Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/adwords-seo-sem-google-marketing-793034/
Alt text: Scrabble letters spelling out AdWords
Promotions drive eyes and ears toward a product. For those individuals and companies that can master marketing, they position themselves in a highly lucrative sector of the betting world.
Of course, gambling includes so many different facets, almost too many to mention. It’s a layered industry, with three broad categories: casino gaming, sports betting, and niche betting, such as sweepstakes, which focus on the mechanics of a gambling game rather than the monetary payout at the end.
Some markets cover more than one of these categories, which we will delve into further. However, the power of promotions is the glue that holds the industry together. Regardless of the sector of the gambling industry in which a marketer operates, if they can piece together an effective promotional or marketing campaign, they will find success.
Adapting To The Times
The rise of professional video gaming has shed light on several new areas in the world of betting. It showcased that there could be a huge market for a niche sector, provided promotional ideas were able to capture it effectively. League of Legends (LoL) is the primary example here.
Not only has it dominated the world of eSports for close to a decade and a half, but it has also held a mirror up and shown the gaming world what the future looks like. Microtransactions, free-to-play models, betting subsectors, finding out detailed guides online, and eSports with millions of dollars in the prize pool – all of this is commonplace in the modern gaming industry.
While LoL eSports betting is not the only subsector that creates a brimming underlying market, the fact that millions of people seek out these betting markets highlights just how popular the overarching market is.
The current successful foundations owe a lot to the development of League of Legends. It showcased the immense potential that existed from using all of the digital innovations and tools available to market the brand and maximize its potential, ranging from social media to digital walkthroughs, and the successful development of niche betting markets that emerged from this initial buzz.
Betting companies leverage the popularity of specific eSports to tap into this huge potential market – and it’s a two-way street. Betting companies partner with prominent eSports, games, and tournaments, and the intrigue in the betting markets further fuels interest in the broader eSports industry.
Social Media’s Integral Role
Betting companies have been harnessing the incredible potential of social media for the best part of two decades now. Casino gaming companies have mastered the art of promoting in a betting market by focusing on two key aspects: cost and convenience. While this might sound reductive, these are the two main pillars of any successful marketing strategy.
Free spins are the perfect microcosm of this. They offered a cost-effective route for people to sample slot games and provided a viable avenue for casino companies to showcase their offerings.
By leveraging social media and employing a multi-channel approach across Facebook, Instagram, and a combination of SEO and mass email marketing, casinos utilize every available tool to tap into the power of promotions in a market that continues to grow and become increasingly intertwined.
Experts predict that the social media marketing industry will be worth $1.5 trillion by the end of this decade. Those who can carve out even a small part of this market and construct an impactful marketing strategy almost guarantee success for themselves, regardless of their industry.
While there have been multiple deviations from this theme over the last 20 years, the reason that free spins have remained such an integral part of global betting market promotions is due to their simplicity and low cost. Although the proliferation of online casinos has made it much more challenging for casinos to stand out, the blueprint of the strategy remains the same and still works effectively.
The Future Of Promotions In Betting
Contending with the rise of other innovations is the primary headache that gambling companies face. Many believe that the rise of AI will result in a raft of new changes in the marketing world, leading to marketing companies becoming more reliant on it and removing the human element. With AI already streamlining so many other industries, it’d be naive to think it might have the same impact on the global marketing industry, too.
Casino gaming and sports betting companies also have to contend with the rise of alternative payment options like cryptocurrency and sweepstakes, and alternative ways to play, including VR.
Nobody knows how the industry is going to look in ten years, and regardless of whether cutting-edge tech makes it completely unrecognizable in comparison to the current market, there is still going to be a significant need for individuals and companies that understand the power of effective promotions and how they can transform the fortunes of a company.
This might be incredibly competitive in a global market, especially one as vast and varied as the betting world, but the ethos remains the same. Those who can crack it and appeal to a fresh audience are going to be able to grow their businesses regardless.
