Maximize Your Influencer Marketing Efforts by Expanding Geotargets

Geotargeting plays an important and beneficial role in the planning phase of effective influencer marketing campaigns. In the case of mobile games (check out our latest post on Supercell’s Brawl Stars), a majority of the advertisers we work with said “the United States” when we first asked which geographies they would like to target. They explained it is because the mobile gamers there have a higher lifetime value (LTV). However, by the end of the discussion, half of them reconsidered, and chose YouTubers either based in Europe or Latin America.

To highlight why this has been a recurring pattern, we moved forward with a data analysis on 113 Matchmade (CPM-based) campaigns that have targeted users across Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico), Europe (France, Germany, Italy), and the United States. For each region, we looked at the 3 following metrics, and compared the results to the ones gained from US based campaigns:

  • Costs
  • Conversion Rates from Views to Installs
  • Return on Investments

Our findings indicate that, despite US based mobile gamers are commonly known to have a higher LTV, CPM-based influencer marketing campaigns that target Latin America and Europe drive a higher return on investment (ROI) as they cost less and have higher conversion rates.

The data is brought to you by Matchmade, the intelligent influencer marketing platform. Every few minutes, we analyze all gaming-related channels and videos on YouTube and Twitch. That’s over 3.8 million channels, 371 million videos, 15 million streams, and 26 000 games.

 

US Based Campaigns vs Non-US Based Campaigns: Costs

estimated campaign costs

When advertisers decide to run CPM-based campaigns with us, we calculate the campaign costs based on the average CPM for the region, and the estimated view count of the relevant influencer marketing campaigns. For instance, according to our platform, the average CPM for the US is $45. If the estimated views for the campaigns targeting mobile gamers in the US are 1 million, the estimated cost would then be $45K.

In comparison to campaigns created by YouTubers based in Latin America, our data indicates that the average CPM there is $15. If we calculate the campaign costs based on 1 million views as well, the estimated cost would be $15K. As for the campaigns that target European countries, the average CPM is $40 based on the data available on our platform. If the estimated view count is also 1 million, the estimated cost for the region would be $40K.

As a result, US based campaigns cost significantly higher than non-US based campaigns.

 

US Based Campaigns vs Non-US Based Campaigns: Conversion Rates (Views to Installs)

Among the 3 regions, influencer marketing campaigns made by YouTubers based in Latin America appear to have the highest average conversion rate of views to installs (3.05%). Based on the data available on our platform, there were overall 40 campaigns from Latin America, 50 from Europe, and 23 from the United States.

The data also indicates that campaigns created by European YouTubers have an average conversion rate of 1.95%. And, to our surprise, US based campaigns have the lowest conversion rate of 0.50%.

To delve deeper into the specifics, we looked into 3 CPM-based campaigns with the highest number of installs from respective regions:

  • Case 1.1 (US Campaign)  
    • Total number of views: 6 million
    • Total number of installs: 30K
    • Conversion rate: 0.50%
  • Case 1.2 (LATAM Campaign)
    • Total number of views: 850K
    • Total number of installs: 88K
    • Conversion rate: 10.35%
  • Case 1.3 (EMEA Campaign)  
    • Total number of views: 3 million
    • Total number of installs: 77K
    • Conversion rate: 2.56%

The results indicate that influencer marketing campaigns from non-US geographies have higher conversion rates.

And, if we assess 3 other campaigns with a high number of installs from the same regions:

  • Case 2.1 (US Campaign)  
    • Total number of views: 3.7 million
    • Total number of installs: 19K
    • Conversion rate: 0.51%
  • Case 2.2 (LATAM Campaign)
    • Total number of views: 3 million
    • Total number of installs: 46K
    • Conversion rate: 1.53%
  • Case 2.3 (EMEA Campaign)  
    • Total number of views: 1.4 million
    • Total number of installs: 13K
    • Conversion rate: 0.92%

The data additionally supports that cases with higher conversion rates are campaigns targeting mobile gamers outside of the United States.

 

US Based Campaigns vs Non-US Based Campaigns: ROI

Mobile Adventure Game

Let’s pretend we are an advertiser who has decided to give influencer marketing and CPM deals a go for our latest mobile adventure game, “Match Of Make.” The LTV of our game, based on the data available, for Europe, Latin America, and the US are $1.00, $0.30, and $4.00 respectively.

If the overall view count for our campaign videos is 1 million and the average CPMs are $40, $15, and $45, the estimated campaign costs for the 3 aforementioned regions would be $40K, $15K, and $45K accordingly. If we decide to launch a campaign that targets gamers in Europe, and end up gaining a total of 47.7K installs, our estimated earnings would be $47.7K (that’s if we take the average LTV for that region and the number of installs gained into account). As for our return on investment from these campaigns, it would be a profit of $7.70K.

If we choose to proceed with a campaign that targets mobile gamers in Latin America, and gain a total of 74.7K installs in return, our estimated earnings would be $22.4K, meaning our ROI would then be $7.41K. Moreover, if we proceed with a campaign that targets mobile gamers in the US and gain a total number of 12.2K installs, our estimated earnings would be $49K. However, in terms of our ROI, it would only be $4K.

 

Key Takeaway:

Yes, US mobile users are more likely to make in-app purchases in mobile games, and campaigns targeting this region do bring in more viewership. However, the data available indicates that the conversion rates and return on investments for US based campaigns may not be as high as other regions like Latin America and Europe. This is why, depending on the campaign goals and marketing budget, we encourage advertisers to test the three regions before deciding to only focus on one particular area. Alternatively, expanding their geotargets globally can be another way to maximize influencer marketing efforts.

Matchmade automates the search process by analyzing all gaming content on YouTube and Twitch (3.8 million channels, 371 million videos on YouTube, 15 million streams on Twitch, and 26 000 games). We are more than happy to share the data of the influencers most relevant to your game with you. Click here for more information.

For more advice on influencer marketing, check out the following posts: