Conquering the Russian Market: Social Media for Mobile Game Promotion

Despite a slight decline in the growth rate of the global mobile games market, the Russian one is still active and growing. According to expert forecasts, the number of active mobile audiences will grow by almost a third to more than 35,000,000 people by 2027. This growth means that developers will have to work even harder to stand out in the crowded social media landscape where mobile gaming has taken off.

Popular Social Media in Russia

Telegram is the most popular social network among Russians in 2024. Half of Russian residents use this messenger every day. In second place is the social network VKontakte, with an almost identical to Telegram monthly audience of 85,000,000 people. In third place is TikTok, which has been unblocked in Russia again (note: until May 2024, Russian users were not allowed to publish content and use the social network without a VPN). The segment has grown by 14% over the past two years. Another popular social network, Odnoklassniki, boasts an audience of over 35 million Russians. However, its user base is more mature than in the previous three years. Its main users are those aged 40 and above.

 

It is clear that world-renowned social networks, Instagram* and Facebook* are rapidly losing their popularity in Russia. In just two years, the number of Instagram* users has decreased by 2.5 times, and Facebook* - by half. This is set to continue in 2024. 

It is also worth noting YouTube, which at the end of last year broke the mark of 95 million users. Additionally, Rutube's average daily coverage has grown from 60,000 to 5 million over two years.

These social networks are ideal for advertising a wide range of products. However, promoting mobile gaming on different platforms has its nuances.

NFT stickers and mobile game reviews on Telegram

Telegram has numerous channels tailored to different user types, offering unparalleled opportunities to engage with them through common interests. Telegram is also the ideal platform for mobile gaming, offering a unique ability to create "Digital Merch" – NFC stickers that can be used to launch engaging 2D games within the app, eliminating the need to navigate to the browser. Although the messenger games are simple, they are popular and are often collaborations. One such collaboration is the Catizen game, which is a "partnership" between investment companies and large non-gaming brands such as Xiaomi.

Telegram also has general mobile gaming groups and fan gaming communities for "mobiles." However, neither of them likes advertising "head-on." This means that mobile game creators must use native promotion tools, such as giving out invites for testing.

Project Aurora mobile game alpha test release on Mobile Games Telegram channel

In addition to invites, the main promotion tool for games in Telegram is reviews. This format is highly effective, and editors of the channel often open a chat room to discuss the game or the opportunity to give reactions. This allows users to immediately go to the game and write their impressions in parallel.

A post about the Katana ZERO  game in the Mobimes - mobile games Telegram channel

Since mobile games are released and updated much more frequently than PCs, promotion on Telegram should be focused on hitting the channel's target audience precisely. If you look through the most popular Telegram channels about mobile games, you will see that the frequency of publications here is about one game review post per day. That is, the advertiser has about 24 hours to interest the user.

 

 

Targeted advertising of mobile games on VK

VK is an entire ecosystem that includes the VK Play platform with an extensive section of mobile games, a streaming service, and its advertising cabinet. The promotion of mobile games in VKontakte is linked to paid social through VK Ads, which offers a variety of formats.

For example, here is a media banner on the main page in the Recommendations section.

Media banners are placed separately in the advertising block labeled "Advertising".

Also, in the format of special game offers.

In addition to VK Play, there is another service, VK Games, in the VK ecosystem. Here you can also run paid social with media banners on the homepage.

 

One of the most traditional formats of advertising in VK is promotional posts in public groups. This allows the user to select from a range of options, including thematic (dedicated only to mobile games), author (a popular gamer), or dedicated to a particular game community.  All of them are suitable for advertising mobile games but with different approaches.

Promo publication in thematic game communities is customized with the help of targeting, where you can select the pubs at the start of VK Ads. When working with VK authors, you can use targeted advertising or contact the author of the publication directly. The latter option allows you to bypass formatting limitations and create a native, first-person review of the game.

 

VK clip dedicated to playing the game LIVE RUSSIA CRMP MOBILE Android

Since mobile games and applications co-exist, using such publics is crucial. The example below is a promo review of the mobile game Legend of Mushroom, available on RuStore.
 

 

In VK, you can create a full-fledged community dedicated to the game. The brand sets the rules of communication and the content constantly reminds you of the game. It’s a fact that most gamers don’t have time to look for a website or read FAQs to find answers to their questions. That’s why they spend a lot of time on the official game account on social networks.  

Furthermore, news, updates, and information about discounts appear in their feed. This makes the process of interaction easier, faster, more casual, and mutually beneficial, which is the most effective way to interact.

Genshin Impact VK Community (1.4M subscribers)

It would be incorrect to say that some strategies in VK work better than others. It doesn't matter what type of advertising or format you use. The most important thing is to remind your potential audience about your product as quickly as possible, just as you do on Telegram.

Native advertising by bloggers in TikTok

In 2022, TikTok was banned in Russia. TikTok disabled paid social and its payment system, which previously allowed users to pay with a Russian card. Users were forced to log in via VPN. But the worst part was that Russian users could not publish content. Despite this, TikTok was among the top five social networks in the country from 2022 to the present. In May 2024, there was a significant change. The social network in Russia is unblocked, and users are able to publish content. 

That's why the main strategy for promoting the mobile game on TikTok should be collaboration with bloggers. Among them are many popular Russian gamers.

 

 

Detailed game reviews on Dzen

Dzen is user-friendly thanks to its themed pages. There’s also a gamification page here, divided into blocks: News, articles, clips, videos, etc.

Use native integrations in Dzen channels to promote mobile games. In terms of format, they can be in the form of an extended video review or short vertical video clips, similar visually to YouTube content. They can also be a voluminous long-read article about the game. The format of the publication content will depend on many factors, including the needs of the advertiser and the capabilities of the channel author.

The Dzen audience is growing every year, so don't underestimate this social network.

Diversity of advertising integrations with YouTube channels

YouTube is the go-to platform for gaming content. For more on this, check out our piece on YouTube gamers. It has it all, from PC game reviews to themed gaming channels. There are different formats for promoting mobile games on YouTube. 

For instance, a themed mobile game review on the channel of a well-known blogger.

 

Video review of mobile games for Android 2024 on the OTETS EVGEN channel

Or advertising integration with a channel entirely dedicated to mobile gaming.

 

Review of the new  Genshin Impact release on Fomix channel

Also, the mobile game can be mentioned in Shorts that are already reaching a multi-million audience daily.

 

Shorts about popular mobile games on veloloh's YouTube channel

We must also mention the longest advertising format in terms of time: the YouTube stream. This is also often used for "mobiles," especially if the game itself has a complex plot.

PUBG Mobile stream on the Vertrel YouTube channel

YouTube offers an excellent way to reach a large audience for mobile games. By focusing on channels related to your topic, you can gain a significant advantage. The RMAA case of promoting Genshin Impact is a great example of how we successfully collaborated with game influencers in the campaign.

 

Genshin Impact promo on Frost's YouTube channel, by RMAA

Additional options for promoting a mobile game on Discord

 

While there are few prospects for promoting mobile games in Disord, there are some. What's more, the Russian audience of Disord is extremely active. The platform is used mainly by video game users and developers. We delved deeper into the world of video games in a special article. 

Discord offers internal tournaments through which you can promote in-game products and related games, including mobile games.

Discord-server PUBG Mobile

But the most important tool Discord has is its group chats, which it uses to support the gaming community. Cross-promotion of mobile games is a key feature of the platform. Tournaments for rewards are often held in the chats, and users can test the game in exchange for bonuses.

Invitation to participate in testing the mobile game Flames of Valor: My War on the Discord server App Gallery

Important Insights

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for choosing a social network for an advertising campaign that will allow you to conduct a promotion with guaranteed high results when promoting mobile games in Russia. The choice of social networks and the promotion strategy must be tailored to the specifics of the mobile game and its target audience. The most important thing is that the campaign must be prompt and that the audience of the channel/blogger, etc. must be as relevant as possible. 

In addition, there are other tools that should be included in a mobile game promotion strategy besides social media. Read more here. 

The RMAA team is ready to provide its services for game promotion in Russia and CIS thanks to its deep expertise in the game industry. Contact our manager by filling out the form in the contacts. 

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*Meta Platforms Inc. projects, the activities of which are banned in Russia.