Amazon-owned platform Twitch is all about building communities around a shared, streamable interest. Initially designed for gamers, this popular site has recently shifted into other lifestyle topics, creating an enticing content marketing opportunity for tech-savvy brands in the process. Here’s how you can make the most of Twitch for your business.
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What is Twitch?
Launched in 2011, Twitch is an interactive livestreaming platform geared towards gamers. It allows you to stream content in real-time, essentially reworking live TV. By 2021, it recorded 6.7 million streamers publishing content each month. And those are just the creators: Twitch has 140 million monthly active users.
Streams last anywhere from one minute to eight hours, and you can interact with comments, questions or suggestions with instant feedback. Like most social media platforms, you can follow or like different channels, and be notified when new content is released.
Twitch comes with its own “emotes,” or emojis, to provide users with a way to show support for streamers. It also has chat badges that identify who you are, from a broadcaster up to a VIP. There are a few subscription options on top of the free version to give users exclusive in-game content and access to bonus channels.
It’s not all about streaming
Twitch is essentially about creating connections. It enables fans to interact with streamers online, and twice a year, the platform hosts their own convention, TwitchCon. The event celebrates the streaming industry, offering a face-to-face moment for fans and broadcasters alike. Event sponsors sell branded merchandise, hosting sessions pertinent to their industries. It’s direct access to the ultimate engaged audience.
Who uses Twitch?
While Twitch has moved into more lifestyle content, most of its audience is still from the gaming community. SimilarWeb published a study identifying that 22.68% of the traffic to Twitch was from the U.S., with 42.13% arriving to the site through YouTube. The platform has over 28 million unique users per month in the U.S., 80% of which are teen males.
You might be wondering if your business is relevant on Twitch if the audience is so swayed toward teen males. Remember, your audience may still be there, just in smaller volumes. Twitch is great for scaled engagement. The site is powered by visual content, and if this is something your brand does well, it’s certainly worth exploring.
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Twitch’s focus on connection and community building makes it the perfect platform for influencer marketing.
4 ways your brand could use Twitch
Brand awareness
Twitch offers a unique opportunity to engage with potential customers. Their recent collaboration with 1,000 Dreams Fund gave an entirely new audience an introduction to the non-profit. The partnership offered Twitch streamers who are female and currently attending university assistance with school expenses. The cross-pollination of content on Twitch’s social media channels highlighted the cause, driving awareness for their brand. Doritos and Twitch did something similar for the 2018 TwitchCon, pushing a branded content experience.
Influencer marketing
Twitch’s focus on connection and community building makes it the perfect platform for influencer marketing. Partnering with a relevant Twitch influencer is a great way to expose your brand to a loyal band of followers. KFC recently paired up with Sacriel, Sequisha, Anthony Kongphan and Dr. Lupo to create the chicken dinner challenge.
Lead generation
Utilize Twitch to generate new leads for your business. Both Head & Shoulders and Wendy’s have done this successfully. Wendy’s took it a step further by launching its own channel in collaboration with Fortnite. They partnered with popular streamers to generate views and moved past what gamers would view as “advertising” to create the ultimate integrated content. Wendy’s in-game freezer destroying campaign generated more than 1.5 million views, and mentions increased by 119% across social channels.
Paid media
Like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, Twitch plays video ads before their streams. These pre-roll ads are an exciting opportunity to increase sales and awareness. Indeed utilized paid media to connect talent and streamers with a campaign designed to showcase exactly what they are: a career search engine. The content identified how gamers, streamers and developers could find talent and vice versa. Pre-rolls and paid media ads are about generating click-throughs, grabbing a user’s attention with smart targeting. Treat Twitch like any other social media channel, and you could reach a whole new audience.
Should your brand use Twitch?
Twitch is an intimidating platform most marketers shy away from. The brands that have been willing to take a risk and engage on the platform have seen some serious results. If you cater to a younger audience, exploring Twitch should be a no-brainer.
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Published March 29, 2021