In 2011, we were introduced to Twitch, a live video platform mostly used by gamers but which is increasingly breaking into new sectors following its purchase by Amazon for $970 million USD. While many may like to call it a streaming platform, Twitch defines itself as a social network—something that has been proven as we witness the powerful community and audience it has generated, boasting greater engagement than other notable social networks which have been around for much longer. We can’t forget, for example, the historic moment in which the famous Spanish streamer, Ibai Llanos, broadcasted his New Year’s Eve countdown live and surpassed the Mediaset chain (Channel Four on Spanish television) with more than double the number of viewers.
The main function of Twitch is based around a user hosting a livestream in which they talk about a topic of their choice. In its early days, the platform was mainly utilised by gamers streaming themselves while playing videogames and interacting with their viewers and fans while doing so. Fast forward to today, and Twitch users have gained popularity for streaming anything from eSports, to live music, cooking recipes, or simply talking about any of a wide range of subjects. Twitch has even begun to host major news coverage, as we saw with journalist Emilio Doménech’s broadcasts on Newtral’s Twitch channel covering the recent U.S. elections.
The demand for this format as a way to absorb information as well as entertainment has lead influencers, artists, chefs, musicians and even travelers to broadcast their content through Twitch. But what is the impact for brands? Why Twitch, and not other social networks?
Above all, this platform wins out due to its high interaction rate between an audience and content. As we know, creating a community of loyal and committed users is one of the most important goals of every brand or public figure. How is it achieved? In short—by interacting as much as possible with an audience. It’s not surprising then that the largest social communication channels are increasingly prioritising user interaction. Facebook’s new “questions and answers” feature or the recent boom of social networks for live voice streaming and community chats such as ClubHouse are prime examples of this.
Perhaps the pandemic has been a triggering factor for the rise of these types of social networks, or perhaps it’s simply due to the ease of creating audiovisual content without having to be an expert or have a home studio. Whatever the cause was, Twitch experienced a 56% growth in total hours consumed by users in the middle of 2020, and this figure has only continued to rise, with a record audience of more than 9 million viewers last January.
So, with all these new developments, what types of brands are collaborating with Twitch? At the moment, it’s mostly eSports brands which have entered this market, though more and more sponsorships and collaborations are popping up for popular streamers and influencers to carry out live unboxings of products or to promote or demonstrate products.
Below, we’ll also link some of the latest trends:
REGULATORY SANDBOXES
This concept is defined as a “testing ground for new business models that are still protected by current regulations and supervised by regulatory institutions”. Creating regulatory frameworks for emerging models is an arising issue, representing a field of opportunities for the Fintech sector at the beginning of an acceleration and transformation of this sector.
Facebook has officially reached an agreement with the Australian government to end the blockade of news sources posted on Facebook.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56163550
TELEGRAM
Did you know you can import your WhatsApp or Line chats to Telegram? Here’s how: https://www.theverge.com/2021/1/28/22253918/telegram-ios-chat-history-import-whatsapp-line-kakaotalk
Here’s how you can dock videos on Twitter while scrolling or reading other news. https://wersm.com/twitter-now-lets-you-dock-your-videos-as-you-continue-to-scroll/