By: Eden Hensley; Photos by: Brooke Dennis or Alt Summit
Periscope is a live video-streaming app from Twitter. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Google+, Periscope, available for both Android and Apple devices, is about original content, not curated content. It brings both immediacy and intimacy to your content – if used wisely. It’s great for going in depth on how you do a complicated part of a recipe or DIY. Or for answering questions about an upcoming event or product.
Focus. For your broadcast title (What are you seeing now?) you want a topic that showcases your strengths, that’s catchy, and that includes a popular hashtag.
Preparation. Know what you want to talk about before you start broadcasting. A couple of bullet points you can refer to will help ensure you make your point and can easily find your place as you interact with viewers asking questions via chat or giving you love. Be sure to end with a clear call to action (something you want your viewers to do). Think about asking viewers to subscribe to your newsletter, purchase an eCourse, or something tangible. If you create a unique URL you’ll be able to measure how effective your efforts were.
Immediate Feedback from anyone who is interested in your content – unless you click Only Users You Follow Can Chat before you start your broadcast. Encourage interaction by greeting people as they join your chat. Ask for people to give you love in response to questions you ask to know whether what you’re talking about is resaonating.
Short-lived Videos – unless you save them and upload later to YouTube or Vimeo. Content is only available for 24 hours after you record it. If you’re unsure whether or not you’ll want to keep your broadcast, be sure to turn Autosave Broadcasts on in Settings under Other. Periscope is a great place to try new delivery styles and content. And best of all? If it doesn’t go as planned, you don’t have to live with it forever.
Connect with Us
Already on Periscope? We want to hear from you! Pitch us an idea for a topic you’d like to have talked about or that you’d like to guest host. Tell us who we should be following. Interested in a Guest Scope on our Periscope channel? Email your idea to Kelly. Be sure to follow us! We’re @AltSummit on Periscope.
Five Resources for Mastering Periscope
Want to dive deeper? Here are some resources we’ve found helpful:
- What is Periscope and How to Use it from Small Business Trends
- Guide to Periscope from Latina Bloggers Connect
- Best Practices from Social Influencers Getting Started on Periscope on Social Media Today
- Five Tips for Using Periscope from Hubspot
- Twenty Tips for Using Periscope for Business from GetResponse
