Being a streamer seems like a dream come true for a lot of people. You do what you love (play games, comment, or argue online) and make money doing so. On top of that, you get fame (or notoriety) and recognition. As we’re moving further and further into the digital era, streamers may become A-list celebrities in the future. So, here are five essential tips for those determined to fight for their slice of this pie.
5 Tips to Boost Streamer-Fan Engagement
1. Post Across Multiple Channels
The best way to attract as much audience as possible is to start posting across several channels. Sure, you have your primary streaming platform like Twitch, Kick, or Rumble, but you should also make social media posts, YouTube clips, and Reddit posts.
Some streamers have a special type of contract (usually with Twitch) that they shouldn’t stream on any other platform, while others may have more freedom. Kick has recognized the potential of cross-channel promotion, which is why it also allows its streamers to stream on other platforms. The plan is that, after they’re done with the first platform and decide to move to Kick, a part of their audience will follow.
Just keep in mind that this is a lot of work, which is why you won’t be able to do it on your own. So, you need someone to help you run these other platforms. Getting a YouTube editor and paying them a percentage of YouTube AdSense revenue is usually a good idea.
The same goes for hiring people to run your official social media accounts and teaming up with various fan pages.
This needs to be a self-sustaining ecosystem where people discover you on one of these platforms and then migrate wherever you go. So far, this is the main way that most streamers are growing.
2. Automate Posting
You can’t afford to skip a post. First, you can have a pinned post on your subreddit about whether you’re currently live. The same should go with all your social media profiles.
Now, we suggest you use every single channel available to communicate with your audience, from Discord and Telegram to interacting with your live chat. Keep in mind that there are many amazing Telegram bots you can use to avoid losing time on this menial task. These bots are used by everyone from people running large communities all the way to online casinos and crypto trading spaces.
While many streamers fantasize about the audience memorizing their streaming schedule by heart or refreshing the homepage, hoping they’ll be live, this is rarely the case. Instead, you need to notify your audience. Sure, the streaming platform will notify them as long as they’re subscribed and have an app installed, but you also need to give them a chance to engage.
With the right tools on your side, you’ll have a much easier job of staying in touch with your audience, and they’ll have a nearly impossible task of trying to forget you exist.
3. Carefully Pick Your Mods
Mods are the janitors of your platforms. They’re there to clean up any type of behavior or fandom that you don’t want in your community. As you grow bigger, you won’t have the time to moderate your community, so you need to learn how to pick up mods.
First of all, you need people who are committed and efficient. Depending on the size of your community, moderating can be a full-time job. This means you can’t rely on a long-term fan to do it for free. You need to get someone professional and pay them to do it to make it worthwhile.
Additionally, you want someone who shares your ideas and opinions on the type of community you want to run. This way, they’ll understand the sentiment behind your intentions, not just blindly execute your orders. This type of mod will be more efficient and reliable.
You must also listen to what your community is saying about your mods. Sure, remember that people who are banned, reprimanded, or have their comments deleted by a moderator may not talk favorably of them. Also, moderators do have some power (no matter how small and parasocial), which means that they are a target of some envy. Take all your community says about your mods with a grain of salt.
4. Stream Regularly
If you don’t stream regularly, people can’t tune in. If they can’t tune in to you, they’ll tune in someplace else. Eventually, when you decide to return, it’s uncertain whether they’ll return. They may find your replacement more entertaining (or, at least, more consistent).
So, for how long should you stream every day?
It depends.
First, if this is your full-time job, you should treat it as full-time. This means setting aside at least eight hours for most days of the week. Also, weekend streaming can be especially lucrative on Sundays, when many people are just idling behind the screen. So, if you want to take a day off, it’s better to pick another day (since you have the privilege to choose).
Also, keep in mind that while this is your job, you have more to do than just stream. Sure, when you become big enough, you’ll have your editors and moderators to help you out, so you can focus just on streaming. However, while you’re still a small streamer/creator, you need to factor in these additional tasks into your working hours.
5. Explore What Your Audience Is Looking For
You shouldn’t assume your audience is interested in just one type of content. For instance, if you’re a chess streamer, you shouldn’t assume they just want to see instructional videos or high-level competitive games. Why not start a challenge?
If you’re a gamer, your audience will likely follow you for your game of choice. For instance, if you’re playing Fortnite or League of Legends, chances are that your audience plays/follows those games long before they ever discovered you. However, this doesn’t mean they wouldn’t like to see you play something else, perhaps even a single-player game like Dragon Age Inquisition.
Fish out-of-water scenarios can be highly entertaining. Some of your fans may like both games, and they want to see how you’ll do. The entire point why YouTubers can make a living is because people love to see others discover their favorite things (games, movies, etc.).
On the other hand, some people are just fans of the other games, and they might discover you when you move on to this new topic.
The simplest way is to snoop around a subreddit or make a few polls to see what kind of content your audience would like to see you next. Just don’t focus exclusively on the poll. Analyze the numbers later on to see if they were honest. Sometimes, people will just vote and not watch.
Also, audiences on different platforms may have different interests. Your Patreon fans may want one content, while your YouTube fandom prefers the latter. Naturally, those who pay deserve to have their vote valued higher.
Streaming: More Work Than Expected
In streaming, some people make it, and others don’t. While some try to reduce this to just personality, there’s more to it than that. Well-organized people who know how to find the right help and engage their audience in multiple ways have a much easier job of fighting their way to the top. The best thing about our list is that these tips apply to everyone, from the smallest of streamers to those signing million-dollar deals with streaming platforms.
