30-second summary:
- As the world starts to return to normalcy, the gaming and live-streaming industry needs SEO, social networking, and online marketing for continued growth
- I spoke with industry influencers Alinity, Matt Rehwoldt, and eUnited’s General Manager and VP, Matt Potthoff, on the industry’s current scenario, the obstacle course for amplified audience engagement, and the budding need for innovation.
Over the past five years, the live-streaming, esports, and gaming boom has been stealing headlines in the tech industry and mainstream media. That boom only increased its radius during the pandemic, which saw astronomical highs in terms of viewership numbers for the Amazon-owned Twitch streaming platform, Google’s YouTube, and even Facebook Gaming, which jumped more aggressively into the marketplace with the acquisition of Microsoft’s Mixer platform during the summer of 2020. Since then, much of the world has started returning to more normalcy, which means that studios are back to work on big project games, esports teams are heading back to regular competitions, and the streaming landscape continues evolving.
Despite the boom, the industry lacks some key ingredients.
But despite the impressive numbers, the industry still lacks some key elements that can take the initiative to the next level and improve the business landscape of content creators. The industry is often splintered into several sectors that, aside from annual conventions and events, don’t regularly network efficiently. Compounding the limitations of networking efficiency is void in marketing practices such as search engine optimization (SEO) and traditional internet marketing that content creators and brands are leaving on the table. Some of the core complaints among streamers and content creators, among others, are – the lack of discoverability provided by their platforms and how their growth seems bottlenecked and capped due to the lack of visibility.
You can blame the platforms themselves, and you would be partially correct. Social media platforms are a wide net of interests and demos, so posts may not consistently hit high percentages. Furthermore, content creators and brands often find themselves in the cycle of social media posting, which can lean heavily into monotony and automation – two significant factors that drive down engagement. Streaming platforms seem to be staying the course, an innovative business. It has proven profitable, even during the most challenging economic crisis in nearly a century.
That leaves content creators, esports teams, game studios, and the industry at a crossroads. Innovation has seemed to bypass the need for more connected networking and growth potential; many are forced to double down on their work despite the lack of return to stay afloat. Natalia Mogollon, better known as Alinity, is one of the most popular streamers on the Twitch platform; she boasts over one million followers on her channel and has leveraged the platform to build one of the more recognizable brands in the streaming industry.
