With so many different social network platforms in the year 2020, there are endless amounts of connections between politicians and their target audiences.
Aside from press conferences, some of the more popular social networks like Twitter and Facebook aren’t the only ways to connect to the people they are striving to reach.
Streaming services like Twitch are great live sources to get up close and personal. Twitch is a website that allows users, primarily gamers, to watch or broadcast live streaming and pre-recorded video.
According to Business of Apps, viewership on Twitch has only grown more and more throughout the years since it was created back in 2011 and has attracted many more viewers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Considering its steady rise in popularity within the youth community, Twitch could be a great way for politicians to connect and relate to them on a personal level.
Twitch is an online site that can be accessed through a browser and is also available in the app store. Its accessibility could make it very easy to reach the community of people between the ages of 18-29 in an age where almost everyone has a phone, laptop, or tablet of some kind.
Most recently, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, commonly known as AOC, live broadcasted herself playing the newly popularized game, Among Us, with widely known gamers from around the world to promote voting.
The live stream garnered over 400,000 viewers during its broadcast and its recorded version currently sits at over 5 million views.
Video clips and highlights from the broadcast showed up on several different social media platforms across the board including Twitter, Facebook, Tik Tok, and more.
One reason that it may have garnered such high viewership is not only because she has become a very well-liked politician in the progressive community, but also because she became a bit more relatable when she decided to play a very popular and reachable game with some of the most popular streamers.
Other politicians like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump also currently have Twitch accounts but don’t use it for this purpose.
They both have remained semi-active on the website but Trump has used it primarily to broadcast his rallies around the country while Sanders has used it mostly to live stream and speak directly to his usual audience.
Since Twitch is typically used within the gaming community, it could be wise to partake in the gameplay viewers are used to seeing on there. This could not only reach their usual audiences and supporters but may also bring new viewers to them considering the relatability factor instantly increases.
According to gaming website dexerto.com, AOC’s live stream was immediately the fifth most-watched stream in Twitch’s history with possibly the biggest debut stream from a new account ever.
Twitch could be that new perfect place for politicians to reach those individuals who will inevitably become the future and those who may not personally seek out political content on their own.
Politicians should make it much more of a priority to reach the younger population in ways like this.
