Stay Updated with the Latest Trends on Why Twitch Is the Largest Online Gaming Video-Streaming Platform, and How You Can Be a Part of This Community
Twitch is a popular one-of-its-kind online service for power-packed digital gaming experiences. When it first launched in 2011, Twitch focused entirely on video games, but since then it has expanded to include various streams aligned with art, music and talk shows.
There are over 2 million unique visitors that flock to Twitch on a monthly basis, apart from the 17,000 of those users that already earn through the Twitch medium. Within the first month of its launch, Twitch had 8 million unique visitors and was soon spotted and bought over by Amazon in 2014 for its incredible potential. Surprisingly, Twitch has accumulated as much traffic as the internet giants Google and Netflix for its independent presence in the gaming zone.
How Does Twitch Function?
Twitch can be streamed on their official website and via many of their apps which are available to the public.
Twitch also recommends streams on their webpage and apps. Twitch includes the concept of streamers who can individually live-stream games from their accounts. If your favorite streamer is already a Twitch Partner or an affiliate, you can subscribe to Twitch’s monthly subscriptions which support the expenses of your online streamer.
Over the years, Twitch has expanded to become more of a social community of gamers and live streamers for various categories. Twitch users can follow or DM each other, have secret chat rooms and connect in mediums which are similar to a Facebook or YouTube platform. In a nutshell- let’s think of Twitch as the YouTube platform for gaming and virtual reality.
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The Value of Twitch Today
In early 2017, Twitch had allowed only a small subset of their community to be a part of their Twitch Affiliate program. Last year, there were 17,000 partners on Twitch, out of which 2.2 million were counted as unique monthly subscribers. Now in 2018, the number has multiplied and there are double the amount of Twitch Partners, thus standing at an impressive figure of 27,000 monthly streamers.
Twitch is one of those outstanding platforms which help in finding an audience, creating viral content and generating revenue. The best Twitch streamers include ad revenue, donations, subscriptions, affiliation links and even merchandising to boost their worth. These top users have converted online streaming into a lucrative career, with some of them earning as much as $350,000 in a single month.
How Can You Expand Your Twitch Channel?
The audience on Twitch is ever-widening, immensely active and contributive. These numbers don’t lie, so here is how you can mold your chance at making it big on this dynamic platform.
- Streamline your goals
SMART is a mnemonic acronym which gives criteria on the objective of how your goals need to be formed.
Be Specific about the number of subscribers you want to acquire for your channel
Be Measurable in numbers so as to calculate the effectiveness of your strategy
Set Attainable with goals that can be realistically achieved
Be Relevant with the content that needs to be streamed
Stay Timely in all aspects
- Stream constantly
Streaming on a gaming platform needs to be consistent, fast-paced and thorough. If you need the loyal fan base, you need to work towards it. Creating a schedule and sharing it with your viewers is a good start. It will set the pace and encourage regular viewing.
Streaming with frequency and consistency is certainly one of the most powerful ways of growing your audience and establishing your presence on Twitch as a professional
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- The offer of value
Treat your channel like it’s your business, your baby. Your streams need to be thought of as products/services just as any business may portray. Attracting first-time subscribers is a good form of engagement, but also understand that recurring value generates more revenue. Providing value to your Twitch channel gives you a reason to battle it out and make yourself known amidst the chaos. - Play the right games
The aspect of streaming will especially prove difficult if you have not found the balance between the games you love and the games the audience may prefer. Balance it right and play/stream games that nobody may have heard of, the kind the audience is eager to know more about while still keeping your favorites in line. Always be open to taking chances and experimentation, since the gaming culture is constantly expanding and ever-dynamic. - Interaction is the key
Like any great brand, support and interaction is the basis of a brand image and identity. One of the key points in expanding your Twitch channel is audience interaction. Viewers don’t always restrict themselves to just streaming and playing the game. Some viewers may come towards your channel to get to know you, your preferences and voice their opinions about the intensive gaming culture. Audience interaction earns you brownie points, an engaging stream and a rising spike in the metrics for constant incoming traffic. Always keep an eye on your chat room, keep conversing on your stream and ask questions about your viewers and their preferences. This will keep your channel alive and kicking, long after the excitement of a game dies. - Promote yourself on social media
Your success as an online gaming streamer does not only depend on Twitch. There is a world outside Twitch with fellow gamers and streamers interacting on other platforms such as Facebook, YouTube Gaming, and Twitter. Find mediums of interaction to talk about your channel, discuss the latest game launches and interact with more people than the usual. Visibility is the key to garnering more attention, keeping up with the gaming world and never missing a single opportunity to control your Twitch channel. - Run Contests
While arguing about all the innumerable ways you can grow your Twitch channel, a single most effective method is to run a contest and host takeaways. When it comes to generating new leads and targeting your audience, hosting takeaways is possibly the most cost-efficient way of spreading your message. Running a contest encourages social sharing on your channel and it is the ideal way to solidify pre-existing relationships and harbor upcoming ones.
Gleam is an excellent and easy way of creating competitions/contests for your audience. After creating your contest with a relevant prize, always make sure to promote your contest on social media platforms so that a wide array of people can flock towards it, thus increasing visibility and the number of followers.
The above tips are the most beneficial in grasping how you can expand your channel on Twitch. There is still a lot more you can do by being more interactive and blending in with your audience to make the most out of your promotional efforts. Exposing your audience to massive contributions will showcase how engaging you are in your activities towards Twitch and the fans. These insights will help in increasing your Twitch presence and building enthusiastic yet loyal followers. Turn up Twitch, hone your channel and pursue what you do best!
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