So you've met with developers and launched the best poker game ever. But what now? How do you get players on your game? Online poker advertisements are a good place to start. You can promote your game online by running poker ads and creating hype.
In recent years, the poker gaming industry has become a million-dollar market. It has opened plenty of opportunities for game developers and marketers alike.
However, poker is a sensitive topic when it comes to advertising, and many of the ads look like spam. For this reason, it becomes essential to follow certain elements that create successful online poker advertisements. Let's dive into poker advertising and how you can make poker ads that look reliable.
What makes a poker ad successful?
A successful ad converts and communicates the brand image and services. The end goal of all poker ads is to get poker traffic. It contributes to downloads and plays, making your poker game look reliable. The more downloads and plays, the more successful the ad is considered.
Elements that Make a Successful Poker Advertisement
1- Strong Brand Identity- don't appear spammy
A brand identity is your reputation in the market. Think of how a certain red and yellow will remind you of McDonald's. It's a set of colors, designs, messaging, and values that represent you. A strong brand identity results from differentiation and consistent branding efforts.
Even though poker is a large market, it lacks trust. People feel a gap in the trust value and stick to a few popular games. To bring them out of this shell, poker advertisers need to build trust and assure them of fair play.
Highlighting your branding and other unique features can help you stand out with your game. This will also help you establish yourself and avoid appearing spammy to viewers.
2- Legal Regulations and Compliance- do your research
Although poker is a classic game of skill, its legality varies from state to state. There are countries like India that have legalized it in some places and restricted it in others. And countries like the UAE have it completely illegalized.
It's important to research the poker regulations and ensure compliance before anything. You don't wanna put your money on poker ad campaigns only to end up restricted. It's preferable to check any age regulations, avoid targeting minors, and follow the advertising guidelines properly.
3- Target Audience- understand them well
Once you have researched the regulations, it's time to target the right people. Your target audience is pivotal to your online poker advertisements, ensuring your ad campaigns generate the desired result.
Your target audience would be users who are already into online gaming, especially poker, or who are open to trying it. Their demographics and psychographics act as a window into their nature. Knowing their age group, gender, geo locations, online behaviors, interests, and pain points while playing the game is necessary to get poker traffic that converts. Engaging with online poker communities is also a good idea to identify your target audience.
You can then segment these audiences into various groups and create personalized poker ads for each group.
4- Visuals- keep it catchy
This is a well-known element that remains extremely important. Every line, color, and text you add to your online poker advertisements impact the viewer. For example, a poppy yellow color will evoke feelings of trust, but a dull gray color might make it look shady.
Visuals play a big role in catching your viewer's eyes and conveying your message across. It's all about using high-quality images and videos that can establish trust and value in your game and get the users to click on it.
5- Essentials- communicate them well
Successful online poker advertisements communicate all the essential information in one display. Avoid making your ad look vague and mysterious, especially when it concerns poker ads.
These essentials vary from one ad objective to another and set your game apart. It can communicate-
- Game Features
- Promotional Offers
- Welcome Bonuses
- New Game Launches
- Recent Updates
- Player Reviews
- Link to Download or Sign-Up
6- Interactive Display- keep them engaged
You've probably come across gaming ads that give you a trial of the game in the ad itself. You can play it for some time, after which it will direct you to the download page or poker site. These interactive elements keep your poker ads fun and entertaining for the viewer.
You can add the following elements to keep your online poker advertisements engaging-
- Playables- seamlessly integrate with your gaming experience and give you a chance to preview first.
- Interactive End Cards- show up at the end of a video ad and let you engage through a carousel or scratch.
- Call-to-Actions (CTAs)- ask the viewer to join an email list, visit the poker site, install the game, or sign up.
Interactive ads are a powerful way to get conversions and downloads for your poker games.
7- Mobile Optimization
A good majority of people use mobiles for their gaming activities. This makes optimizing online poker advertisements for mobiles more crucial than anything. To seamlessly complement the user's mobile experience, poker ads should give importance to the following-
- Keep ad copy compelling and concise
- Use high-quality visuals and compressed images
- Optimize loading time for your ads
- Avoid using too many ad formats
- Optimize sizes, resolution, and aspect ratios for different devices
8- A/B Testing- find the best combination
All these elements might get cluttered and not perform as desired if not tested properly. It's always a good idea to create various elemental combinations and figure out the best ones with A/B testing.
For example, keep the same ad format but change the ad copy and see what performs better. This can give you an idea of the type of ad copy your audience prefers. You can easily identify your winning poker ad variations.
9- Analytics- always keep an eye
Online poker advertisements are incomplete without analytics. A look into data will tell you whether your ads are succeeding and achieving the desired ROI. You can analyze the following to identify your success-
- Click-through-rates
- Poker Site Conversion Rates
- App Downloads
- Player Sign Ups
Ad Channels That Work Best for Poker Ads
Now that we have covered what makes successful poker ads, let's discover where you can make them successful.
There are many channels on which you can run poker ad campaigns, but the best idea is to choose the one where your target audience resides. Chances are, different audience groups are on separate platforms.
PPC Advertising
PPC, or pay-per-click advertising, works best for gaming ads. Poker PPC ads show up when someone searches for them or on gaming-related websites. This attracts an audience that is actively looking or will be interested in them.
Poker PPC ads are cost-effective, and ad networks like 7Search PPC offer various tools to help you optimize your online poker advertisements. You can target your audience, optimize ads for specific keywords, and monitor your results in real-time.
Influencer Marketing
Partnering with social media gaming influencers and YouTubers can help you reach a large, established community. Gaming influencers always know their audience and how things work in the gaming world.
You can pick influencers with a wide reach and get them to endorse or mention your game. You can either leave it up to their expertise or strategize together. Influencers can help your game reach new gamers and improve your brand visibility and credibility.
Poker Affiliate Marketing
With poker affiliate marketing, you can partner up with affiliates, individuals, or companies, who will then promote your poker game or website in exchange for a commission. The affiliates have to be paid every time someone purchases through their unique affiliate link. It's a good strategy to reach gaming communities through a trusted middle person.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is free and gives easy access to gaming communities and groups. If you're on a very tight budget, you can directly reach out to these communities and create your social media presence. You can also run online poker advertisements on social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Similar to PPC, you can target them to any potential customers within a little budget.
Mobile Advertising
One of the most common forms of poker site advertising is through mobile apps. Through PPC ad networks, advertisers can run ads based on user behavior, location, or browser history. It proves highly effective in reaching out to mobile gamers.
Conclusion
Successful online poker advertisements come from a strong identity, catchy visuals, and interactive content. By understanding your audience and creating hype around your game, you can bring in participation from all corners of the gaming community. The trust value and legal regulations hang on a thread and need to be navigated carefully. Through consistent branding and compelling ads, it becomes easy to get poker traffic.
Like poker, creating winning ads is also a matter of skill and luck. You need to try hand after hand, test out different strategies, and follow the winning ones.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What are some mistakes to avoid when creating online poker advertisements?
Ans. You should avoid using vague messaging, misleading claims, targeting minors, and ignoring regulations.
What are some exclusive offers that can be offered to bring in poker traffic?
Ans. You can offer exclusive sign-up bonuses, free access to tournaments, and loyalty to new players.
Why is social proof necessary for online poker advertisements?
Ans. Social proof, such as player testimonials and reviews, gives poker games credibility and encourages other gamers to sign up for them.
What role do visuals play in online poker advertisements?
Ans. Visuals play an important role in capturing attention and building brand identity. Always use high-quality images and videos to keep it catchy.
How to measure the success of my online poker advertisements?
Ans. You can measure the success of your poker ads by looking at conversion rates, click-through rates, and player sign-ups. The quality of leads and traffic also matters when measuring success.
