweeting, or sharing posts from a select influencer, your game increases its chances of an influencer noticing you. Chrissy Teigen, a celebrity model married to pop singer John Legend, publicly stated that she loves the game Cooking Fever.

    If Cooking Fever were to reach out to Chrissy, I’m 100% sure she would promote the game further for a rate much lower than her ask because she already knows and loves the game.


  • 3 Give up control

    Give up control logo

    Make it clear when you first make contact with the influencer or their manager that you do not want to control the collaboration. Unless you’re paying them their ask or more, then keep your ask small.

    Provide them with creative guidelines and talking points, but let them decide what topic the video will be about or how they will integrate the game into one of their videos.

    They know their audience best and what has worked for their audience in the past. Asking for too much control in the beginning will result in subpar content and high user acquisition costs.


  • 4 Make them a (non-monetary) offer they can’t refuse

    Make them a (non-monetary) offer they can’t refuse logo

    In most cases, influencers are provided a chunk of money to promote a product or game. This is pretty standard within the industry. However, to stand out as a brand from the rest, it is crucial you provide an offer they cannot refuse.

    Sometimes, this can be as simple as add an in-game feature where the influencer has a character or persona in the game. In other cases, the influencer may want a shout-out from your mobile game’s social pages, especially if you have a decent-sized following.

    Another way could be that you provide a compensation structure where they are paid 75% of their ask, and the rest is based on CPM or CPI. Make sure that you do some research or ask their manager what types of deals they have accepted in the past and what they generally prefer.


  • 5 Reach out and follow up

    Reach out and follow up logo

    Gaining an influencer’s attention is tough. Influencers tend to miss emails. Therefore, it’s crucial that you’re always following up. If you have an influencer in mind don’t be afraid to reach out to them. It doesn’t hurt to ask. Worst case you will get a ‘no’, but at least your game will be on their radar.

    Influencers are people, so treat them like you would anyone else. Find the influencers you want to work with and start from there. It’s all about matching the right influencer with the right product.

     


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