STREAMING TIPS & TRICKS

Networking for Streamers

Learning how to effectively Network with other streamers is one of the best tools you can have in your arsenal to help you grow and maintain your own community.

Most streamers we encounter have some kind of target or goal they aim for with streaming. For some it’s to reach partnership level, for others it’s to make friends and build communities and for others still, it’s just a bit of fun.

No matter what your goals are in the streaming world one thing remains the same. You can’t get anywhere without meeting new people and growing your network. This is especially true for streamers wanting to reach partnership level or create a community.

When it comes to networking, there are right ways and wrong ways to network with other streamers. Unfortunately (generally) there’s no quick way of networking. It takes time and effort to cultivate relationships with other streamers that will benefit both your own community, as well as theirs.

At its core, networking is just getting to know people in a mutually beneficial way.

So, What IS Networking?

Networking is a term that seems to be used by a lot of different people in a lot of different ways. Some people think it’s just showing up in a stream a few times and expecting to be recognised, others think it’s some insanely hard skill to master. The truth is it’s neither of these things.

At its core, networking is just getting to know people in a mutually beneficial way. By this, we mean that a successful networking effort has benefits for both parties, not just the person looking to grow their channel. That benefit can differ from person to person, or channel to channel.

Networking itself (more often than not) doesn’t directly involve discussing or mentioning the fact that you stream, in fact we recommend you don’t even bring that up (at least not initially). It’s more based around what you as an individual can contribute to someone else’s community.

You may be thinking “well there’s not much I’m good at that I can offer to someone else”, but you’d be wrong! No one person is the best at everything, and everyone has their own skills and talents that they can bring to the table. That could be anything from art and graphic design, to knowledge on a specific topic, or even just the ability to Google stuff really well!

Anything you can contribute to another streamer (or even another one of their viewers) will instantly increase your reputation not only with that streamer, but with their community. The important thing to remember when you’re networking with other streamers is that they (more than likely) already have an established community. Don’t be afraid to offer your skills to their community members.

Networking within other channels, when done correctly and in an appropriate way, can generally get you far more than just a follow back from another streamer.

How to network in someone else’s channel.

This is often the networking method that most newer streamers get completely wrong. Networking isn’t about trying to get someone else’s viewers to come and watch you (that’s poaching, we’ll talk more about that and why it’s a bad idea later), it’s about building up a meaningful relationship within another community.

When you make real connections with people, you’ll find that they’ll start doing some of your networking for you, by shouting you out to their followers, recommending other communities to get involved in and returning the support you offered them.

There a a few Do’s and Don’ts when it comes to networking within channels, here’s just a few we’ve come across in our time promoting and networking with streamers:

Channel Networking Do’s

• Introduce yourself to the streamer and their community as a viewer.
  It’s important that you go into someone else’s channel as a viewer, and not with the intention of immediately announcing that you also stream. Most channels have rules against self promotion and dropping in and announcing that “I’m a streamer too”, is usually classed as self promotion and carries either a timeout or outright ban as punishment!
• Get involved in the conversation and get to know more about the streamer and their community.
  Remember, networking should carry a mutual benefit for both you and the person you’re trying to connect with. There’s no way you can find out how you can benefit their channel or their community without getting to know them first.
• Talk to their community.
  This is one of the most overlooked networking tools! Making a connection with people within someone’s community is one of the best ways to get to know more about a streamer, as well as making a genuine connection with their community. Remember, you’re not there to try and poach their viewers, you’re there to try and build connections and get to know people.
• Join their Discord and Social Networks.
  We know that you’re more than likely part of multiple Discord Servers and that it can be a little overwhelming to be in too many, but Discord has been designed to give you control over what and when you get notifications about. Use those tools to filter the channels you get notifications in and what types of alerts you want to get. Try and actively involve yourself in other conversations in community servers and again, it’s about getting to know people and helping people get to know you as both a streamer and as a person.

Channel Networking Don’ts

• Don’t announce that you’re also a streamer.
  Unless asked, don’t talk about the fact that you stream. You’re there to build a relationship with the streamer and their community, and announcing that you stream before being asked is generally considered rude and/or disrespectful. It’s usually the quickest way to get timed out or banned from a channel and we can almost guarantee that it’s not going to net you any followers.
• Don’t ask for them to follow you back.
  Follow for Follow, 99% of the time, is both a) a bannable offence in most channels and b) one of the worst ways to build an audience when streaming. Building connections with people will generally get you repeat viewers or even regulars. Follow for Follow will be lucky to get you a viewer. Streaming isn’t about follower numbers, it’s about communities and relationships with your viewers.
• Don’t tell them you’re leaving to start your stream.
  Remember earlier we mentioned poaching? Well this is definitely viewed as a poaching attempt. Whether your intentions are good or bad, most streamers will view this as you attempting to get their viewers to leave their stream and go and watch yours instead. Most streamers will outright ban you for doing this, we’ve even known some to ban people for whispering it to them. We 100% do not recommend doing this. It’s better to leave quietly and go and start up your stream than it is to mention anything about it. (Also, we can pretty much guarantee that their loyal viewers will not drop into your channel and most, in fact, will either block or ban you).
• Try to avoid talking about your own channel (unless asked or it’s relevant to the conversation).
  Sometimes a streamer will start talking or asking questions about other peoples thoughts, opinions or experiences with streaming. This is when you can get involved with a conversation about your channel as long as it’s relevant to the conversation. Talking about your own channel without being asked or it being relevant to the conversation is just seen as self promotion and, as we mentioned before, will usually be met with a ban.

Networking within other channels, when done correctly and in an appropriate way, can generally get you far more than just a follow back from another streamer. By building a connection with them and their community, often you can expect a number of their community members to drop in and check out one of your streams.

Remember, your aim is not to poach their viewers, you’re trying to build up meaningful, mutual connections with another streamer. If people think you’re just there to get more viewers or followers, 9 times out of 10 you’re not going to get anywhere. If people get to know you and your channel through a meaningful connection, you might even earn yourself a few new regulars out of those connections.

These websites are literally designed for you to meet and network with people, but you need to make sure you’re not treating it as a free advertising platform.

How to network on Social Media.

Social Media has become one of the most powerful networking tools a streamer can use to build their audience. However, just like networking on your streaming platform, networking on Social Media comes with its own set of rules and caveats.

Social Media sites like Twitter are filled with streamers constantly advertising themselves and their channels. If you go onto a social network like Twitter with the aim of only pumping out adverts about you and your channel, you might as well be shouting your stream URL into a crowd at Times Square on Christmas, that message isn’t going to stick with anyone.

These websites are literally designed for you to meet and network with people, but you need to make sure you’re not treating it as a free advertising platform.

Just like networking within a channel, networking on social media takes time, effort and, most importantly, involvement. Every minute of every day thousands of people are talking about just about every topic you could imagine on Twitter. You’re pretty much guaranteed to find someone talking about something you’re interested in. All you have to do is jump in and get involved in the conversation!

Limit your channel advertisements to at most 2–3 times a day on Social Media. Use your other available time on there to connect with new people, get involved with other conversations and to tweet about other channels you enjoy watching or other communities you’re a part of. People are far more likely to take note of what you have to say about yourself if you’re also willing to talk about and promote other people!

Use Rich Media to your advantage! Rich media is just a technical term for pictures and videos. Research has proved that tweets containing images, videos or animated gifs earn more than 75% higher engagement than tweets that only contain text. If you’re talking about something that you want people to take notice of, try and find a relevant picture, video or gif to add to your tweet.

Correct networking takes time, effort and engagement. But putting in a few hours a week to network with other streamers and communities and to build relationships with people is one of the absolute best ways you can grow your own community. People are much more likely to hang out in your channel and be engaging if they feel like you have things in common.

Don’t be afraid to step outside your comfort zone and actively engage with other streamers and their communities. One of the best things a streamer can have is an active chat room, and if you can provide that interaction they will appreciate you for it. And don’t be afraid to ask them questions about themselves and get to know them as a person, those kinds of connections will lead to much more opportunities for you and your channel than blindly asking for Follow for Follows!

We hope you enjoyed this article! If you have any of your own suggestions for ways to network and build your audience, feel free to leave us a comment below, or get involved in the conversation directly with us on Discord!