Brand-Building Ways to Use Periscope

In just a few months, live streaming has become the hottest new trend in social media. Users are flocking to new platforms, and Periscope is leading the way.

The live streaming platform, that is in partnership with Twitter, attracted one million users in the ten days following their App Store release.

If you are looking for a way to tap into this growing user base, here are a few ways you can use Periscope for marketing your business or brand.

What Should I Broadcast?

The tagline on Periscope’s website invites users to “explore the world through someone else’s eyes.”

This is a good mission to keep in mind as you broadcast for your brand or business. It is important to remember that Periscope isn’t a promotional tool — it is a connection tool.

Don’t use Periscope to show your audience what you want them to see. Show them what they want to see. Here are a few ways to give viewers what they want.

The Human Side: Invite viewers to get to know you and your brand by documenting what it is really like to work there (clips from meetings, the break room, inside jokes, etc.).
Live Events: Broadcast from behind the scenes of your event or share an attendee’s perspective.
How-To’s: Create explainer sessions where you give a tutorial or walk your audience through the steps of a task. Invite your audience to ask questions during the live session.
Q&A Sessions: Invite your audience to ask you questions during a live Q&A session discussing your business, products, or services.
Interviews: Live stream an interview with an influencer in your industry or other members of your staff. Include viewer questions as they come up.
Product Reveals & Demonstrations: Give the first look of your new product or walk your audience through the process of what it is like to receive, open, and use your product. This can include demonstrations that show the product in action.
Big Moments for Your Brand: Allow your audience to be there with you as you experience a big milestone for your brand (receiving an award, hitting a metric goal, receiving national media attention, etc.).
Release Special Offers: Reward your followers by offering exclusive special offers that are for Periscope users only. This is a good incentive for getting people to follow you and keep an eye out for your new live streams.
Have a Contest: You can host a contest through the platform or announce winners of contests live.
Tease: Show small pieces of products or service you are developing to create buzz and generate interest and curiosity.
Hold a Focus Group: Ask your customers their opinions and allow them to help shape the direction of your business. Invite them to participate in a focus group where they share their thoughts and opinions about your brand.

Periscope communication goes both ways, so always look for opportunities to both share and gather a unique perspective. Use the platform to talk and listen to your audience.

How Do I Get People to View My Broadcasts?

Periscope enables users to discover broadcasts by following users and browsing through the map and list display to find new streams.

Get discovered in the list by using a specific, descriptive, and interesting title. A great title is a primary way to get users to notice your broadcast.

Get discovered on the map by sharing your location. In your settings, enable the location feature. That way, Periscope can show your general vicinity as your share (although they will not give your exact address) so viewers can find you based on your streaming location.

Make sure that you are promoting on Twitter. Periscope is in a partnership with Twitter so they made it easy for you to cross promote between the two platforms. Set up your account so that every time you broadcast, an automated tweet will notify your Twitter followers of your live stream.

Once you get users to discover you, keep them interested and engaged. Remind them to follow you so that they can catch your next live stream.

How Do I Get the Most Out of My Broadcast?

If you are going to use Periscope to promote your business or brand, take some time to get involved as a viewer first. That will help you get ideas about what the experience is like from the other side of the camera.

Then when you are ready, use these other tips to get the biggest reach out of your broadcast.

Don’t be stuffy. Remember, this is an opportunity to show the personal side of your business or brand. Don’t be overly professional or stuffy or else your viewers will see through it and change the channel.

Expect mistakes. Don’t obsess over the details before, after, or while you stream. Part of the allure of the platform is that it is live and anything can happen. Don’t focus on perfection. Expect that you will make mistakes, and know that your audience will appreciate seeing the human, uncut side of your business.

Respond to comments. Periscope is a two-way street so don’t ignore the comments as they come in. Respond to comments as much as possible to keep up audience engagement.

Get Started Now

Unlike other social media platforms that are already saturated with brands and influencers fighting for attention, Periscope is a relatively open playing field. Get in now before the crowds arrive and you have to fight through to get attention.

Periscope is a new platform which means that the rules and best practices are not set in stone. Continue to try out new tactics, test out new strategies, and watch what other big brands are doing.

Let us know how you are successfully using social media’s hottest new platform by tweeting us on Twitter or Facebook.