How Using Twitch Can Benefit Growing Businesses

In a world where brands are fighting to connect with customers, it can be hard to find new ways to advertise. Thinking outside the box is a good way to generate fresh ideas, whether it’s through a campaign or social media. New platforms are being developed regularly to bridge the gap between brands and consumers. One of the most popular platforms is Twitch, with more companies using it as a way to reach younger customers. But for those who haven’t heard of Twitch, what is it and how can it be used to advertise your brand?

What is Twitch?

Twitch is a live streaming video platform that focuses primarily on video game playthroughs. But business owners are realising that it can be used to reach a large amount of people. A recent report showed that in 2016, there was 292 billion minutes of livestreams viewed. Furthermore, the average Twitch user watches 106 minutes of livestream content per day, which offers a lot of potential for engagement.

Which brands are taking advantage?

Comic Relief saw the opportunity to raise money for good causes like youth homelessness. So they pitted celebrities against video game equivalents in a week-long series on Twitch. This included footballer Dele Alli, Soccer AM presenter Adam Smith and comedian Rob Beckett. The series was then handed off to the Twitch community to stream their own games in order to raise money.

Brands like Totino have sponsored gaming competitions, with their ‘Live Free, Couch Hard’ campaign. They created a Call Of Duty tournament that was watched by 30,000 people in a six-hour broadcast. This was successful because they were able to tap into the demographic of people who like to binge watch series.

How can Twitch benefit your brand?

What makes Twitch such an effective marketing tool is that it reaches the 16-24 age group in a matter of minutes. Your brand can benefit from the unfiltered approach that Twitch offers. There’s the chance to view authentic content that hasn’t been polished for a specific purpose. This means that viewers will be able to connect with the video streamer because there isn’t anything manufactured about the performance.

Twitch also encourages interaction with real-time chat. This will help your brand identify what’s working because people will voice their immediate opinion. In addition, Twitch creates a personal connection between content and the viewer through a subscription option. Subscribers have the benefit of skipping ads, as well as receiving other perks. Twitch is based around incentivisation, meaning viewers can donate money so streamers can continue to create content.

This idea of incentivisation can be used in different industries. For example, a fashion brand like Topman can show they care about fashion enthusiasts by funding their projects. This forges a bond between brand and influencer, leading to a new advertising opportunity in the future.

Your brand can also take advantage of Twitch’s ability to inspire active participation. This might be through sponsoring gaming tournaments or offering prizes.

Twitch offers a lot of potential for reaching the younger generation. Through a combination of live video and real-time interaction, your brand could reap the rewards of customer engagement.