Whether you’re a fresh new Twitch streamer, or someone who’s been broadcasting for a while now, one thing that’s always in the back of all streamers minds is wondering how you can make your channel stand out.
After all there has been a massive spike in new streamers in 2020, so having some sort of competitive edge is a must now.
Here are some of the main ways you can make your Twitch channel more memorable:
- Create content that’s completely unique or give your unique spin on existing topics
- Deliver more value than anyone else in your niche
- Branding – develop a unique and memorable brand
In this article we’re going to cover how to brand your Twitch channel to give yourself the best chance of building a successful presence on Twitch.
Why Is Branding Important?
First impressions are incredibly important, and this concept is even more true on Twitch where you rarely get a second chance at making one.
When new visitors arrive on your channel or one of your live streams, how you’ve branded it will have a massive impact on whether they stick around, subscribe, or leave.
If you create an attractive brand and more memorable experience for your viewers and subscribers, it will create a stronger connection and bring people back to your channel and streams more regularly!
Before You Begin Branding Your Channel
Before you start on creating the brand for your Twitch channel there are a few things you need to understand first:
You’ll need to be consistent
You’ll need to craft some basic elements for your branding and make sure that you are consistent with them going forward (and also across any other presence you have such as YouTube, Twitter, etc.).
This includes things such as fonts, color palettes, and messaging.
Understand yourself
You need to understand yourself, what makes you different from everyone else, what are your strengths, quirks, sayings, interests, what you stand for, etc.
All of this will feed into your identity on your stream and your brand. So, dig into what you have to offer the world and this can direct how you initially build your brand.
Your Audience (Or Target Audience)
Before you set off on your branding efforts you need to first understand who it is you are targeting with your channel and with your content.
The best Twitch channels target a specific audience and create content and brand elements that attract them and help them solve their problems (or entertain them in a way they want to be entertained).
This will be the basis of your content. It will also feed into how you design your channel, and help you promote your Twitch stream too.
Your stream name
Before you start creating any brand assets you’ll need to decide on your streamer name. Something simple, memorable that will resonate with your and your audience.
Short and sweet is usually the best approach, just remember that your name will potentially appear across all your touch points including social media, merch, and many others.
So choose something you’re more than happy to go forward with (and that isn’t already taken). We have a guide on Twitch username generators to help you come up with a good streamer name.
Give it time
Building a brand takes time, experimentation and can evolve as time goes by, so don’t expect to have a fully formed brand strategy from day one.
Go easy on yourself, you’re allowed to change your ideas over time but you can start off with a good idea of the direction you want to take your channel, see how things go, and let your brand develop from there.
Step 1 – Create an awesome logo for your channel
Once you’ve put in the preparation, the first step is to create a memorable and eye-catching logo for your channel.
Most Twitch streamers go with one of the following options:
- Lettermark – a logo where the main focus is the initial(s) of your stream name. Check out Method and DrLupo for examples.
- Pictorial – a logo with a graphic element that represents the look and feel you’re going for with your channel. Check out Riot Games, Lirik, and Ninja for examples.
Whatever option you decide to go with, make sure your channel logo is eye catching and looks good across all the various places it’s going to appear such as on your channel banner, scenes, social media profiles, etc.
A lot of streamers also use their logo as their profile picture, so if you’re going to go down that route, make sure it looks good there too!
So, how can you get your own high-quality logo? There are a few options:
- Create one yourself online – there are plenty of logo makers that can help you create an incredible looking logo.
- Design one yourself if you have the skills and software
- Hire a designer via a site like Fiverr or get a stream design provider like Streamplay to create one for you
- Buy a premade logo – there quite a few sites online that sell premade logo designs
Step 2 – Make an attractive channel page
Your channel is the home of your content on Twitch. You’d be a bit embarrassed if you brought a visitor into your home but it was a real shambles, wouldn’t you? Well, be sure to set up your channel in the right way to make it welcoming (and attractive) to visitors.
When your channel page looks clean and professional, it’s going to help encourage the people who visit your channel to hit that subscribe button.
So how do you create a great looking branded channel? Here are the most important elements:
Profile Picture
A lot of streamers go with their face as their profile picture because they feel it can help make more of a personal connection.
Alternatively, as we previously mentioned you can use your logo here. Doing so may potentially give the impression that your channel is more of a “business”, and when people see the logo on other platforms they will have more chance of remembering your brand.
However, there’s no hard and fast rule so just go with whatever you’re comfortable with.
Channel Banner
Your channel banner will appear at the top of your channel page. So when someone clicks your username or profile picture they’ll be brought to your channel page.
On desktop, the channel banners are not as prominent as they used to be due to the video reel now being overlayed. It’s still important to keep it on brand and make it attractive to channel viewers.
However, it’s crucial to optimize your channel banner for mobile as Twitch mobile app users will see all of your channel banner. So, keep that in mind when you’re designing it.
Here’s how the banner looks across devices:
Desktop Version (covered by the video reel):
Mobile App version (Full display):
Mobile browser version (Skewed view):
Twitch panels
Twitch panels are a great way to introduce viewers to more information about you and also to add a bit of extra branding and personality to your Twitch channel.
Here are the most common panels that are used:
- About me
- Social profiles
- Channel Rules
- Schedule
- Subscription benefits
- Merch store
- Donations
- Sponsors
Channel welcome video
One extra bit of branding that many streamers don’t take advantage of is to add a welcome video to their channel.
Although it’s not essential, adding that extra touch is a great way of getting new visitors to your channel to get to know you and your brand, understand what kind of content you create, and hopefully get them interested in subscribing.
Check out this channel which has a great example of a welcome video.
Design resources for channel page graphics
When it comes to getting your channel banners, Twitch panels, and other graphics for your channel page you have very similar options as you do with your logo:
- Create them yourself online using design tools such as Twitch panel makers, Banner makers, etc.
- Design one yourself if you have the skills
- Hire a designer via a site like Fiverr or get a stream design site like Nerd or Die to create one for you
- Buy premade stream packages – there are quite a few sites online that sell premade stream packs that have all the elements you need for your stream, including a channel banner, panels, and sometimes a logo too.
Step 3 – Live stream design and experience
Now that you’ve got the branding of your channel page sorted it’s time to look at how to brand your live streams.
There are quite a few parts of the live stream experience that can have a big impact in building your brand:
Live stream content
The actual content of your live stream is also a representation of your brand, so keep that in mind. Whatever content you push out there into the world of Twitch (and beyond) defines you and your brand so make sure it’s the best quality possible.
Keep the quality high and people will associate that level of quality with your channel and, in essence, your brand. This is the most important aspect of getting your Twitch channel to grow.
Live stream format
Developing a consistent and recognizable format for your live streams is a great way to create a feeling of familiarity with your audience.
People love to watch TV shows because they have a consistent formula. They want entertainment, surprises, and maybe even new lessons from each episode but they keep coming back because they like the consistent format (and quality) of the show.
This applies to your Twitch channel and live streams and can be an important driver in building a loyal and highly engaged fanbase for your brand.
Your on-camera style
The way you present yourself on camera is also going to impact how viewers perceive you and your brand. This includes:
- How you communicate on camera. For example, do you speak fast, slow, calmly, excitedly, etc.
- Your personality – does it come across?
Overlays
Twitch overlays are graphics that sit on top of your stream footage. Common examples are webcam frames, chat boxes, and stream information.
There is a massive variety of styles, shapes and colors to choose from, which can be overwhelming. However, to utilize your overlays in the best way you need to think about two things, branding and audience experience.
Ensure the overlay styles and colors are consistent with your brand, make them as simple or as complex as you want but always ensure you have your audience experience in mind at all times. Enhancing the experience will help build a loyal audience for your brand.
Create your own overlays with a Twitch overlay maker or buy premade designs through sites like OWN3D.
Stream Screens
Stream screens ensure viewers know what is going on with your channel when you aren’t live on stream.
There a few different screens that you can use:
It’s important to keep these on brand, and you can also use them as a tool for advertising your social media profiles so viewers can engage with your brand on those platforms.
Alerts
Viewers love seeing unique stream alerts when they follow, subscribe, or donate to a streamer.
Having your own unique and branded alerts is a great way to help your channel stand out but it also helps engage your viewers and make them feel welcome to your community.
Engage the audience / comments section
Make sure to engage with people in the comments and questions viewers put in the chat of your live streams. This is vitally important to build that engagement and relationships with your audience, and to make them feel part of the community and develop a stronger connection with your brand.
It’s also a great place to get to know your audience better so you can deliver more of the content they want.
Choose the right partners
There are quite a few ways to make money on Twitch, and one of the best ways is to work with partners and sponsors.
Make sure to only work with partners that fit with your ethos and provide value to your audience too. Otherwise you risk damaging your brand!
Build a real community
Your channel is nothing without a community. So create an awesome branded experience for your community and they will not only become advocates for your channel but potentially support the work you do as well. Here’s how you can build a thriving community:
Let your viewers get to know the real you – People bond over things they have in common. So let your subscribers in on the occasional personal insights and stories. This can help deepen the sense of connection with your channel (and help build your brand) as you build a group of likeminded people.
Create unique Twitch emotes and sub badges for your subscribers to use on your channel – Twitch emotes are a great way to incentivize your followers to support you, and also build the sense of community with your channel as they’re something unique that only your followers can get.
If you can create a very relevant set of emotes for your audience (e.g. ones that contain inside jokes, etc.) this can help build the sense of community and fun around your brand.
Subscriber badges are similar in that they are rewards for people who have been subscribed to your channel for a significant amount of time. Creating custom badges for your brand shows your appreciation for your subscribers and gives them status in your community.
Step 4 – Analyze & keep improving
Make sure to always look at what’s working – see what’s working and what’s not having the best impact on your Twitch channel and your brand. Do more of what works and more of what your audience loves. That way everyone wins!
