How Brands and Businesses are Leveraging Twitch

You’ve seen the pros and cons of Twitch and now you’re ready to jump in— but where do you start? 

Just like any social media platform, Twitch has its own unique features, interfaces, and strategies to adapt to, which is why bigger brands and networks are handing everything from production to interaction management over to a third-party Twitch Stream Manager. 

Let’s take a look at how other brands and businesses are successfully leveraging Twitch before you take the leap.

First, Know Your Audience

Sure, Twitch’s two-way, conversational style is a new take on streaming, but one timeless rule of marketing still applies: know and understand your target demographic.

Considering Twitch’s is 65% male— 73% of which are under 35— it’s also important to know if your ideal audience has a big enough presence on the platform.

So before you dive into production, get clear on who you’re promoting to and what they want to see.

Partner With the Right Personality

Like TikTok or YouTube, users are drawn to influencers and big personalities on Twitch. That means partnering with a celebrity, an influencer, or with a well-known Twitch streamer can add a personal touch to your stream and leverage their established audience.

The partner you choose should have a few non-negotiables, such as: 

• An engaged audience with high viewing numbers

• An audience aligned with your target demographic

• An audience who likely has an interest in your product or promotion

• An understanding of your niche’s unique vernacular

And of course, they should be in good standing with their Twitch community (you can check their comments and other social accounts to be sure).  

Be Prepared… To Roll With the Punches

Remember how we mentioned Twitch is a two-way conversational platform? Well, that can be good— and stressful if you’re not prepared.

While plenty of attention falls on the celebrity or influencer you choose, the fun of Twitch happens in the chat box. The chat box is how users interact with each other and your stream, and as you can imagine, it only takes a few negative comments for the stream to go south.

With that in mind, having a stream manager or producer to moderate the chat can help ensure everyone is on their best behavior.

Don’t Forget to Incorporate Other Streaming Channels

The beauty of Twitch is that when you add in additional software, the platform plays nicely with other streaming channels like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

This is an easy way to explode your reach across your social media accounts, and an even easier way to keep your existing audience engaged. Check out how the Children’s Hospital was able to maximize reach and raise funding for their event by streaming on Twitch AND Facebook. 

Use a Twitch Stream Manager

 Besides the chat box, there’s one more potential wild card when it comes to streaming on Twitch: technical difficulties. 

Handling production and setting up your stream can be tricky— especially if you’re managing streams on multiple platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. 

Be prepared for mishaps like losing your streaming connection, sound not working properly, and other pesky incidents that can happen when you’re live.

On the other hand, having a Twitch Stream Manager at your disposal can ensure production and streaming go smoothly.

Engage in Other Ways

Finally, make sure you’re taking the property steps to engage with your audience in multiple different ways.

Consider a sweepstakes for your audience during the event. Have fans vote directly in the Twitch platform. Having multiple ways for your audience can engage like this can make the event extremely impactful.  

Ready to see what Twitch can do for you?

Talk to one of our live stream experts to see if you can take advantage of Twitch for your next event.