Worldwide, more than 700,000 mobile games are available for download on Google Play and Apple's App Store. Of course, you aren't going up against every single one. But there are hundreds (if not thousands) of game devs out there vying for your players' attention.
On top of that, the average smartphone already has more than 80 apps installed, with gaming apps ranking #1 in popularity.
In other words, most of your target users are already occupied, at least some of the time, with other games and apps.
Running ads isn't enough anymore. You need to reach players in a more engaging way.
That's where celebrity endorsements and influencer marketing come into play.
Influencer marketing in the mobile gaming industry
Mobile gaming thrives on communities. From forums and social media platforms to Twitch streams and Discord servers, players gather together to discuss their favorite games and create a sense of belonging.
Influencers, particularly on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, have the power to engage the gaming community in an interactive way.
Endorsements
Demos
Reviews
Real-time gameplay
Tutorials and tips
Collabs with game developers
Since these people have a unique way to engage with their followers, those people are more likely to download your game when they see it in action.
For instance, a campaign by Azur Games for Infinity Ops resulted in 1.3 million pre-registrations thanks to their partnership with video creators.
Here’s one promotional video, which got 1.6 million views:
Supercell’s Brawl Stars campaign, which focused on live-streaming influencers who were already familiar with their other games, generated 5 million pre-launch registrations in just 24 hours.
You don't need to work with gaming influencers, though. One of our favorite examples of influencer marketing for mobile games is Coin Master’s campaign, which took an unconventional approach by featuring celebrities like J-Lo and Cardi B.
Working with celebrity-level influencers allowed them to expand the game's reach beyond the typical gaming audience. So, they got a massive boost in brand awareness and engagement.
Now... Celebrity endorsements have by far the broadest potential audience. Coin Master is living proof of it.
When you want to maximize app downloads, you have to get in front of as many people as possible. Celebrity influencers have a considerably larger reach than typical mobile gaming influencers, so they all but guarantee your game gets the exposure it needs to top the charts.
RELATED: Learn the basics of influencer marketing by checking out our influencer marketing guide.
How to run a mobile game influencer marketing campaign
Any kind of influencer campaign will require a nuanced approach. Your product, target audience, budget, and distribution channels will all influence how you design yours.
That said, there are a few steps all mobile game developers and marketers need to take to guarantee a net-positive ROI.
1. Define the "who" of your campaign.
You need to determine who you're targeting. This will help you decide what kind of influencer you're going to work with and the type of content they'll create.
A few considerations:
What's your game all about? The influencer you choose needs to be familiar with and excited about what you're offering. If they don't get it, their followers won't either.
How big is your audience? This determines the type of talent you want to work with. If you're targeting a niche market, micro-influencers within that niche might deliver better results. For maximum exposure across millions of people, you'll need to hire a celebrity-level influencer.
Who are they? Demographics like age, gender, and location are important because they help you determine the most suitable influencer.
Where do they hang out? These are the channels you're going to distribute (and possibly repurpose) the content.
2. Define the "why" of your campaign.
At the same time, you need to state the reasons to collaborate in the first place.
There are plenty of reasons to work with content creators. Maybe you want to...
drive game downloads
generate brand awareness
create a buzz around a new launch
build a waitlist
increase engagement and retention
When you know why you're planning a campaign like this, you then know what KPIs you're going to track.
If your goal is awareness, that's impressions and earned media value. If it's downloads, conversions and new players are your key measures of success.
This also tells you what video format and content style you're going for. Let's say you want to get people excited about a new game you're launching next month. You might give relevant influencers early access and have them stream it live to their audience.
3. Decide which type of influencer campaign you're running.
Depending on the complexity of your game, level of brand awareness you currently have, what business goals are motivating you, and how you want your audience to react, you might choose from one or more of the following types of campaigns:
Demos
Sponsored content
UGC
A teaser or countdown
Exclusive access
Step-by-step tutorials
Challenges or contests
Testimonials and reviews
Live streaming
4. Choose the right person for the job.
Your influencer's audience needs to be filled with people who would actually enjoy your mobile app. That's why partnering with the right influencers can be the difference between a success and a flop.
There are a lot of things to consider here:
Do their values align with your own?
Is their audience engaged and active?
Are they easy to work with?
Look carefully over everything before making your decision — impressions vs. engagement rate, platforms they're active on, niche alignment, content quality, and the success of previous campaigns.
With Cameo, you can now use advanced filtering options to find influencers and celebrities who align exactly with your audience.
You can also see their follower counts and audience characteristics. You can check out examples of their previous content to get an idea of what they can offer for your campaign. You can see their pricing up front. And you can connect with them directly.
5. Plan your distribution.
Content creation is only half the battle. You need to have a plan for getting it out to the masses.
The content itself. The influencer you hire might create this for you. But, you also want to think about repurposing it for other channels. For example: using snippet clips on Instagram Reels or TikTok, creating blog posts with behind-the-scenes footage, etc.
Paid promotion. You can't rely entirely on organic engagement and virality to get your game in front of people. Social media platforms have a lot going on, so put aside some budget for promoting the content itself.
Distribution channels. Think beyond Instagram and YouTube. Maybe you want to leverage influencers' email lists by running a takeover campaign where they're featured as the creator of the week/month. The possibilities are endless.
An important consideration: Most of the time, when collaborating with influencers, they're the ones in control of creating the content. They push the content and engage their audience on their terms. Depending on your licensing, you might not be able to distribute the content through your own channels.
With Cameo, this isn't a problem.
You send your influencer/celeb a brief.
They create the content in ~7 working days.
You're 100% in control of where the content goes.
That means you can spread your Cameo content across your social channels, on your website, or even within the app itself. And you can repurpose the most successful pieces as ads, text messages or emails, and more.
6. Track your progress.
Attribution. The aspect too many marketers forget.
When you have someone promote a mobile game, you have to set up a specific URL, promo code or trackable link that takes users directly to a download page. You'll use this in the influencer's link in bio, description of their video, or as a CTA.
By doing this, you're connecting every single app download to the influencer's content. And that means you can measure the ROI of your campaign.
Get it right by making sure your tracking is set up correctly using GA4's UTM parameters. To do that, head to the Campaign URL Builder.
Or, create affiliate links to track downloads with a specialized tool.
7. Test and refine your influencer marketing strategy.
What you assume is the best way to reach your target audience, maybe isn't in actuality. The only way you'll know for sure what's a hit is to A/B test your channels, messaging, and formats.
The important thing here is to only compare two variables at a time. If you test too many things at once, it's impossible to isolate what changed your results.
And, if you can, personalize your gaming content to different people's interests.
For casual gamers: Advertise the ease of use and fun factor.
For ARPG lovers: Stress that it's a multiplayer game and highlight the strategic elements.
To those interested in mobile gaming solely for social reasons: Let them know how big the community is and what kind of in-game events you run.
For people who typically don't game: Focus on the beautiful graphics and storytelling elements.
8. Work with multiple influencers.
If you're new to mobile gaming influencer marketing, you probably only want to start by working with one or two creators. But, until you work with celebs and influencers from all sorts of backgrounds and niches, you'll never know if your game resonates with their audience.
Over time, you'll figure out who are the best ambassadors for your brand. And you can start forming stronger relationships with them as well astheir audiences.
What to avoid when launching your mobile game influencer campaign
To run a successful influencer marketing campaign, there are a few traps you need to avoid. As you carry out the steps we've outlined above, be careful to avoid these common mistakes:
Working with influencers simply because they have a large following
Just because an influencer has hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of followers, doesn't mean they'll be of any help to your brand.
Obviously, you want to look at their analytics. But you need to ask yourself, "Would this person and their audience members actually play and fall in love with my game?"
Your #1 priority should be finding creators with highly engaged audiences who tick the "Yes" box to that question.
Hint: That's why Cameo's talent filters are so useful. You can narrow your search without spending too much time on research.
Making assumptions
Like we said, testing is everything when it comes to mobile game promotion. Successful influencer marketing depends on trying new things and seeing how they work for your bottom line.
Channels
Target market
Formats
Messaging
You have to create, measure the response, and move forward.
Wasting time in the creative process
Speaking of moving forward, success loves speed. You want to turn your content ideas into publishable pieces as quickly as possible.
If you spend too much time trying to create the 'perfect' piece of content, you won't generate insights quickly enough to know what's working and what isn't.
And if you're going back and forth negotiating on rates and terms with a creator, you're going to be months behind your competition.
Using Cameo makes this part easy. You see everyone's rate front and center, and you'll get a finished product in under a week.
Pivoting too soon
You want to be agile and quick when you're planning and creating your content, but you also need to give it time to work. Everything you try should have at least a week or two to generate results.
Writing a bad brief
Before you start working with someone, you'll create a brief. This is how you ensure the influencer knows what you're looking for. And it significantly impacts the quality of content influencers can create.
At a minimum, every brief should include:
An explanation of your app
What you want to achieve by collaborating with them
The type of content you expect to receive
Technical requirements (e.g., video format, length)
Deadlines (with Cameo, this isn't a problem)
You should, however, keep in mind that every influencer will have their own style. Avoid being too prescriptive when it comes to the actual content creation process.
Cameo's talent is here to promote your mobile game.
You can't run a mobile gaming influencer marketing campaign if you never make it past the first steps. Dealing with influencers is generally hard and time-consuming.
Reaching out to them with no prior relationship
Negotiating rates and terms over email
Spending weeks or months creating content
Dealing with multiple parties for a single influencer
Getting zero transparency in the process
Cameo eliminates all of those headaches. And we have success in the mobile gaming niche specifically.
Start by browsing video game actors and voice actors through our easy-to-use platform and get your campaign going in minutes.