Candy Crush Saga starts off simple, then gets harder, frustrating and then addictive. I’m sure you know this already though, because if you haven’t played it yourself, you most certainly received a Facebook notification from a relative, asking for some extra lives. I was a bit dubious, but it was free, I gave it a try, and now it’s hard to put down. Sigh.
The game gets more than ten million daily players, and King, the creators of the game have an estimated revenue of 500 million a year. These guys must be doing something right. So then what lessons can we learn from them? What’s the secret?
A straight answer would be that there is no secret; they just take the basic social game formula, mix it with great implementation and a dollop of marketing. While the reasons for its success aren’t a secret, Candy Crush Saga definitely provides some lessons for a digital marketer.
Cover all the bases
The first point to note is that the game is available across all platforms. You can play on Facebook, Android and iOS, and this makes it easy for almost anyone to try their wit at the game and compete with their friends and relatives. Same principles can be applied to digital marketing. Make sure your message is available across all platforms, make it easy for the consumer to find you, even if they’re not looking. And once they do find you make sure they have a pleasant experience; I’m looking at you mobile developers!
Social Connections
Candy Crush Saga almost forces social interaction upon you, you have to either request lives or pay so hard cash. This is often a difficult decision, you either pester everyone you know or part with your hard earned money, and this may put some people off… And yet. There are still millions of players, King spend their time shovelling money into their bank accounts and Facebook requests are being sent. So perhaps socialising isn’t so bad after all? Some digital marketers are afraid to produce all but the most relevant of content, when perhaps it would be wise to increase the output.
The last ingredient is… Fun.
Oh and let’s not forget, the game isn’t successful for its omnipresence, or its pushy social features, at the end of the day, it’s fun. So let’s not forget that in all digital marketing you’re at your best if you are a purple cow, or General Electric with a wonderful Vine presence. So don’t forget as well as traditional strategies, you need to be different, you need to be fun, you need to stand out.
Now I am going to go play a little more Candy Crush Saga… I’ve almost beaten that level. So close.
When you’re done crushing candies and eradicating those pesky jellies, augument your new-found knowledge by downloading our The Definitive Guide to B2B Social Media whitepaper!