January of last year, I made a video titled, ‘How to Stream to Multiple Sites at Once.’ An OBS Tutorial in which I show people how to use a site like Restream to push out their content to all the different streaming platforms like Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and whoever else now currently has livestreams on their platform.
However, some stuff has changed in the last year and while I showed you how to do it, I now want to talk about whether you should be doing it! Today’s video… is all about multi-streaming!
Roll the Intro!
Hey guys, welcome back to the channel.
Before we jump in to our discussion on multi-streaming I’d like to just take a quick moment to say if you like videos related to gaming and streaming then don’t forget to hit the red subscribe button below and ring that bell to be notified when I post new videos every single week!
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Alright, with the formalities out of the way, let’s jump into today’s discussion about multi-streaming!
As a new streamer on Twitch, a platform almost impossible to grow on by itself, you’ll quickly hear about multi-streaming and how you can stream to multiple sites at once including sites like Twitch, Mixer, YouTube Gaming, Facebook, and the list goes on.
It becomes very tempting to give multi-streaming a try thinking it will help to boost viewers. Especially when you’ve been streaming on Twitch for months on end and haven’t gained much traction.
So, I’ll answer the question, “Should you be multi-streaming?”, then we can dive into my reasoning if you feel like sticking around. In my opinion, as a new streamer, there is no reason to use Restream or any other multi-streaming platform if your goal is simply to stream on as many different sites as you can. It won’t help you, nor will you grow by doing so. I know, because I’ve tried it myself!
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be using Restream and multi-streaming in general, it just means that you need to be smart about it and use it in a way that makes sense and actually helps you grow your community.
In my opinion, what you should be doing as a gamer, specifically, is using it to stream to Twitch TV as you probably are and then adding one additional platform. Now, you may be asking, which other platform would that be? Well, that’s where we take a turn away from the question, Should I be multi-streaming? To the question of How do I get discovered?
You see, the days of simply loading up a game, turning on your livestream and gaining viewers is all but dead. In fact, you’ve probably heard that said before from other streamers like Harris Heller who has talked about this topic at length.
You may have also heard that you need to create content on other platforms that have “discover-ability” built into them and then drive that traffic to your Twitch page! This simply means you want an algorithm and a good search engine that allows people to find your content on a platform.
Now I agree that you must create content and publish it to a site where it can be discovered in order to gain eyeballs. However, there is one small area that I don’t agree with if you’re a new streamer. That’s the next part of that message where you’re then told to push people from that platform that you are creating content on to Twitch so that they can follow you on there to watch your next stream.
Why you may ask?
Most social media platforms now offer the ability to livestream and most are catching up in terms of the features that have set Twitch apart in the past. For example, YouTube!
YouTube offers most of the core features of streaming, including monetization like super chats and ad revenue, while also having a platform that allows your content to be discovered outside your livestreams, for example, clips you may create from memorable moments while streaming, how to videos to help other streamers, or any other type of original video content you create.
Don’t get me wrong, YouTube’s promotions of livestreams on their site currently is not great. However, all those clips you make from your stream and the other content you make is more easily discovered on YouTube. This is especially true considering the discover-ability options of Twitch, are basically zero.
Twitch needs to expand and become a social media site for gamers and have discover-ability options, however, they’ve simply maintained their position as a livestreaming platform for gamers. They do not offer an easy way for viewers to find new streams as they simply rank them based off of who has the highest current number of viewers.
I believe that most people today, including myself, are becoming less loyal to any specific platform and more loyal to individual creators we find and like. There is still a bit of platform loyalty and I’m not saying it will disappear entirely, but I do believe most people are willing to view someone’s content on whatever platform they choose.
I, myself, no longer use just one or two social media sites, but in fact, use almost all of them in some capacity. Of course, I have my favorites and the ones I spend the most time on… Twitter and Instagram… but overall, I check them all.
I do that because there are creators I follow that I’ve become friends with online and each of those people have their own preference as to what site they enjoy creating on most. I think as more people get use to there being several social media sites out there and get use to navigating between them that we’ll continue to see more and more people willing to follow people to whichever platform their on.
All of this honestly makes me feel like Twitch isn’t even worth streaming on anymore as a new streamer, outside the fact that currently gamers are still mainly using Twitch. But again, I think that’s changing.
Once YouTube and other platforms really start pushing livestreaming, which they are doing by signing Twitch streamers over to their platforms, it won’t be hard for more and more people to get past the idea that gamers only stream on Twitch and start to be okay with watching gamers on a variety of platforms.
Think about it, they aren’t going to spend all that money on exclusive streaming contracts with big gamers if they had no plans of continuing to grow livestreaming within their platform. Again, as time goes on and different streamers are on different platforms like Ninja on Mixer or Jack “CouRage” Dunlop on YouTube it’s only going to become more common place for people to use multiple sites to stay connected with the people they enjoy no matter what platform they choose.
So, am I saying you have to stream to YouTube as your secondary channel then? Actually no. I do think if you’re a brand-new streamer just getting started, focusing on YouTube is probably your best bet. However, if you already have a favorite platform that you’ve been producing content on like, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, whatever., and you’ve already been building a following on that platform then instead you should look at streaming to that site as your primary platform and stop trying to push your viewers to Twitch. Leave Twitch as a secondary option, but don’t keep treating it as your main platform.
While YouTube may be next to pop off in the streaming department, long term, people will be watching streams on all platforms just like when stories first appeared and then slowly took over on all social sites! If you enjoy the platform you’re on, at some point they will push livestreams and if you love creating for that social site and you’ve been growing an audience over there, then I’d say stream there unless they don’t offer it and be patient for a bit, Because, you’ll reap major benefits as they start promoting streaming across their platform most likely for free as they try to build up that part of their business.
Again, if you are unsure which site you like best or you don’t really have a preference. I think YouTube is the best place to start for new streamers at the time of recording this video.
If you make content already on a platform that you love, stream on that platform as your primary stream. If you don’t care about Twitch, I’d just abandon it altogether honestly, however, it is currently the site most people hang out to watch gamers and are most familiar with, so I can understand keeping it as a backup to your main streaming platform.
And that should be the only reason you’re using a service like Restream to stream to multiple sites…Unless…
You’re a larger more established creator.
Again, I think most people will get use to livestreams being on every platform. Also, while I think people are becoming less loyal to any one particular platform, meaning they are willing to go to another platform to see a creator they like, I do think most people have a preference to which one they prefer using.
For example, I don’t follow most people that I watch on Twitch from Twitch. I find them on Twitter and when I see they are live from a tweet; I visit their stream and then may follow them on Twitch. However, I would much rather just watch the stream from the same app I’m already using which is Twitter personally. I like Twitter because not only can I see the streamer while they’re live, but I can also see what else they’re up to and interact with them, even if they aren’t currently streaming! This is what Twitch currently lacks along with discover-ability options.
Focusing on every social platform out there is hard as a new streamer. You’re learning new stuff, meaning it takes you longer to do something versus a more experienced creator. You’re learning how to run and operate a business for the first time. You’re learning how to keep yourself accountable without a boss. You’re learning how to edit and make content. You get the picture. This makes it hard for a new streamer to create content on every single platform and means they are best off focusing on one platform and growing that one first before trying to spread out to other platforms. Which means, keeping all your viewers under one platform instead of sending them to Twitch is likely your best option.
However, if you’re a large creator and you have a decent sized audience on multiple platforms then streaming to all the platforms at once makes way more sense. There are plenty of people that follow you on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, etc. that, simply put, found you on that platform and have never clicked through to your Twitch page.
As I said before, I think the percentage of people that are loyal to a platform is getting smaller and more people are willing to check out people on a different platform especially if they click with that person.
However, most people still prefer a specific platform and have no desire to use another except to check up on a specific person that isn’t on their main platform or for a brief distraction from their normal app of choice. Also, someone may watch gaming content but not be familiar with livestreams.
So, in this case, you’ll possibly gain a larger audience by streaming to every platform because not all your audience will want to move to another platform. Because you’re a larger creator, you also wouldn’t have as much worries about your audience being split since there will easily be enough viewers on each site watching to keep your chat going on each platform unlike a new streamer.
And really those are the only two reasons you should be using Restream or some other multi-streaming platform, at least in my opinion. If you’re interested in trying out Restream because of one of those two reasons I mentioned, I’ll go ahead and link the video on how to do it in the description below and here on the screen somewhere!
I hope that helps and I just wanted to say thanks so much for watching my video! If you enjoyed it, please hit that like button and if you want to check out my livestream, just subscribe to me here on YouTube and make sure to ring the bell or you can visit my twitch page by visiting the link down in the description below!
Until next time, peace out everybody!