ANOTHER social media platform???
Yes.
Meet Periscope.
I’ll be honest, when I first heard of Periscope I made a secret vow to resist scoping for a longgggg time. There is NO WAY that I could handle another social media account.
That didn’t last very long.
Fast forward to today, I am participating in a Periscope challenge and it is actually… FUN. Not to mention addictive as a viewer. You can watch what someone is doing 300 miles away from you AT THAT VERY MOMENT. Heavy stuff. It’s like teleporting to Chicago when you live in Phoenix. OK, maybe not as dramatic…but it is pretty amusing. Read on to see how Periscope works.
What is Periscope?
If social media were a family, think of Periscope as the child of YouTube and Skype…and Twitter is a cousin.
Periscope is where “Scopers” (aka you) can share anything though a live feed.
Audience members can find you via your global location -you show up as a red dot on the US Map- but only if you have the precise location sharing button on. Your reach will be much larger with this feature enabled with the potential of gaining more followers. For safety reasons, such as if you are scoping from home, you may choose not to enable this option. It’s a completely personal choice.
As you can see, when I took this screen shot, there were 42 people actively scoping in southern California. As you zoom in, the dots will break down to more accurate locations.
*Your location can be zoomed all the way to your PRECISE location, as in crossroads with names. Periscope is working on an upgrade which will allow the option to show the city name only. Again, showing the exact location may be useful if you are attending an event in a public place…but not if you are scoping from home.
Followers can interact with you in two ways; 1) by commenting during your live scopes or 2) tapping on their screen to give you colored hearts. It is very encouraging to see all of the love and comments that viewers are giving you! BTW, you may also see a camera float around every once in a while. The camera indicates that someone has taken a screen shot.
Like Twitter, Periscope users can also “follow” you, to include your scopes in their feed. If their notification settings are on, they will hear a whistle every time you start a broadcast. If a scope is missed or if you join as the person is wrapping up their message, no worries. Followers can view each scope for up to 24 hrs. During replays they won’t be able to comment but they can still give you lots of hearts and share with their Twitter followers!
BTW, Periscope will tell you WHO is giving you HOW MANY HEARTS so that you know who to thank. I highly recommend watching your replays and seeking out the person (using their Periscope handle) on Twitter or Facebook to thank them personally for watching your Periscope. Too time-consuming? In the least, thank those who gave you lots of hearts! Engaging with your followers outside of Periscope is very important.
If your Twitter and Periscope accounts are linked, Twitter can post that you are LIVE on Periscope to entice your Twitter followers to come watch.
Do you have friends who are willing to share? Fellow scopers can share your replay with their followers by swiping right (swiping UP for Android users) and tapping “SHARE BROADCAST”. They can either share on Twitter or invite Periscope followers to join live.
I know we want to support our friends, but be careful of spamming your followers. Believe me oversharing is one of the quickest ways to lose followers. So, yes please share….but not too much!
Every social media has a downside
If your scopes are public…which they usually are. A troll may join with the intention of sabotaging your scope. They may comment during your scope with the intention of causing conflict or people may comment inappropriate things. You can block them by double clicking on their name and selecting Block user. It can be done while you are scoping. They won’t be able to access your scopes for as long as they are blocked. YES! You can minimize your access to trolls by turning off the precise location feature. IF you encounter a troll, do not take their comments personally, block them and press on with your message. Seriously, it is NOT you. They have too much time on their hands and are bullies and cowards.
Why isn’t everyone on Periscope already?
Let me remind you that this interaction is LIVE! If you stumble, stutter or forget what to say, EVERYONE will watch it as it happens. Not to mention, they will be able to view it for 24 hours as long as you keep the replay option active. If you completely bomb a scope, no worries! You can turn off the replay and forget about it.
Fear of being LIVE is what deterred me from jumping on the bandwagon sooner. It wasn’t until my blogger friend Laci from Sequins in the South shared the #SeptemberPeriscope challenge with me. I gathered up the nerve to participate because I knew everyone else would be nervous too. I highly recommend joining a Periscope challenge if you can. You will be happy you did!
What does this have to do with blogging?
Periscope is a chance to reach a different audience, one that you would not necessarily reach online. It is a way to reach viewers at a more personal level. Do you focus on tutorials or DIY? Because Periscope is similar to YouTube and Vlogging, your scope will appeal to auditory learners as well as visual learners. Do you have a sponsored product that you are excited about sharing or critiquing? Again, periscope is the perfect forum. Also, the video can be saved, embedded and added to your blog for future views (with the help of another app, read on). Using the same app, your scope can also be added to YouTube! The possibilities are endless. Why not establish yourself before everyone joins the Periscope band wagon? You will be ahead of the game when sponsors look to collaborate with a Periscope pro.
Your main takeaway from this post should be this.
BEFORE you make that 1st Scope check out
4 Things to check before hitting START BROADCAST!!!
What are Tips to Make Periscoping Easier?
Practice!
Be easy on yourself!
No matter how much you practice, you will still be nervous the first few times. Your hands will shake. Your ums will prevail and you’ll forget half of the points that you wanted to share. With practice, scopes will become easier, I promise!
Look at the camera.
This is applicable when you are face to face with the audience. It is very tempting to stare at yourself and how messy your hair is…but your audience will feel more connected if you make eye contact.
Keep it short.
The pros suggest keeping your scopes under 30 minutes….um, how about under 10 minutes? It is easy to become long winded, especially if you are nervous. Keep each scope short and to the point to prevent repeating yourself. Also, connections get lost and viewers get bored. The goal is to sign off with more viewers than when you started…not less!
Slow down.
Articulate your words and slow down so that viewers can process your information. If you are talking a mile a minute the message can be lost. Also, speak up!
Angle and propping make a difference
Scope life will be easier if you have a tripod or a stand to place your device on while scoping. If you are nervous, your hands may shake making the video shake and distract you! Try to place your device on a stable surface, slightly above you and not below you. Take the selfie pose! Unattractive views up your nose or at your double chin should be minimized.
You’re Periscoping! Now What?
Engage your viewers.
Have a call to action. Challenge your viewers to do something. Then schedule a time to scope again to discuss it. Find your viewers and thank them for watching your scope. OR, if you see a fantastic scope, seek the scoper out to engage with them via Twitter or Facebook, tweet or share their replay. They will appreciate it!
Be a good viewer yourself.
Be the type of viewer that you want to follow you! Do you want hearts? Give hearts! Do you want interaction? Interact! Do you want followers? Follow others!
It’s a 2 way street people!
Other viewers will see your name when watching replays or during live conversations. They can follow you by double clicking on your name. They’ll never follow you if they do not know you exist. Also, you are building a relationship with the person who is scoping. They can look at who has replayed their video, who was watching while they were live…they can also see who and HOW MANY hearts you gave them.
Be aware of your surroundings.
I tried scoping at a Balloon Festival, yeaaaaa that didn’t work out so well. Too much background noise. A nice quiet, well lit, area like your bedroom, outside, in your car or on the couch are ideal. Also, strive to scope away from your children. Ahahahaha, who am I kidding? If you have children they’ll find you! I almost suggested the bathroom, but we all know that privacy is futile. The picture below is of my 3-year-old peeking in at me in a public stall. *sigh* It took everything in me to refrain from putting sanitizer on her face.
Utilize Katch.me
Katch is the app I mentioned earlier. It captures and stores your scopes! Periscope only keeps your scopes live for 24 hours, but Katch will keep your awesome scope longer. You can download your video to upload to another social media or even embed it to a blog. Make sure to use your Twitter account when you sign up so that you do not have to add the #Katch hashtag. If Katch and Twitter are linked, the #Katch will be automatically added.
I am participating in my second periscope challenge. It is an awesome initiative where a slew of bloggers are scoping on a daily basis. Each day there is a prompt.
Check out the challenges that I have/am participating in!
