When it comes to promoting your brand, most businesses rely on the familiar culprits of Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads. What if we told you that there are two websites that are teeming with passionate and original communities that don’t get enough credit? Enter Twitch and Reddit–two marketing goldmines waiting for your brand to unearth them.
Twitch as a Marketing Playground
Twitch is no longer just about gamers. While it was initially made mainstream through live streams of video games, its platform now includes music, DIY crafts, and even health and fitness. Twitch’s strength is its live interaction, which creates very powerful relationships between viewers and creators.
For advertisers, this equals boundless potential. With millions of active viewers each day who are deeply committed to the creators they love, brands can connect with these communities naturally. By sponsoring creators, having ads show up during stream time, and co-producing special live events, brands can tap into their products and feel like they’re included in the content.
Take Doritos, for example. With Twitch promotions and even having sponsored gaming tournaments, the firm created experiences that connected with younger consumers. Why? Because it was not a hard sell; it fit in with the culture. Authenticity on Twitch is crucial to establishing trust and loyalty.
The Value of Reddit
While Twitch is all about engaging with a live stream, Reddit is about building conversations. Nicknamed “The Front Page of the Internet,” Reddit boasts over 50 million daily active users on thousands of niche communities, or “subreddits.” Whether it’s personal finance enthusiasts on r/personalfinance or plant parents on r/houseplants, there’s a subreddit for everyone.
But Reddit intimidates brands, and rightly so. Unlike on other platforms, Reddit users do not accept blatant self-promotion. But businesses should not let this keep them away. By engaging in a sincere, value-based manner, brands can position themselves as credible contributors.
For instance, Gilette created a campaign on r/AskMen by stirring up a thoughtful discussion of grooming habits. Rather than pushing products, they pushed discussion and set their brand as a positive friend in an unobtrusive way. This works because Reddit users appreciate postings that are sincere and helpful.
Credibility and Creativity Strategies
The key to success on Twitch and Reddit is not interruptive marketing. Instead, join the conversation and unobtrusive interaction.
For Twitch:
- Learn from streamers who share your brand values.
- Partner with influencers to co-create something like product tutorials or contests.
- Use Twitch’s in-stream ad opportunities like mid-roll ads sparingly and carefully.
For Reddit:
- Engage with subreddits linked to your target audience by providing information, not marketing.
- Host an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session in order to be open and transparent.
- Spend money on Reddit’s native ad platform to run understated, subreddit-targeted ad campaigns.
All these strategies are about listening, giving back, and becoming a part of the platforms’ ecosystems.
Why Brands Should Welcome the Unconventional
Twitch and Reddit lack the advanced ad capabilities of Google or Instagram, but that’s exactly why they’re attractive. They have a genuineness to them that their higher-end equivalents simply can’t match. They allow you to engage specialist, deeply passionate communities who desire content that feels authentic—not manufactured.
Twitch and Reddit marketing take effort, patience, and a genuine passion for your people. But when done right, the payoff can be enormous, giving you exposure and actual connections that establish your brand. That’s why more people are trusting services like King Kong to help them get it right.
If you’re up for stepping out of your comfort zone, Twitch and Reddit may be the marketing instruments you’ve yet to realize.
