As a marketing platform, Twitch is fast catching the eye of the business world. Are you wondering if Twitch is the right fit for you? It all depends on your target audience and what type of marketing you are most comfortable using as a company. Twitch, is Amazon’s platform for online streaming and is popular among gamers who love cheating with their viewers as they stream their content. Twitch subscribers usually look for content that is exciting and fresh. Esports streaming does very well on the platform, and Twitch dominates over Facebook and YouTube as an online game streaming platform.
However, this platform is not just for those in the gaming universe. Twitch is compatible with several other industries. You can easily use Twitch to benefit your business if you can create an exciting live stream. Of course, to start your marketing journey on Twitch, you will need to choose the right streamer to be an influencer in the gaming and tech space. Brands aren’t prepared to work with streamers and don’t know how to choose the best without wasting the time. First of all, you should pay attention if the streamer is able to maintain a high average concurrent viewership (the average number of viewers that participate in a live stream at any given time) and has a significant number of Twitch followers with a positive growth. These metrics play a huge role in the decision-making process for brands to choose the right streamer.
How to Use Twitch Live Streams to Promote Your Business?
If you are not gaming or hosting a game, you are probably wondering how to best capture the notice of the gen-Z audience for your brand. After all, you do not just need a steady viewer count on your broadcast; you want accurate conversions that lead to profits and sales. You want consumer loyalty and brand growth. Here are some ways you can optimize Twitch to suit your needs:
1. Video yourself watching a video
It works best when you want to use content that suits your business needs but is already made available in the market by someone else. For instance, you can sell a bag of chips by watching a soccer game being played elsewhere while nibbling on your product. Or, you can showcase anime you are viewing with a timer mode. When you use this tactic, ensure that you have prior permission to broadcast what you are watching, as you may run into trouble with the original content creators otherwise.
2. Collaborate with influencers
Most Twitch influencers are gaming influencers who use games as their prime broadcast subject. However, they often creatively incorporate products of any type into their streams. Influencers have a loyal fan following (which usually takes them years to build) and can easily create brand opinions. Find influencers who align with your business and create live streams together to have maximum audience reach. In most cases, when you collaborate with an influencer, you let them have free reign over the subject presentation and stream content. Typically, influencers are also known to create unboxing videos, product and brand mentions, sweepstakes, and many other forms of brand-growing presentations besides live gaming. Depending on their reach, experience, and expertise, influencers can charge you any amount of fee. So ensure you do your research carefully and discuss your budget in advance before finalizing on any influencer. Also, keep in mind that often influencers become the extended face of your business, so choose who you want to work with after much deliberation and investigation.
3. Twitch advertising
You can set aside a budget for advertising on Twitch. You can create banners or full video ads. Each type of ad can be customized to suit your audience and budget needs. Twitch takes a community-first approach when it comes to advertising. You can have affiliates and partners depending on your budget for collaborative advertising. You also have an option to run your ads pre-roll or mid-roll. Twitch ads are typically 30 seconds to 3 minutes long and can bring in good revenue if planned correctly. Presently you can place your ads as:
- Display ads that appear anywhere on the homepage.
- The headliner of the homepage.
- Leaderboard.
- Medium rectangle.
You need to contact a Twitch representative to begin ad placement if you are a novice or unsure how to proceed.
4. Create an independent channel
You may wonder, is not creating an account on Twitch automatically equivalent to making a channel? While that is technically correct, many users make multiple channels to manage different themes and genres of streaming. You can create your account into an exclusive content-driven channel for your brand. It works when you are sure that you will be consistently creating new content and publishing it on a predetermined schedule conducive to brand building. When you create a channel, you must be very thorough with your research about:
- Topics that interest your audience.
- Your broadcasting frequency.
- Type of channel content you create.
- Your budget and time available for the platform.
- In what ways you would want to monetize your channel.
When you create a channel, growing your fan count on it should be one of your prime focuses, as this helps you increase social proof, visibility, and reach. Keep in mind that Twitch followers only watch broadcasts. On the other hand, the subscribers can pay a subscription for your channel and help support your content creation.
Which Businesses Commonly Use Twitch to Promote Their Businesses?
Because the content is live streamed, any marketing that can combine high performance with quality broadcast and the ability to engage with viewers alongside can do well using Twitch. Below is a list of the various industries that have found Twitch naturally advantageous to their brand building owing to the nature of their products and advertising techniques:
- Music
With the lockdown striking globally in 2020, several artists took to live to stream performances and concerts. It made Twitch a viable medium for musicians, singers, dancers, and the allied performing arts industry to connect with their audience and keep their arts alive. New as well as established artists turned to Twitch to boost their fan base as well as to keep their trade alive. The ability to directly interact during a show added to the appeal of Twitch both for the artists and their audience.
- Art and crafts
Painters, carpenters, candle makers, and other craft enthusiasts also find Twitch a great platform to display their skills as they can stream their work from scratch to the finished stage. It lends their work authenticity and allows them to connect with an audience who understands what they are doing or is curious about it. Viewers often leave helpful tips and suggestions that help the artist improve their craft.
- Culinary services
While cooks and small restaurants use Twitch the way artisans and musicians do to build their brand credibility and to get more people to taste their food, bigger food joints are known to have successfully used Twitch as a marketing tool to give away gifts cards and special promos. Several food-delivery services are also known to have found great conversions from Twitch viewers. You will find them often teaming up with restaurants and tournaments in progress to offer special delivery charges to viewers.
- Fashion designing
What is better than doing a live ramp show? Get the show delivered in real-time at the comfort of your home! Designers are known to have gathered an enviable fan following for their reinvention of fashion showcasing concepts using Twitch. From designing clothing for gamers to modeling for them, all subcategories of the designing industry have a ready market on Twitch.
- Hair and make-up
Tutorials are another great way of getting your audience to learn more about you and the services you sell. It is why hair stylists and make-up artists do well on Twitch, and they broadcast their art in real-time while connecting with their audience. Often, they do not just find more followers but loyal clients who provide them with business and more social edits exposure, thus growing their brand image and credibility.
- Cosplay
Dress-up is a big genre on Twitch, so if your business caters to those who love dressing up as characters from movies, anime, cartoons, and other forms of entertainment, then you should consider creating an account on this platform. Several conferences and conventions for cosplay also rely on Twitch to reach out to their target audience.
- ASMR
If you can successfully create a marketing strategy using ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), you will find a welcoming audience on Twitch. The fanbase for ASMR is growing by the day here, so tap into the potential of utilizing stimulation videos that will likely get viewers hooked to your live broadcasts.
- Anime
The world of Anime is growing by the day, and it is a popular culture genre with its subtypes and subgenres. While streaming anime that isn’t your creation is illegal unless you have a license to do so, you can incorporate anime into your marketing on Twitch.
- Animals and allied services
Whether you offer service to pets, run a pet shelter or a pet grooming salon, live streams on animals and their day-to-day activities always find a ready audience on Twitch. Twitch is an excellent platform for zoos, grooming centers, educational channels, and other businesses to experiment with.
If your business does not fall in the above categories, does that mean Twitch isn’t a good fit for you?
Not at all. You can give your business a significant presence on Twitch even if it does not fit into any of the above industries. A good marketing ploy will be to understand the consumer base on the platform before getting to your content creation plan. Twitch has a relatively young audience base inclined to stream with the same excitement and hook as games. So, you need to understand:
- When your target audience is most active on the platform.
- How to present your brand in new and exciting ways.
- What will lead to fan growth as well as lead to sales and loyalty conversions.
If you can do all three, then content creation and brand growth will become easy. The very nature of live streaming implies that you must be willing to act on the spur of the moment, gauge your audience’s temperament and steer the direction of the broadcast in an order that will bring you the best results. Because the script can’t always be executed cent percent, your marketing performance may ebb and flow at times. However, you will be able to gain your niche audience and grow nonetheless. To make your journey on the platform easy, you can:
- Add polls, leader boards, and mini-games to your general stream to attract more audience.
- Use chat moderating tools.
- Provide sponsorships or ask for the same.
- Collaborate for fundraisers and community welfare projects.
The Bottom Line
Twitch has been on the social media circuit for over a decade and is only growing more popular among the audience of the day. If you want to go live to create brand awareness, then Twitch is undoubtedly a platform you must explore. Anyone can use Twitch profitably for marketing their business, and you do not need to worry if you do not belong to the gaming or allied circuit of industries. The key to success here is to aim for a community building of real and active followers who can support your content with interaction and positive feedback. Step up your chatting etiquettes to ensure your conversations favor your brand’s image. Create unique content, find ways of storytelling, and build consumer relations. Twitch can be your gateway to finding the correct foothold in growing your small business!