You may not like computer games, but if you are an advertiser and are looking for access to a quality audience, you have no right to ignore this world. For example, Twitch, the most popular live broadcasting platform (the main type of content is video games), opens access to an audience of 100 million people worldwide: 75% of viewers are men, 73% of them are between the ages of 18 and 49. Russia on Twitch ranks second in the world in terms of traffic volume. Only the United States is ahead. Streamers – as they call those who broadcast games live – generate in-demand content (like TV), provide interactivity (like social networks) and at the same time enjoy an incredible level of trust with their audience. First of all, this new channel attracts FMCG brands and manufacturers of gaming equipment. The streamer can test their products live without stopping from the game. The new channel is already actively used, for example, by Coca-Cola, Red Bull and Mars. The only problem is that it’s not so easy to establish productive contact with streamers. On the other hand, you can get a Twitch viewer bot and get more organic fans during the frequent streams. Let’s see how to advertise on Twitch in 2021.
Who are the top streamers
Streamers are gamers who broadcast the game’s progress in real time and comment on what is happening: express emotions, give advice, answer questions from the chat, hold rallies and thank the viewers for their activity.
The most popular streamed games fall into two large groups. The first is shooting games, simulators of a man with a weapon (for example, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive). The second is MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), team strategy games (League of Legends and Dota 2). A hybrid of these genres – Overwatch – gathers a large audience. Standing apart at the top of the ratings is Hearthstone, the only collectible card game to win massive audiences.
Regardless of the specific game, broadcasts can last from an hour to a day or more. In an hour, a streamer can play up to five games in Counter-Strike and Hearthstone, or one or two in League of Legends and Dota 2. Depending on the visibility of the streamer or the status of the event, broadcasts can attract significant audiences. For example, the Russian-language broadcast of the finals of The International 2016 Dota 2 tournament at its peak was simultaneously watched by 135,739 people. And streamer Faker (three-time world champion in League of Legends) collected almost 1.5 million views, 200,000 channel subscriptions and 245,000 concurrent viewers in three hours.
How streamers differ from video bloggers
Streamers are on air for 10-12 hours a day. They don’t learn the lyrics, they don’t rehearse the performance, and they don’t do the second take. Viewers see them as they are. And that’s what they appreciate. For streamers themselves, the location of the audience is fundamentally important, and they always put benefits for viewers above material ambitions.
Anything that can spoil the channel’s reputation is categorically rejected. Successful streamers rarely agree to direct advertising or work with a product that the audience will not like. Even if the company has a good reputation, the advertiser will have to prove for a long time that the product is worthy of attention, and the streamer will still want to test it to see for himself.