Social media has become a common touchstone for all age groups and connects people of varied interests.
From Facebook to Clubhouse, it’s clear that audiences are dabbling in everything from micro-text to images to voice, but the winner of all formats seems to be video.
Video content is engaging and caters to multiple audiences. It’s what makes Tik Tok and Instagram Reels so addictive.
The pandemic saw a surge in live videos, and marketers quickly took that route to connect with their brand’s audiences. But are marketers forgetting another key marketing platform built primarily for videos?
If you haven’t figured it out yet, we’re talking about Twitch.
In Q3 of 2021 alone, Twitch saw:
- Saw 5.79bn hours of viewing.
- Garnered 41.5 million users in The United States
- Have 22% of revenue shares in the Gaming Video Content Market.
If you’re still here, then you clearly know that Twitch is an untapped resource for your brand, which is why we’re here to give you the deets.
Let’s add Twitch Marketing to your brand strategy!
What you need to know about Twitch
Launched in and owned by Amazon, Twitch grew vastly popular in the gaming and e-sports community. And it continues to grow. If anything, this showcases the potential of what Twitch is capable
BUT, what a lot of marketers do not realize is that the Twitch audience is also diving into multiple other genres such as ASMR, music, art, craft, and more.
There are even channels set up just for conversations.
No matter the size of your audience, Twitch could have a place for your niche.
Of course, that could also leave you wondering how effective is Twitch outside of the United States.
According to Statista, here is how Twitch grew during the pandemic, showcasing to the world that they have the potential to rise and become pivotal for brand growth.
The average user is between 16-24 years old, making this audience group young and impressionable and the perfect age group to consume the most content and potentially act on it.
However, there is a growing audience whose ages go up to the mid-thirties, making Twitch a platform as versatile as any other.
This young age group gives brands and content creators a chance to have fun indeed while creating young, fresh content.
So what is Twitch Marketing?
Well, Marketing on Twitch is utilizing Twitch’s services to upscale your product, service, or brand.
Although it doesn’t work like your average social media platform, think of Twitch as the biggest interactive Influencer platform. The platform allows you to live stream, making it great for podcasts, live videos, and more.
As a Twitch Marketer, it helps to understand the three levels of a Twitch content creator:
- Streamer
- Affiliate
- Partner
Upgrading to each of these levels come with their own advantages.
How do you use Twitch as a brand?
With Twitch’s rising statistics, it is clear that marketing on Twitch is a game-changer – and we don’t mean just in the game industry.
Let’s find out how you can use Twitch to market your brand.
Twitch Influencer Marketing
Thousands of streamers use Twitch, including streamers who have over a million followers. This makes Twitch an ideal influencer marketing platform.
Twitch Content Creators have the opportunity to expand communities by establishing a niche and garnering an audience. This in turn enables them to receive new features, rewards, and more.
As a brand, you can reach out to top-performing streamers to work for your brand. Based on your product, the scope of work, and the level of understanding, you can decide how to work this collaboration into your marketing strategy.
The most common collaborations include Twitch Influencer Marketing for product unboxing, product reviews, sweepstakes, giveaways, announcements, and more.
To promote their wings, KFC partnered with Twitch influencer Lupo to announce a live stream contest where Lupo played a PUBG game with his buddy and continued to make references like ‘Gotta get that chicken. KFC!
The important part of Twitch Influencer Marketing is to find the right influencer. So, how do you do it?
- Find someone that resonates with your brand: We’re not just talking about someone who sells the same product you do but also shares the same ideals and brand beliefs. This can make your collaboration more fruitful.
- Focus on the numbers: Usually, we’d say that there is strength in numbers, but with Twitch, there could be smaller streamers with a more dedicated set of viewers. Watch out for how streamers interact with their viewers before getting them on board.
- Consistency is key: It is no surprise that streamers need to be on Twitch almost every day. Since the audience here is young, they’re likely to tune in more and expect to see their favorite streamer online.
Twitch Advertising
While Twitch advertising may seem dicey, it could reveal surprising benefits. Twitch offers two advertising types for brands: Banners and in-video ads.
Twitch Video ads are only available for specific Twitch channels, which means the content creator or streamer needs to be a Twitch Partner to showcase ads on their channel.
Ads can be strategically placed before a stream, in the middle, or end based on when a content creator usually has peak viewing.
However, it’s essential to understand that Twitch is a younger platform, which means that all advertisements need to be interactive and fun, so the audience pays attention to them.
Here’s how KFC partnered with Twitch influencer Lupo and his buddy Anthony Kongphan to advertise their chicken wings. The influencers then played a game of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds to run an interactive live stream contest with the KFC banner.
Twitch Branded Channel
Creating a brand channel on Twitch increases exposure and awareness for your brand. You can use a branded channel to host various live streams for your potential or current customers.
While some of your campaigns and content can be cross-posted, it could also create a level of exclusivity by creating a Twitch community.
You can customize your banner on Twitch to reveal what’s in store for your audience.
Or set a schedule to showcase all your events and more.
Content Ideas to market your brand on Twitch
If you’re wondering what you can do on a platform like Twitch. Then we got you!
Here are the types of content brands can focus on while using Twitch
- Teach your audience about your products or services
- Create entertaining content to lure your audience
- Speak about industry-related events or news
- Offer exclusive promotions, offers, discounts
Yep! It is that easy when it comes to marketing on Twitch. All you need to make it a success is to find the perfect Twitter streamer or influencer.
Pros of Twitch Marketing
Here are some of the pros for Twitch Brands and Twitch Influencers
Stream to your advantage: With a live video streaming advantage, this feature gives audiences a sense of FOMO, encouraging them to tune in. Unlike Instagram reels, this content is not dependent on a time frame or requires heavy editing. Streaming allows your content to be raw and honest.
Monetize your content: If you are an influencer, you can use the platform to your advantage and earn using Twitch. This also opens up opportunities for brands to create a Twitch Ambassador or even a loyal set of Twitch influencers who can use their channels to promote the brand while earning money from Twitch and the brand partnership.
Possible e-commerce tie-in?: With Twitch being owned by Amazon, establishing your brand presence on the platform could mean that if Amazon were to launch an e-commerce tie-in, then your brand could be one of the first brands to leverage this feature in the future. *fingers crossed*
Cons of Twitch Marketing
Given everything that has been said so far, Twitch is a rosy path to take. But with the roses come the thorns.
So here are the cons of Twitch Influencer Marketing (hopefully, just for now)
Audience Age Group: Due to the perception of the content being streamed on this platform, most Twitch users are below 35 years old. This restricts targeting for brands whose audiences could include people over 35.
Analytics for brands: While Twitch creator analytics are great for Twitch Influencer Marketing, it hasn’t been that effective for brands and campaigns. Because of this discrepancy, it’s often hard for brands to gauge how successful their campaign has been.
No replay features: Obviously since Twitch is a live streaming platform, audiences are encouraged to tune in during live streams, which makes this content exclusive. However, when it’s all said and done, there is no trace of the stream and nothing to rewatch on the platform.
Of course, these cons could evolve.
Or Twitch could take you by surprise as they did for most users in 2021 with their marketing emails.
When all is said and done, choose Twitch.
It looks like Twitch has consistently shown potential to be up there in your Twitch marketing strategy, right alongside platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and more.
All in all, it is a great platform to create a community, represent your brand in a younger, fresher light, and create the opportunity for your brand to be a game-changer in the social media landscape.
Take the time to focus on your marketing strategy with Twitch and leave all the posting, monitoring, and reports to SocialPilot.
