Twitch influencer marketing campaigns

Being a video-first platform, Twitch is focused on real-time content and live streams. During live streams, followers have an opportunity to communicate directly with streamers. This facilitates a deeper connection between the streamer and their followers.

HypeFactory, a global influencer marketing agency, has been working with Twitch for several years and has accumulated the breadth and depth of experience needed for a successful promotion with a streamer.

Here we compiled a few key components of a great influencer marketing campaign.

If you're thinking about working with a streamer, there are a few things that you need to be prepared for.

Although both platforms are centered around videos, there are two major differences:

• Twitch is mostly used for driving desktop traffic. There are some workarounds to drive mobile traffic too. For example, our team uses QR codes.
  
• A good Twitch streamer can have around 200 views on average per stream which is considered a good result.
  
• Compared to YouTube, Twitch has a very engaging audience. To boost engagement, our agency uses animated widgets that show how many times viewers do the desired action during the stream. This creates a sense of community and helps keep the viewers engaged.
  

While being famous for its gaming community, Twitch is popular among users with different interests. Even the gaming community is not homogeneous. That's why when looking for potential users, make sure that you understand their interests and look beyond the simple associations with your brand. For example, at HypeFactory the search for a suitable influencer starts with analyzing the brand's target audience and is based on its characteristics.

Is it better to partner for your next campaign with a macro- or micro-influencer? The answer is "Both". By mixing streamers of different sizes, you level up your campaign and make sure that there's room for scaling and reaching out to a wider audience. Even if you think that the streamer doesn't have enough followers, sometimes the engagement rate is more important. For example, our agency analyzes every profile based on 55 metrics, including engagement rate and audience quality. This helps the agency keep a healthy mix of creators.

Your audience will appreciate creativity. While Twitch is smaller than YouTube, it can still be hard to stand out there. That's why we have a Creative Department within the agency with several people who are working exclusively on developing the narrative and creative ideas for a campaign. Even if you don't have a creative department or are not ready to work with an agency, it's worth thinking about creativity during the campaign's planning stage.

Influencer marketing involves a collaboration between the brand and an influencer that's why you need to make sure that everyone is on the same page. By creating detailed and easy-to-understand briefs for every influencer, you can avoid confusion and ensure that promotion is structured and well-executed.

Streamers don't use only one platform. Their audience follows them on other platforms as well. With a bit of negotiation and planning, you can launch a cross-channel campaign and leverage your marketing efforts.

While there are many influencer marketing agencies worldwide, not all have enough experience to work with this social media channel. For example, our agency has a team of internal experts who specialize in launching campaigns on a specific social media platform for different companies and industries.

There are various ways how you can promote your brand:

For this type of promotion, brands partner with an influencer and agree on the stream that is fully dedicated to their product or service. When working with a streamer on a dedicated stream, it's a good practice to ensure that promotion is subtle, the content is entertaining, and the influencer campaign's results are tangible.

Regardless of the industry, brands can use product placements to promote themselves on a video-streaming platform. For example, streamers can be encouraged to mention the brand during one of the streams. Placements are a great way to promote a video game, a tech gadget, and many other products.

Influencers can also add panels to their channels. These are buttons that allow streamers to customize their About section. Brands can add their links there too with a CTA. For example, if a streamer mentions a game during promotion, they can refer viewers to their About section to follow the link.

Our agency encourages streamers to use QR codes. These QR codes link to a mobile app or a mobile game and make it easier for viewers to check out a mobile-first product while watching the stream on their computer.

Although it is a streaming platform, it doesn't mean that live streams are the only type of videos you can get there. Some brands record streams with a popular influencer and gate this content to generate leads.

Brands can, and ideally should, partner with several influencers. For example, you can coordinate influencers in a joint stream. This will increase your exposure and get your brand in front of several audiences.