Twitch, the video social network owned by Amazon

Twitch is one of Amazon’s best-kept secrets. Despite being one of the pages with the most traffic on the internet, there are still few who know about it and even fewer who dare to include it in their marketing plans.

As a marketer, Twitch offers you a golden opportunity to differentiate yourself from the competition and reach a large, young audience with a positive attitude towards brands. That’s why I want to tell you what exactly the Amazon video network is and how to leverage it to advertise your business.

What is Twitch?

Twitch is a video streaming platform owned by Amazon. Most of its users use it to watch videos of gamers playing live, a very simple concept that takes advantage of the great pull of the video game industry (today, this sector moves more money than music and cinema combined).

On Twitch, gamers play video games with millions of users per month, such as Fortnite and PlayerUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG). In addition to broadcasting their games live, they also comment on the action in real time and have a chat to interact with viewers.

Twitch has more than 100 million monthly active users (a third of Twitter’s audience) and 2.2 million monthly streamers. According to data from the network itself, 99% of its users watch video game broadcasts, 61% chat with the community, 38% consume other types of video, and 25% broadcast their games. 58% of users spend more than 20 hours per month on Twitch. In short, this is a smaller community than other large networks, but it is still a very significant audience and, above all, with a high level of activity.

It is also interesting to note that, although video games are the origin and essence of this community, not all channels deal with this topic. We can also find other types of live broadcasts, such as cooking shows, sightseeing, and much more.

How can you make money with Twitch?

Twitch streamers have several channels to earn money through their presence on the network:

• Following a Twitch channel is free, but to remove ads and get incentives, users have to subscribe and pay a fee. This fee is shared between the streamer and the network itself. Subscriptions come in three different tiers: $4.99, $9.99, and $24.99 per month. The streamers themselves decide which incentives to offer to subscribers at each level.
• Users can also support their favorite channels by sending them “bits,” a kind of virtual jewelry that can be purchased and used to send prominent chat messages with animated emoticons (“Cheers“). Users can buy “bits” with different offers depending on the quantity and send them to their favorite creators by typing “cheer” in the chat and the number of bits to use. Typically, streamers receive one cent for each bit used to cheer them. Since its launch in late June 2016, more than a billion bits have been shipped.
• Twitch can be a good place for gamers to promote their skills and get into the prestigious eSports championships, a kind of tournament where players get prizes for defeating their opponents.
• And finally, it is also possible to use Twitch as a platform to launch a career as an influencer on other social networks. For example, this is the case of Ninja, the first Twitch user to reach 10 million followers.

How does Twitch marketing work?

82% of Twitch users believe that sponsorships are positive for the video game industry, so advertising content is well accepted on the site. If your brand is aimed at a Gen Z audience (the average age on the site is 21 years old) and a mostly male audience (81.5% of users), you may want to consider this network as a marketing channel.

The Twitch marketing ecosystem revolves around partners. To become a partner, a streamer needs to meet the following conditions:

• An established audience and chat that is growing steadily.
• A regular broadcast schedule (at least three times a week).
• Content that complies with the site’s rules and conditions.

Partners can insert pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads into their broadcasts; in total, one ad is supported every 8 minutes. To get the best results, you’ll want to look for users with an established and regular audience. It is also possible to place ads in sidebars. Twitch works on a cost-per-mille system and generally ranges from $2 to $10 per 1000 impressions.

5 Examples of Brands Succeeding on Twitch

If you need more inspiration, don’t miss these campaigns!

Kellogs Krave

Kellogg’s was encouraged to launch advertising on Twitch with the help of the agency Signal. The format chosen was pre-roll ads, and the campaign was launched in Spain, Italy, and France. The ad included a 3D animation of the brand’s mascot, “Krave Chocovore,” wearing a Twitch sweatshirt. Thus, they managed to integrate the two brands effectively.

EA

Since it’s a video game company, Twitch is a great choice for EA. To promote its game “The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs,” the company partnered with streamer RoryPlays to create a two-hour sponsored live stream.

During the broadcast, RoryPlays tested the video game and told the audience about its features. In addition, by expressing its gratitude to the brand for sponsoring travel and allowing it to show exclusive content to fans, this broadcast helped position EA in a positive way among its followers.

KFC

Among PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds players and streamers, the phrase “winner winner chicken dinner” is very popular. KFC did not miss this opportunity to collaborate with streamer Lupo to promote its brand.

Old Spice

The famous brand Old Spice of colognes decided to twist Twitch and show that not everything has to be about video games. Thus, they took advantage of the live chat for a campaign called “Old Spice Nature Adventure“. The premise: an actor in the woods who was contractually obligated to do everything Twitch users asked him to do for three days. A great idea to take advantage of the interactivity of this network.

Not content with this initiative, after two years, they tried their luck again with another interactive campaign in which eight users had to control a giant octopus collaboratively.

Duracell

The battery-powered brand dared to launch a super streaming campaign, in which eight influencers took part in a five-hour broadcast with multiple cameras. The broadcast included 25 different challenges powered by a single charge of Duracell’s new batteries.

By harnessing the combined power of eight influencers at once, Duracell managed to accumulate 187,000 views from 150,000 unique users, 335,000 minutes viewed, and 4800 chat interactions.

10 Reasons to Include Twitch in Your Marketing Plans

1. Interaction with millennials and centennials. The new generations are an attractive audience for many brands, as they have a great capacity to influence the market. 55% of Amazon Video Network users are between the ages of 18 and 34, making it one of the best places to reach this audience accurately.
2. Influencer marketing. Although it is a social network mainly focused on video games, Twitch influencers can recommend all kinds of brands effectively. For example, the Achievement Hunter channel has sponsorships from Blue Apron (home delivery), Omaha Steaks (food), and DollarShaveClub.com (razor blades). As long as the product can interest the channel’s fans, there are good possibilities to establish an effective collaboration between both parties. And as we already know, influencer marketing is a good tool to build trust.
3. Pre-roll ads. With pre-roll ads, brands can have a format that doesn’t require collaboration with any specific channel. Since this network is very strict when it comes to monitoring the content of its creators, it can be considered more “secure” for advertisers than other video sites such as YouTube. Big brands such as Netflix, Apple, and Nike are already using it for their campaigns.
4. Access to a global market. Twitch brings together gamers from all over the world, so it’s a good bet wherever you are. And of course, it’s also very interesting if you’re looking to reach an international audience.
5. Low saturation. The big social networks, such as Facebook, Instagram, or even YouTube, are full of ads from a multitude of brands. In the end, what ends up generating this saturation is that the user “disconnects” and the ads are no longer as effective. On the other hand, on Amazon’s social network, you will be able to find a new audience and benefit from a greater impact and more frequent viewing.
6. Great social possibilities. In the end, more than a video platform, Twitch is first and foremost a social network. Unlike other platforms like Facebook and Twitter, the action here happens live. Users can interact with the streamer in real-time. Some streamers even take advantage of this possibility by letting users choose which game they are going to play or which restaurant they are going to visit. And the relationship isn’t just two-way: chat participants can also make connections with each other. In short, the social element helps to hook users and explains in large part the success of this network.
7. Flexible branding options. To get started with advertising on Twitch on a modest budget, pre-roll ads are a great option… But as we’ve seen in the examples above, brands can do so much more. For example, gaming headset manufacturer Turtle Beach often gives away free products to streamers as long as they mention their brand. This way, the audience can see a live product demo.
8. Continuous growth. In 2012, Twitch had about 20 million monthly users, and since then, the numbers have not stopped growing. Looking at the numbers, it makes sense to bet that this network is going to be with us for a long time, and therefore, being one of the first brands to have a presence there is a great long-term investment. In addition, elements beyond the world of video games have been introduced, so the audience is diversifying. Who knows, maybe one day we could be talking about YouTube’s successor.
9. Own content. Brands don’t have to limit themselves to sponsoring streamers; they can also leverage the platform to create and broadcast their live content. For example, many companies use it to broadcast press conferences or charity events. The key to making it work is to create engaging and entertaining content for the audience, not on the subject matter.
10. The power of live performance. Whether on TV or online, live broadcasts can engage viewers and make them feel part of something. Live streaming is the essence of Twitch and is what makes it such a powerful tool, as it allows users to participate in a unique moment. Don’t miss it!