Twitch, a new space for dialogue

Twitch, the world’s number one live content platform, is unknown to advertisers. They are hesitant to invest in it despite it being a great promotional tool! Let’s take a closer look at this social network that has reached the pinnacle of online human interaction.

| Live-streaming as a new mode of communication

In just a few years, Twitch, the platform originally dedicated to gaming, has become the world’s number one live-streaming platform. Content is broadcast live by individuals in front of millions of daily viewers. While gaming remains the platform’s flagship, it also features cooking competitions, news shows, talk shows, and musical performances.

The platform offers thousands of hours of content to watch at any time for free. As you read this article, there are an average of 90,000 live channels! Viewers can support their favorite artists with a subscription to get exclusive services (subscriber badge, special emojis, replays, etc.) or by donating directly during the stream.

Twitch allows for a rethinking of the work of a video creator as it was formatted by YouTube. It’s no longer about editing, cuts or seconds taken. In live streaming, the viewer is touched by the interlocutor’s personality, spontaneity, and ability to host live discussions for hours. He or she is at the heart of the content, as he or she interacts directly with the video creator through the comment section, giving him or her advice or challenges. He or she becomes a real actor in what he or she is watching.

Authenticity is paramount on Twitch, well before the interface or gadgets highlighted by more traditional networks. This was the vision of the creators who started by live-streaming the lives of internet users as early as 2007. The site was called Justin Tv, and it was like a reverse Truman Show until technological progress allowed gamers to hijack it by sharing their digital exploits.

Twitch is one of the major players in the attention war between different platforms, to the point that YouTube is trying to copy its live-streaming system. On average, each of its 100 million monthly users spends nearly an hour and a half on it every day. More than half of the viewers are between 18 and 34 years old, and peak audiences on a live-stream can reach over 300,000 people simultaneously.

These few figures are pushing brands such as Nike, EA, or Kellogg to invest in this new media space. Indeed, the proximity between the viewer and the video creator significantly enhances engagement rates. However, advertisers seem to be scared of the young Twitch, a network that is not well understood and, in their view, too atypical.

| A new innovative channel for brands

The relevance of this communication channel is no longer to be demonstrated. On the charitable front, for example, the platform has shown us on numerous occasions how present viewers are! The famous ZEvent, for example, mobilizes streamers for about fifty hours to support a good cause. Last October, the 55 video creators offered us the most lucrative charitable stream in history, raising 10 million euros for Action Against Hunger.

Numerous tools have been developed for brands, and they are waiting for you! The video creator can first integrate your logo into the video, a very simple and inexpensive promotional mechanism. He or she can also talk about and promote your brand’s merits in his or her video, including discount codes.

This advantage can be combined with the best promotional methods allowed by live streaming: a partnership that allows the creator to offer an extraordinary experience to their community while showcasing what your brand does. For example, live tests or unboxings! It is also possible to add advertisements to the videos, but they prove to be much less profitable than a live experience, in line with the platform’s codes.

Twitch is based on continuous interaction, and the chatbots that can be easily set up allow for comment moderation and also establish an exchange between your company and viewers by broadcasting sponsored links or humorous responses triggered by certain words.

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Due to the pandemic, in-person events created by your company are likely to cause an outcry. However, it is not necessary to suspend them completely. You can export them to where the French now gather due to a lack of social connection: on Twitch!