Twitch marketing has increasingly made a name for itself. Whether you are a gamer, an influencer, or a content creator, you will quickly find that twitch users have become one of the biggest social media platforms for marketers.
Twitch users amount to millions of active customers. This has attracted several brands to engage in twitch influencer marketing. People don’t just use it from gaming, now, it’s become a hub for live streaming influencer marketing campaigns.
That being said, you first need to know the audience’s behavior to get a footing in the twitch influencer marketing. If you have just heard of this gold mine, let us give you a quick guide on twitch marketing. We will tell you what twitch marketing is, why you should care about it, and how it works.
Twitch Marketing Defined
To understand twitch marketing, you need to understand what Twitch is. Twitch is a social media platform that allows content creators to Livestream content.
Twitch first emerged for gamers, game developers, and other e-sport customers. However, in recent years, it has transformed into a live streaming platform that has accepted non-gaming brands as well. Now, there are twitch influencers who have cooking channels, music channels, and various other marketing channels!
Twitch’s audience has become one of the most sought after target audience because of their daily active consumption.
It’s basically become a sweet haven for content creators. It doesn’t matter if you are a gamer or belong to a non-gaming brand, you can live stream yourself showing off your content. And, you can engage with your viewers through Twitch chat. If you have a loyal following, you can ask your viewers to support you via subscription and donations. The subscriptions start at $5 per month. There will be a small fee for Twitch.
Twitch’s audience is a vibrant community, which makes Twitch marketing even more effective. Twitch influencers are known to have great sway with twitch users.
Twitch marketing campaigns as a marketing strategy has succeeded for obvious reasons. No one can deny the attraction in video content. Twitch is just that, with added benefits. It’s a live streaming platform, where the audience can interact with the twitch influencer in real-time. Plus, twitch viewers don’t have to pay for the content. Twitch, as a social media platform, has succeeded in creating a sense of immediate community among twitch influencers and followers.
Why Should Brands Pay Attention To Twitch?
Great question! Here’s a fast fact for you. As per the Sprout Social Index, around 56 percent of brand managers see video marketing as the topmost marketing strategy. Additionally, around 40 percent of customers have said that they prefer live streaming over other forms of marketing content.
It’s no surprise, then, that video-centric social media platforms are doing great with audiences. YouTube is one of the biggest names amongst content creators. No wonder, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms are increasingly focusing on video content.
Twitch, on the other hand, includes not just video content, but live chatting option, giving twitch another bump in influencer marketing.
Recent data has shown that Twitch has surpassed 49 million active viewers per month. With this number of huge followers, Twitch stream is clearly the way to go for any brand that is seeking to find a market.
Twitch marketing is great for another reason. The demographic of twitch streamers and twitch viewers are of the younger generation. And isn’t this demographic everyone’s target audience? The Twitch viewership has been analyzed and the numbers are great news for any brand. Around 73 percent of the twitch viewership is under 34 years of age. And the remaining 41 percent belong between 16 to 24-year-olds.
This is why twitch marketing is the way to go.
If your mind is not blown yet, we have other data about twitch influencer marketing for you. As per Twitch, a vast majority of twitch streamers engage with influencer marketing by either donating or by buying brands recommended by influencers.
70 percent of Twitch viewers donate to their influencers. 64 percent buy from the brands recommended by their twitch influencers. Around 62 percent of the followers engage with these twitch influencers on a daily basis. Now wonder influencer marketing is booming in this gaming industry.
If your target audience is Gen Z or millennials, you can easily connect with them by creating a twitch channel. This is the best way to create brand awareness. You can also invest in brand partnerships with twitch creators.
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram might be big names as social networks, but Twitch is the place where you will find young and loyal audiences. Understanding twitch marketing will at least give you an understanding of how to create brand awareness amongst the younger generation.
Some Are Some Terms From Twitch Streamer That You Should Know
Before diving into how twitch marketing works, we will tell you all there is to know about twitch streamer’s terms so that you don’t get lost. This part is crucial before you begin any influencer marketing campaigns.
Chat
This term is pretty simple. This is the place where influencers and followers can chat and build a stronger community. Unlike YouTube, Twitch is firstly a live streaming platform, which is why Twitch chat is one of the most active social networks around. Sure, comments can get lost when there is heavy traffic. To combat those twitch creators have introduced a “slow mode.”
Twitch creators have also introduced features to help new twitch accounts work freely and without worrying about things spiralling out of control. One of these features is a filtering and moderation setting. Furthermore, an influencer can take help from mods to help them control the chat room BB
Twitch Subscription, Twitch Emote, And Twitch Badge
Subscription is a pretty standard term. Audiences can support a twitch channel by making a subscription to the channel. This will give followers access to ad-free live-streams and exclusive emotes.
Twitch Emote is big in the twitch community. It helps influencers create their brand in a meme-worthy and playful manner. These are attractive emotes that only the members of the community have, which they can use to interact with each other. These emotes can be used and often shown off in other twitch streaming chats.
Badges are badges of honors. If you are a follower who has supported an influencer for a long time, you will surely be awarded a badge. Badges upgrade as you move along to deeper support.
Donations And Twitch Bits
Twitch marketing is helped by the fact that followers can donate to their influencers. This can be in the form of monetary exchange via PayPal. This will show as donations in the streaming site.
Twitch bits, on the other hand, refers to in-app currency. The more bits a follower buys, the higher badges will get unlocked.
Twitch Partner And Twitch Affiliate
These are the two levels for twitch streamers. To upgrade yourself from just a regular streamer, you need to increase your followers to become either a twitch affiliate or a twitch partner. You will also have to stream more often and have a higher average of followers who consistently view your content.
If you aspire to take up twitch streaming professionally, you need to become a twitch partner. That’s because when you become a partner, you will have more brand partnerships. It’s another feature of twitch that connects influencers and brands, which makes twitch marketing that much more easier and effective. Twitch gives out an internal sponsorship, which is shown in twitch’s “Bounty Board.”
Brands And Twitch Come Together
Another great reason to dive into twitch marketing is that there’s not much competition here compared to other social media platforms.
Sure, there a number of game developers and gaming apps that are making use of twitch marketing. However, there’s still more room for non-gaming content. Let’s look at some of the marketing channels that are doing great right now.
Esports And Gaming Tournaments
If you are new to the gaming industry, this one might surprise you. Did you know that Wendy’s regularly participates in game tournaments? Yes, you heard it right! Wendy’s has been playing games to generate brand awareness on Twitch for quite some time now.
Virtual Events
Several brands have started streaming virtual events to simulate traditional cable tv. Marketers have found that the immense audience twitch already has is great for content marketing.
Non-Gaming Content Tutorials
This is another great example of how brands are using twitch marketing to attract younger audiences. Brands have already started to focus on tutorials as a marketing strategy. And what’s better for tutorials? Yes, live streaming viewership.
Interviews And Much More On Twitch Marketing
Did you know that Bernie Sanders used twitch to host interviews and discussions for his 2020 presidential campaign? Well, he sure did! No wonder he is big amongst the younger crowd.
Brands can contact twitch influencers and create a brand partnership. This way, if you think you are not savvy with the ways of social media platforms, you can rely on influencers who already have a huge following.
Charity, fundraising, and philanthropy is a huge part of twitch. Since there is already an active audience, organizations can easily disseminate important information. There’s already a crowd, and so, you wouldn’t need to work hard on attracting people. The only thing that should concern you is whether your cause is worth an ear.
Big brands often sponsor and donate their twitch earnings to charities. This gives them legitimacy and improves its brand image. For instance, CashApp has regularly donated all their twitch earnings to The Gamers Outreach Foundation. Many brands also become twitch sponsors to other smaller foundations. One such twitch sponsor is Red Bull. They support the Games Done Quick events, which in turn have raised money for the Present Cancer Foundation and Doctors Without Border.
Furthermore, twitch also has an Ads section!
Here’s How You Can Get Started With Twitch Marketing
Here are quick tips for streamers and brands.
Know What The Right Tools Are
Many people think that twitch marketing will be quite expensive because it is related to the gaming industry. They couldn’t be more wrong. What you need is just a decent microphone, simple video marketing gear, and you are good to go. Moreover, you can use Streamlabs OBS (SLOBS) to create your twitch channel and start earning within no time!
Be Clear On Your Brand Image
As we already mentioned, twitch has a huge community of the young generation. Given that, a brand cannot be successful if it isn’t clear about itself. It doesn’t matter if you are a micro-influencer or a big brand, a strong brand image is a must.
For instance, many streamers on twitch invest huge sums to create their emotes and badges. Canva even has an exclusive space for creating twitch graphics.
Promote Your Other Social Media Platforms Amongst Your Viewership On Twitch
A string influencer marketing campaign must include promotion. If you are a non-gaming brand, you definitely want your Twitch audience to follow you on other platforms as well.
Twitch will prompt you to add your social media information. And, you can always customize your “About” button to match your brand image.
Another obvious tip for marketers is to cross-promote your streaming events and content across social media platforms.
Is Twitch Marketing Something That You Want To Try?
We have given you all the information there is to know about twitch marketing. It’s just a matter of commitment in your part towards content marketing.
The key information you should take away from this article is that Twitch has the most active young followers. And if you think that is your target audience, we would suggest that you go for it.
Whether it is gaming enthusiasts, twitch sponsors, or micro-influencers, twitch marketing has proven itself to be a vibrant haven of opportunities. We are sure you wouldn’t want to miss out.
