5 Reasons Why Twitch Is A Great Space For Influencer Marketing

The surge in video game streaming throughout the past year has introduced a growing power in the influencer marketing space.

If you haven’t been paying attention to Twitch already, you should be. The streaming site boasts 3 million monthly broadcasters and 15 million daily active users, and its power only continues to grow. Video game enthusiasts aren't the only ones taking note of Twitch’s growth; Lytehouse has observed brands like e.l.f., Nike, and Wendy’s utilize the space recently, and we’ve received a lot of requests from brands looking for ways to activate on Twitch in the past couple of months.

Here are 5 reasons why you should consider making Twitch part of your influencer marketing strategy:

1) Gaming Is More Popular Than Ever

Gaming saw a massive surge in 2020, and while pandemic-related free time may be to blame, data indicates that there are no signs of decreased interest. In fact, Business Insider reported that there will be an estimated 177 million monthly gamers in the United States. In 2020, Twitch averaged 93 billion minutes watched per month.

In the competition between livestream gaming platforms, it’s the most popular platform by far, with 5.4 billion hours watched in Q4 of 2020, compared to 1.9 billion hours watched during that same time on YouTube Gaming Live and 901 million hours watched on Facebook Gaming. So if you are interested in the gaming space at all, Twitch needs to be your first priority.

2) Gen Z & Young Millennials Love The App

As you could probably guess, Twitch usership skews young and male. 41% of Twitch users are between the ages of 16 and 24, with another 32% falling between the ages of 25 and 34. For brands looking to engage with young audiences, Twitch is a great avenue to explore.

Twitch’s audience is also predominantly male, with 65% of its users identifying as male. This is much higher than other social media platforms like Instagram (49%) and TikTok (40%). Brands hoping to reach a young male audience should definitely prioritize Twitch.

3) Users Are Highly Engaged

While Twitch’s usership numbers are still much lower than other platforms like Instagram, and TikTok, those who are on the platform are incredibly engaged. The average user spends 95 minutes per day watching livestream gaming content on Twitch, an impressive number when compared to other apps like YouTube (40 minutes per day) and Instagram (32 minutes per day). When you’re activating on Twitch, you’re reaching out to a highly-engaged audience who will watch content for longer than on other platforms, providing your brand with more opportunities to speak to said audiences and get your brand in front of them.

4) Opportunities For Innovative Brand Integrations

So, how are brands activating on the app? Partnering with popular creators on Twitch is a logical first step, but brands are getting wonderfully creative with how they showcase their offerings.

In May, e.l.f. Cosmetics became the first beauty company to launch a branded Twitch channel, hosting livestream beauty tutorials, DJ sets, and gaming sessions to market their brand to Twitch’s Gen-Z audience. In December, Wendy’s partnered with Twitch streamers to create signature meals offered through Uber Eats to encourage customers to order Wendy’s for delivery so they can continue gaming all day long. The fast food company also has its own Twitch channel with over 115K subscribers.

As Twitch grows to become more than just a video game streaming platform, with creators using the app to live vlog, showcase beauty and cooking tutorials, and host music content, there are more opportunities to get creative on the platform everyday.

5) Ability To Speak To Niche Audiences

One unique aspect of the gaming world is that it is extremely segmented, with users extremely loyal to specific video game content and Twitch streamers. A Fortnite fan may want nothing to do with Call of Duty content, and vice versa. This high segmentation may seem difficult to navigate, but it offers an opportunity to market to niche audiences and tailor content to their specific interests and needs. A multi-pronged campaign that speaks effectively to different niches within the Twitch community, with curated content strategies for each niche, will help you reach audiences across the platform.

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Still have questions about how to market effectively on Twitch? The good news is that we’re here to guide you through influencer marketing on Twitch. Let’s chat about setting up your next campaign.

Let’s Talk About Clubhouse

Clubhouse is the hottest new social media platform that has the digital marketing world buzzing, but will the hype last?

Clubhouse, aka the audio-only app that tech insiders, celebrities, and influencers alike are all raving about, has been gaining a lot of traction in recent months as it expands its audience. While still in beta-mode (and invite-only) at the moment, we think Clubhouse is the next big thing in social media.

Sure, apps can come and go quicker than a flash of lightning, but every once in a while you get an Instagram or TikTok, an invention that has the power to reshape how we use social media to communicate with one another. Clubhouse is that next innovator. Here’s why we’re digging this new app:

Ideas Over Image

Social media has built up the idea that everyone lives picture-perfect lives, but we know this is far from the truth. While apps like Instagram encourage users to only showcase the highlights of their lives, there’s been a bigger push in the digital world to cut through the filters and content curation and be “real”. 

Clubhouse puts the focus on verité and personality, in large part due to its audio-only nature. Aside from your profile picture, your voice is your main tool of communication on the app, taking pressure off of having to appear camera-ready, worrying about having the perfect backdrop, and other appearance-based stresses. Conversations are the main way to foster connections on the app, letting personality and ideas take center stage. Seeing a platform place thought leadership above imagery is really exciting as we try to find ways to seek more authentic experiences on social media.

Bringing Conversations Online

Speaking of authenticity, Clubhouse conversations are about as close as we can get to IRL conversations in our pandemic-stricken world. They happen in real-time and aren’t accessible after the fact, creating just the right amount of FOMO to encourage users to hop onto the app when they see an intriguing conversation beginning.

While this may deter creators looking to utilize content across different platforms (you can’t record your Clubhouse conversation and turn it into a podcast episode, for example) we like to look at Clubhouse as a way to increase your status as a thought leader in a way that cultivates relationships rather than content.

Organic Brand Building

Of course, the big question everyone has is: will Clubhouse open up to marketing and advertising opportunities? And if so, how? Sponsored Clubhouse Rooms, pre-roll audio ads, and Room amplification are just some of the ways we foresee Clubhouse introducing advertising opportunities to the app as it expands, and Clubhouse has listed ticketed events and subscriptions as monetization methods that will be making their way to the app in the near future. For now, one of the delightful things about Clubhouse is that it is free from ads.

Now, just because official advertising opportunities aren’t available on Clubhouse just yet, it doesn’t mean you should ignore the app in your marketing plans. In fact, now is the opportune time to get in on the ground floor and establish a community on Clubhouse, one that you can use to organically expand your customer base.

Today’s consumers love to follow brands who have developed a sense of community within their social media messaging, and Clubhouse offers an inventive way to further that brand-building in a way that puts ideas and conversation above hard sales. Develop Clubhouse discussions around topics that naturally tie back to your brand—say, an eco-friendly skincare brand hosting a talk on steps you can take to be more environmentally conscious—and partner with influencers and industry experts who can add further insights to the conversation.

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Clubhouse isn’t the only app getting in on the audio-only trend. Twitter has started to roll out a competitor feature called Spaces. Like Clubhouse, users can enter a Space and listen to or participate in a conversation. Spaces lives within the main Twitter app, with live conversations appearing at the top of a user’s home feed. Facebook is also reportedly developing a competitor to Clubhouse.

While not everyone has access to Spaces yet and Facebook’s yet-to-be-released competitor is still in early development, Twitter and Facebook have a huge advantage over Clubhouse if their competitive products take off: established followings. Influencers with large followings on Twitter or Facebook/Instagram could flock to these competitor offerings and choose to focus their attention on cultivating their existing community rather than building a new one from scratch on Clubhouse. It’s happened before; just look at Snapchat after Instagram rolled out Stories. As more Clubhouse challengers emerge, we’ll be sure to keep you updated. 

Want to hear more about our thoughts on Clubhouse—or just need an invite? Let’s talk.