King.com overcomes Zynga in the social and mobile gaming space
Zynga has long been at the head of the totem pole in terms of mobile gaming, largely due to the company’s relationship with Facebook. Recently, the social network began loosening its ties to Zynga in an effort to break free from a company that has been facing very serious challenges. Now, the struggling developer has been supplanted by an up and coming social game studio known as King.com. The studio’s “Candy Crush” title recently eclipsed Zynga’s most popular games.
Candy Crush Saga has more than 9.7 million users
According to information from AppData, a service that measures daily active users for mobile and web applications, the “Candy Crush Saga” boasts of more than 9.7 million users worldwide. Julien Codorniou, head of European gaming partnerships with Facebook, notes that King.com has managed to become the second largest game developer on the Facebook platform in just under 18 months. King.com may be able to use this momentum to power major growth this year.
Cross promotion nets King.com major success and growth
Kimg.com attributes much of its success to the fact that it uses its existing games to promote its new titles. Thus, the 9.7 million people playing the Candy Crush Saga are exposed to the company’s latest games, increasing the chances of these people actually playing these games as well. While Zynga still holds dominance in the realm of monthly active users, those playing Zynga games typically only log in to the company’s titles for small periods of time throughout the month, lessening the developer’s opportunity to sell products to gamers.
Mobile gaming represents massive, lucrative market
According to a recent study from Flurry, a mobile research and consulting firm, free-to-play games accounted for 80% of the $10 billion mobile gaming market seen in 2012. There can be no doubt that mobile gaming is a force to be reckoned with, especially with mobile titles like Candy Crush Saga boasting of such a gargantuan user base. King.com is well on its way to becoming the next ruler of the social and mobile gaming space.
Facebook Graph Search introduced as new search function
Facebook’s search function has never been something to write home about, which is why the social network has decided to make significant changes to the feature. The social network has launched its latest development, called Facebook Graph Search. The new feature is meant to change the way users find information via Facebook by giving them the opportunity to search for specific keywords and control the parameters of the search itself. While this may be a nice change for casual users, this could be a major boon for advertisers and businesses.
Facebook Graph Search opens new possibilities for marketers
Facebook Graph Search is designed to provide users with real time information based on their association with other people and organizations within the Facebook network. The major feature of the new search function is the use of keywords. These keywords will allow users to localize their searchers, finding only the information they really want to see. Casual users are likely to find some degree of benefit in using the new search function, but advertisers may benefit the most from the changes Facebook has made.
Location-based marketing could be supported through new search function
Advertisers can use the Facebook Graph Search to better target their audience. The search function will put a great deal of information at the finger tips of marketers and other organizations interested in reaching out to particular demographics. This will allow advertisers to develop location-based marketing strategies based on the information that can be found through the Facebook Graph Search. The new search function could soon become a very powerful tool in a marketer’s advertising arsenal.
New search initiative may net Facebook healthy gains
Reaching out to consumers in an effective way is a practice that continues to evolve. Facebook has paid attention to the way consumers have changed over the years to become more reliant on social media. Social networks, like Facebook, traffic a great deal of information on a daily basis, much of which can be used by an advertiser to connect with a certain audience. Thus, Facebook has begun to take steps to cater more toward advertisers, which may provide lucrative incentives for this information in return.
