What is Twitch
It works as a free platform for both streamers or content creators and viewers and is used to broadcast live. Anyone with a verified account can use the platform for free, but to support the creators' content, users can make donations or subscribe to channels and pay to get exclusive benefits.
There's room for everything on Twitch. You can watch everything from a League of Legends match to a musical improvisation, an English class, a debate or a haute couture fashion show. And as happens when something becomes so popular, everyone wants to have their own space on Twitch. Politicians like New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have their own channel and this is just a small example of the window to the world that this platform is.
It started out as a platform for gamers from all over the world when it was introduced as a spin-off of Justin.tv in June 2011 during the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The idea was to focus on electronic sports and even the name is a nod to this by being inspired by a term used in this type of competition, "twitch gameplay", referring to the reaction time of the players.
Years later, the parent company changed its name to Twitch Interactive, and on August 25, 2014 , Amazon.com bought it for $970 million in a transaction that Google, for example, had previously been interested in.
Why you should include it in your marketing strategy: Twitch in data
Twitch is growing rapidly and already has more than 17.5 million daily active users . More than half of them are between 18 and 34 years old, and 14% are between 13 and 17 years old: it is a medium designed by and for consumption by generations Z and millennials.
Of all the gaming streaming content that exists, 90% is spam phone number data consumed on Twitch, and topics related to music and the performing arts have quadrupled their presence on the platform last year, for example. 65% of viewers are men and 35% are women, and 54% have full-time jobs.
As you read this article, right now, over 2,500,000 people are watching Twitch and 62% of viewers engage with the platform daily, making it an ideal window to get in and stay.
Twitch is here to stay and although you may think that it is only YouTube's competition, it is the live future of television that is changing its paradigm just as radio is changing with podcasts.
As we've already explained, if you want to reach Generation Z you have to speak in places where they are and Twitch is one of the most important. But not only that, applying marketing on this platform can rejuvenate your brand and increase your impact at a lower cost than a TV ad could cost. It is a booming platform, which is undoubtedly another advantage, and very versatile when it comes to working with it.
Before explaining the different marketing strategy possibilities that this streaming platform offers you, we will give you one more fact to put into context the importance that this medium is gaining: 64% of viewers consume products that their favorite streamers have recommended to them. Marketing on Twitch is more than effective.
How to include Twitch in your online marketing strategy
Influencer marketing
Streamers or content creators are the focus of many brands. Ibai, for example, is sponsored by Movistar+, with whom he does some campaigns, and even ColaCao. Influencer marketing is a star strategy in which we can also use micro-influencers. Their small niche is a more attainable objective; there is no need to contact Rubius to advertise your brand from Andorra.
Own content
You can use content creators not only for advertising: your own content is also an open window to marketing. Remember that creating your channel is free and you can create all the valuable content you can think of. This way you can build a community to interact with and increase your visibility and engagement as a brand. Try webinars, interviews, tutorials or simply a discussion where you can talk about topics that may interest your target audience.
Online events
Why not broadcast a fashion show with your brand's clothes on Twitch? The big brands are already doing it and it's just one example of what you can do. Galas, award ceremonies, product launches... Think of Twitch as a TV channel to connect with a young audience and work accordingly.
Twitch Ads
Like any social network, Twitch allows advertising in different formats , from banners that can appear on the main page of a channel to ads that appear in the videos of some of the creators.
Streamers with a growing audience who consistently create content that complies with our Community Guidelines, Terms of Service, and DMCA Guidelines can become Twitch Partners. This way, they can monetize their channel not only through subscriptions and donations from their viewers, but also through advertising that is broadcast on their videos.
If they comply with all the requirements, they will be able to insert ads of up to 8 minutes in their videos at different times and they will be the ones who control the duration and frequency of the ads through their control panel.
There are three types of ads that can appear during a video : the so-called pre-roll ads, which are usually short and appear before the content starts; the mid-roll ads, which appear while the content is being viewed; and the end-of-stream ads, which are shown when the content has finished and which must be much more attractive so that the viewer does not close the video and leave when Chokas, for example, finishes his game.
Twitch can become your star tool in your brand's communication or simply a complement to your marketing strategy. But what is certain is that you will hear about it because it is not a fad, it is the future of communication.
