Building a successful marketing process in the ever-evolving iGaming industry isn’t an easy task. Numerous news pieces in the business sector of the gambling industry tackle this question, proposing different approaches and strategies for operators and affiliates.
Read this article to learn how to conduct marketing research in the field of iGaming and plan an efficient marketing process.
Basics of the strategic marketing process in the casino industry
Much like in any other industry, the iGaming marketing process is comprised of four segments:
- conducting strategic marketing research;
- developing marketing planning process;
- implementation of the marketing strategies;
- control of the marketing campaign.
Find out about the specifics of each step and the peculiarities of the marketing in iGaming in this article.
How does the marketing process in iGaming differ from the other industries?
Although online gambling has already been in the market for decades, recent years have brought many changes to the industry. In the past few years, numerous European jurisdictions have legislated iGaming. While this creates new opportunities for legal advertising, many restrictions have been laid out in the marketing vertical at the same time. This can mean a huge setback in launching a successful marketing campaign.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a global shift towards the online for all business sectors, including gambling. This gave an uninterrupted marketing space for the operators, allowing them to circumvent TV and outdoor advertising restrictions. Social media platforms become a huge part of any marketing strategy for the gambling business. The recent ban of gambling ads on TikTok also gave a hard time to marketing specialists.
Considering all the peculiarities of the iGaming sector, the main question is how to build a profitable marketing strategy while avoiding gambling bans.
Top-5 steps of the marketing research process in iGaming
The first step in the strategic marketing process is: conducting research.
Efficient iGaming market research not only can boost online casino’s market share and increase gross gaming revenue but also benefit operators in the following ways:
- gain control over the communications costs;
- maximize the impact of the brand messages;
- improve customer satisfaction by determining and improving operational shortcomings;
- segment customers by interests to increase revenue;
- monitor the performance of the rivaling ops and improve casino features.
To reach these goals and conduct an efficient marketing research process operator should follow 5 simple steps.
Determine the problem
Before conducting any research, it is essential to define the problems it addresses. Find out the preferences of online casino’s target audience, determine the pressing issues from the users’ standpoint, learn about the main concerns of the players.
The optimal gambling research assesses the following issues:
- tracking players gaming behavior;
- learning the peculiarities of the sociodemographic;
- defining participation rates, frequency, and spending.
Elaborate the research plan
The next step is developing a plan to resolve the customers’ problems. The operator needs to decide on the way of conducting the research. While the specifics of the planning process mainly depend on the casino’s budget, there are various research options in different price ranges:
- cost-efficient web-based surveys;
- high-priced focus group interviews;
- gathering free data from governments’ gambling platforms and others;
- collecting secondary data from other operators by receiving their newsletters, following the social media accounts, and browsing the annual reports.
Collect data from the research
After carrying out surveys and interviews, a marketing specialist should collect all the relevant data. The best ways include:
- writing out interview transitions;
- processing data from surveys;
- reviewing the respondent’s feedback.
The processed data should be clear and unbiased.
Analyze the data
When conducting the data analysis, it is important to look at the trends rather than a particular piece of information. Be sure to review the results of the study, as it could be beneficial for working out a marketing strategy.
Find the best marketing strategies based on the research
The final step of marketing research is finding strategic solutions for the problems outlined in step 1. Put the study results into action and launch a marketing campaign on its basis. After all, the ultimate aim of every marketing research is to develop efficient marketing strategies for an iGaming platform.
3 useful tips for the iGaming marketing planning process
Developing a marketing plan is a crucial part of every strategic marketing process, which helps the operator to schedule advertising campaigns and other activities for a set period and distribute funds for them.
According to marketing specialists, operators should opt for a long-term approach when developing a marketing plan, as this helps to:
- work out an annual budget;
- obtain an annual bonus or incentive reward such as stock grants or options.
Efficient marketing planning also provides a reality check for an online casino and keeps the iGaming establishment from deviating from its strategy.
Here are top-3 tips from experts for marketing planning in the gambling industry.
- Analyze the overall situation. The best ways to do so are:
- understanding the current state of the iGaming market;
- conducting SWOT analysis;
- analyzing promotional strategies of competitors;
- studying player’s revenue behavior.
- Determine objectives and set the goals for them.
- Develop marketing action plans for each department.
Another tip for online casinos is to closely monitor player engagement and activity. Based on a marketing plan, the operator can select a working promotion strategy for the online casino.
Which marketing strategies work for online casinos in 2021?
When it comes to marketing strategies in the iGaming industry, a deep understanding of customers’ behavior and their performance on the platform is essential.
Learn more about the most effective strategies for the marketing process in the 2021 online gambling business.
Launch a promotion campaign
In terms of advertising methods, the casino industry does not differ from other sectors of the economy. The main ways of promotion include:
- ads on social media platforms;
- commercials on web platforms;
- TV ads;
- offline banners.
Experts state that Facebook and Instagram ad campaigns are among the most effective ways to attract new users to an online platform. The best thing is that these promotions can be targeted to reach an audience with a particular interest in iGaming. YouTube ad services are also popular among many gambling ops.
Up until recently, TikTok has also been a major platform for gambling promotions. However, all iGaming ads and influencer content linked to iGaming was banned on TikTok lately. The platform has adopted AI technology that removes videos with restricted content.
The marketing specialists, however, should note that every jurisdiction places tight restrictions on the advertising of iGaming within the country. While most of the regulations concern TV and outdoor ads, some counties regulate online promotional campaigns for casinos as well.
Cooperate with affiliates
An affiliate is a marketer that drives traffic to a gambling platform for a set commission. According to iGaming market research, more than 80 percent of casino companies rely on affiliate cooperation, deeming it as a major source of profit.
Given that an operator chose a reliable affiliate to partner with, these programs could generate steady client traffic for the gambling establishment.
Three main models for affiliate cooperation are shown in the table below.
| Revenue-share model | An affiliate receives a set % of the customer’s spendings. |
| Cost per acquisition (CPA) model | As the name suggests, an affiliate is paid every time user takes a required action on the casino website (follow the link, sign up, or deposit). |
| Mixed model | A flexible model, where an operator pays a fixed amount of CPA while giving some percentage of the revenue. |
Many experts in the industry state that the use of the revenue-share model signifies that the affiliate is reliable and has a long-term strategic approach.
Influencers and live streamers are the keys to a loyal audience
Influencer marketing has been on the rise in recent years. Namely, many operators have been cooperating with live streamers to generate higher traffic to their platforms.
The major platforms, YouTube and Twitch, see numerous streamers gaining millions of views in a mere month. Twitch, which allows streamers to broadcast their gaming process, has recently seen the increasing popularity of slot game streams. Moreover, many casino gamers confess that they spend more time watching streams than playing.
Live streamers have close contact with the audience, which helps them to develop a trusting relationship with “engaged communities” of potential casino users. This kind of highly engaged viewer can not only visit the platform but become a loyal casino customer.
However, the initial research is essential, as the influencer could work with fake money, lie to an audience about deposits, or show no concern for the problem gambling. That’s why the operators need to get familiar with the streamers, and, in some cases, even educate them on responsible gambling before signing a contract.
Establish casino’s brand with social media account
The study shows that more than 3.5bn people have an active social media account, this amounts to 45 percent of the world population. Considering the global shift towards the online sector and growing numbers of social media users, the majority of online casino’s target audiences use Facebook or Instagram daily.
A running social media account could boost the operator’s brand and attract new customers to the platform. The conversion rate will grow along with the brand’s recognition.
Marketing experts recommend using multiple media platforms, the most popular among which are:
- Facebook;
- Instagram;
- Twitter;
- TikTok;
- YouTube.
The main thing to remember when creating a content for social media account is: be creative! Post helpful infographics, produce video content, share funny memes. This could work for better contact with the audience.
Including bonus offers and prizes for subscriptions and reposts is also good for brands’ strategic planning.
Start blogging
A blog is another strategic promotional tool for an online casino establishment, which proved to be very cost-efficient. By providing high-quality content on gambling trends and news, operators can secure the audience’s loyalty. Users may not only read the blog contents but also share articles they like with friends or family, which benefits the personal brand of the casino.
Read more: Top CPA networks
