There ain’t no shame in your self-promotion game (if you do it right).
When I say “self-promotion” do you picture that person on a date that can’t stop talking about themselves, or an over-the-top entrepreneur bragging about their latest business venture? Yeah, us too, but those people are giving self-promotion a bad rap. The truth is, if you have something of value to share, letting people know about it in an authentic way is not only OK, it’s necessary.
As a streamer, self-promotion is key to your success, plain and simple, and it should play an important part in your long-term growth strategy. We’ve seen it work time and time again, but only when it’s done right. Here are some strategies for self-promotion that we promise won’t make you cringe.
Get social.
Social Media Importance
When there are only so many hours in a day, you might be hesitant to add another platform to your list of “to-dos”, but we’re here to tell you that social media is crucial to the growth of your viewership. Not only will social media help you connect with your existing audience and stay on their radar even when you’re offline, channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube create an opportunity for exposing your content to a wider audience. Not to mention it’s extremely helpful in connecting you with other streamers, developers and brands that may want to partner with you.
The key here—as it is on your streaming channel of choice—is consistency. Regularly posting to social media shows you’re present and paying attention, and makes your followers more likely to engage and follow you elsewhere.
So what should you be posting? First and foremost, if you wan’t people to watch your stream, be sure to let them know when you’re going live. Provide a link and an appropriate call-to-action encouraging people to join you. When you’re offline, don’t leave your followers hanging – post video content from previous streams so people can see how entertaining you were. Don’t forget, this is your chance to really give people a glimpse into your personality – entice them with funny posts or interesting and relevant information, images and anecdotes.
Audience sharing is caring.
This world is dog-eat-dog, so it might seem counterintuitive to join forces with “the competition”, but collaborating with other content creators in the same space is one of the best ways to grow your audience. Creating opportunities for audience sharing can give you exposure to a pool of potential followers that you may never have reached otherwise.
So, how does it work? Team up with other streamers who have a following similar in size to yours, and make content together. You’ll appear on their stream, where your audience will likely follow, and they’ll appear on yours, bringing their followers along for the ride; essentially, you scratch their back and they’ll scratch yours. As a result, two relatively isolated audiences are introduced to the other’s content. This cross-promotion often allows for massive growth and is especially useful when you’re trying to build your base following.
Community service.
We all know how important networking and building connections is in any industry. The good news is, in this case you won’t have to slap on a name tag and recite your elevator pitch, but the results will be just as stellar.
In streaming, networking comes in the form of active interaction in other streams and communities. Find streams with similar content to your own and spend time in their channels. Become a part of their community organically, ask questions, and provide value to the overall stream experience. Making connections and getting to know others within the group often results in fruitful relationships that add value to your own community.
This should go without saying, but don’t do this purely for the recognition. As time goes on, you’ll become a known presence within these communities, and growth will take care of itself. Since these streams are made up of members of your target audience, it should be easy to convert connections into followers and subscribers. Streamers you create relationships with might also be willing to host your channel, providing you with a boost in viewership. If you can, offer to do the same for others – after all, what goes around, comes around.
Before you jump right in, you should know there’s a method to the madness, and there are some things you should never do:
So there you have it; self-promotion is a necessary part of any streamer’s strategy. If it isn’t your strong suit, or you’re too busy to even think about it, invest in an agency that can help. Contact the experts at GamePlan: Contact Us! (see what we did there? Self-promotion strikes again).
