What is Twitch and why include it in your online marketing strategy?

If you still don't know Ibai Llanos there is only one possible reason: for the last two years you have been living in a cave where there was no television, no social networks and no Internet. He is the Spanish streamer with the most potential and impact at the moment and one of the people to blame for Twitch being on everyone's lips.

What is Twitch

It works as a free platform for both streamers or content creators and viewers and is used for live broadcasting. Anyone with a verified account can use the platform free of charge, but to support content creators, users can make donations or subscribe to channels and pay to get exclusive benefits. 

Everything has a place on Twitch. You can watch everything from a game of League of Legends to a musical improvisation, an English class, a debate or a high fashion show. And as it happens when something becomes so trendy, everyone wants to have their space on Twitch. Politicians like New Yorker Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have their own channel, and this is just one small example of what a window to the world this platform is.

It started as a platform for gamers around the world when it was introduced as a by-product of Justin.tv in June 2011 during the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The idea was to focus on e-sports and even the name nods to this by taking inspiration from a term used in e-sports competitions, "twitch gameplay", referring to the reaction time of the players.

Years later the parent company changed its name to Twitch Interactive and on 25 August 2014 Amazon.com bought it for 970 million dollars in a transaction in which Google, for example, was previously interested. 

Why you should include it in your marketing strategy: Twitch in numbers

Twitch is growing rapidly, with over 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 the consumption of the Z and millennial generations.

Of all streaming gaming content, 90% is consumed on Twitch, and music and performing arts related topics have quadrupled their presence on the platform in the past year, for example. 65% of viewers are male and 35% female, and 54% have full-time jobs.

As you read this article, at this very moment, more than 2,500,000 people are watching Twitch and 62% of viewers interact with the platform on a daily basis, making it an ideal window in which to enter and stay.

Twitch is here to stay and although you may think that it is only YouTube's competitor, it is the direct future of television that is changing its paradigm, just as it is happening to radio with podcasts. 

As we 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, marketing on this platform can rejuvenate your brand and increase your impact at a lower cost than a TV ad would. It is a booming platform, which is definitely 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 have been recommended to them by their favourite streamers. Marketing on Twitch is more than effective.

How to include Twitch in your online marketing strategy

Influencer marketing

Streamers or content creators are the bet 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 target, you don't need to contact El Rubius to get him to advertise your brand from Andorra.

Own content

You can not only use content creators to advertise: your own content is also an open window to marketing. Remember that creating your channel is free and you can make 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 chat show about topics that might interest your target audience.

Online events

Why not broadcast a fashion show with your brand's garments on Twitch? Big brands are already doing this and it's just one example of what you can do. Galas, award shows, product launches... Think of Twitch as the TV channel to connect with a young audience and work accordingly.

Twitch Ads

Like any social network, Twitch allows you to advertise 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 and who consistently create content in compliance with the Community Guidelines, Terms of Service and DMCA Guidelines will be able to become Twitch Partners. Thus, they will not only monetise their channel through subscriptions and donations from their viewers or viewers, but also through advertising on their videos. 

If they comply with everything, 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 in a short format and appear before the content starts; mid-roll ads, which appear while the content is being viewed; and end-of-stream ads, which are shown when the content has finished and must be much more engaging so that the viewer does not close and leave when the Chokas, for example, finish their game.

Twitch can become a star tool in your brand 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.