In the beginning, almost like all social networks and platforms, Twitch was a niche product. The service was linked to eSports and was viewed as a platform to access content connected to them. Its big stars talked about electronic sports. Afterwards, however, things changed.
Twitch itself sought to reach an audience beyond gaming , to connect with much wider audiences and present a more powerful scenario for advertisers. The key to its future growth was, after all, closely connected with a commitment to diversifying content.
Advertisers have been looking for a long time who will take the place of television in their investments and Twitch, like everyone, wants to take their piece of that cake. That means more creators and more celebrities, so it is not surprising to see how it captures YouTubers , to get more hours of playback and more loyal and dedicated audiences.
During 2020, Twitch was one of the social platforms that saw their audiences rise the most. The trend has not been broken with the post-pandemic year, showing that marketers cannot afford not to pay attention to what is happening on that platform.
The pull of Twitch is clear seeing what the heavyweights of the video environment are doing. YouTube has just launched its copy of three Twitch functionalities, creating its own polls, new tools for chat or the Clips solution, which allows you to share fragments of your live streams. If whoever dominates the market in which you are trying to break through with force is copying your functionalities, it is because they are afraid of what you can do.
Double-digit year-on-year growth
In the concrete numbers of Twitch there is also evidence of how the platform is becoming crucial. The latest study has been carried out by Safe Betting Sites, which has compared the viewing hours from March to June 2021 with those of 2020.
Year-on-year, the quarter has gained 25.84% of time spent watching content on the service. During the period there were 8,690 million hours of viewings. As those responsible for the study conclude, this implies that the habits that were gained during the pandemic will remain beyond it.
Twitch had been one of the great victors of the period. The data is also in line with other studies – one from Rainmaker.gg not only points to the boom of Twitch, but also that of Facebook Gaming – that speak of growth in the quarter in double-digit percentages. In his case it is 31%, according to his estimates.
Therefore, it is unquestionable that the audiences are there. More and more people are watching more content on Twitch and the tool manages to capture their attention for longer.
If the views accumulate, marketers must keep it in mind, especially if it is taken into account that the profile that these contents reach is that of that young audience that is not easy for them to reach. What’s important is how it looks: what streaming platforms and their viewers teach marketers about mastering the user experience.
