The social element: How to market online poker efficiently

Effective acquisition and retention of customers are vital ingredients in any igaming business, but poker’s innate social element makes these all-important factors significantly different to implement than most other verticals. Operators looking to diversify their offering with poker need to cater their marketing strategy to match the product’s unique nature.

There is a huge audience of poker fanatics, particularly in the US where the game has a strong heritage and is played regularly between friends and family. There is significant potential for operators to acquire these players, but converting them into real-money users is proving to be a challenge.

Understanding the different types of poker players is key. Knowing how certain users like to engage with the product can help to shape a better marketing campaign to make an operator’s offering more attractive.

Tournaments are a prime example of this. Poker was built for these kinds of events and people will join a site just to get involved. But there are different tournaments for all kinds of players.

Freerolls tournaments do not have a buy-in and are best offered to new customers. This allows them to explore the environment and become comfortable with their surroundings. As with any social setting, entering a poker community for the first time can be intimidating for a lot of people. Taking some of the cost out of the initial decision can make the site seem more inviting. They can learn who plays in the room and how well they are likely to do there. It is typical for a site to offer about a week of first deposit freerolls.

For more experienced players, guaranteed prize tournaments can be enticing. The operator puts up the prize money and knowing this amount from the start makes the tournament very attractive for customers. However, this can tempt professional players, meaning the buy-ins could equate to less than the guaranteed prize money. It is important to choose the right tool for the customer you are dealing with.

Use your bonus wisely

The social nature of poker also means that word of mouth is one of the vertical’s most powerful marketing tools. A referral programme can go a long way to enhancing this. Ideal for retaining customers and attracting new ones, this bonus is awarded to players that bring new customers to the site and should be paid out after the newcomer has played a certain number of hands.

As with any form of gaming, sign-up bonuses can attract bonus-hunters along with the longstanding customers the operator hopes to draw. However, poker has the capacity for a wide range of bonuses aimed at encouraging player loyalty, but as with tournaments, there are ideal bonuses for different situations.

Customers that continuously spend time on your site need to be communicated with and shown they are valued. A strong retention tool to reward such loyalty is the reload bonus. Best reserved for high rollers and VIPs, it encourages players to redeposit, with the site matching the deposit. This is best rewarded when the customer has played a set number of hands.

A first deposit bonus, in which the operator matches the player’s first deposit, has become a vital tool for remaining competitive with so many affiliates on the market and also inspires loyalty. Most sites will match 100% of the player’s deposit up until a certain amount, but some have found value in going as high as 200-300%. Understanding which bonuses to offer and who to offer them to is a vital skill.

Correct use of segmentation is often overlooked in poker platforms and that is a mistake. Wherever possible, players should be playing against opponents of a similar skill level. The easiest way to achieve this is with a loyalty point system that allows customers to level up as they win more. This recognition will also aid retention. Such a system will make it much easier to organise VIP tournaments for elite players with a high level.

Poker is on the rise in many jurisdictions. Its biggest strength – apart from its iconic standing in the gaming community – is its social appeal. Operators need to work with these strengths in order to maximise gains and convert them into real-money players.

EvenBet Gaming CEO Dmitry Starostenkov is an experienced entrepreneur and executive in the online poker software development space. He has more than 10 years’ experience in the technology and igaming industries, with a proven track record of building customised software solutions and implementing high-growth marketing, digital and product development strategies.