Social games, virtual goods, and monetization opportunities: Part 3

This is Part 3 of a series by Uzi Arbiv, Director of Sales for the performance marketing arm of Adsmarket.

In Part One of this post I commented on the current casual gaming climate, and ended with the question, “What should developers and games creators understand to stand out in the industry?”

In Part Two, I outlined the essentials and a check list for monetizing a social game.

In Part Three, we’ll discuss user acquisition through in-house marketing campaigns, Cost Per Install, and alternative monetization platforms.

Let’s start with Facebook Ads. Running an online campaign on Facebook is not a complex task and most companies do it in-house. This way, you have full control over the cost, targeting and time frame. You can pay-per-click or impression; appear on Facebook ads/flyers or within other applications’ media spots. To learn about how to advertise on Facebook, there are so many resources it would be ridiculous to advise on the best one. Here’s what FB says.

Working via CPI (cost per install) can be a bigger challenge but with the right fine tuning you can get better results and focus your efforts on the important part of this business – up selling. You might pay a higher rate per install; however, you will be exposed to various affiliates and media channels that will be most likely to generate higher average revenue per user.

In some cases these affiliates are local providers in the region you wish to target with better understanding and connections to Facebook and better targeting capabilities. Working on a performance-based level is preferred as you only pay for results. It is worth trying and most companies are already using this method.

Virtual goods can also increase user acquisition while monetizing your traffic: simply have your game/application showings on whatever alternative payment solutions platform you use. Just like everything in our world, you simply need to know how to process this channel and more important, how to price it. Check out Adsmarket Group member Matomy, provider of alternative payment solutions.

In short, a production house needs to understand fellow gamers, marketing and online media and be able to implement all three. A solid game backed up with a strong understanding of media and monetization is the main difference between a company such as Zynga and a company that looking for Zynga to acquire it…