In March 2015 Twitter launched a new app called periscope, this allows the live sharing of video and chat. The aim of the app was to bring the social sharing of video into the mainstream. Over the last year Periscope has seen a slow start but momentum is starting to build with more and more periscopers joining in.
So what are the basics? Well it is a live streaming service where you film on your mobile via the Periscope app, this then is broadcast across the world. People can then join in and watch, using a text chat box can ask questions or just generally interact. They then give you hearts, the equivalent of likes on Facebook. These hearts then add up and increase your visibility on the service.
The live broadcast is then held on the periscope server for 24 hours, for people to watch back later. This can also be linked to and shared across your social media, allowing repurposing of the content.
Periscope offers an amazing opportunity for those in the fitness industry, as it allows you to give clients and potential clients the chance to interact with you on the go. They can jump in and view your workouts, you can host a Q+A session or just share some of your life. People love this kind of stuff, you will be surprised that when you start talking health and fitness the number of people that will join your broadcast and start firing questions at you.
As we are in a personal business, a business where people buy into you as a professional this can be a great tool to allow people to see you. By watching a live stream and being able to interact with you they can ask you questions and find out who you really are. This can be an awesome tool for lead generation if used right.
To help get you started I have included my top tips to getting started on Periscope, this looks to be an interesting platform and well worth a bit of a time investment to check out if it will work for you and your business.
Top Periscoping tips:-
– Make sure your profile is fully set up, including a link in the bio!
– Consider when you are going to broadcast, you want it to go out at a tie when the maximum number of people will join in. This takes a little trial and error to find the time when your audience is around.
– Get the title right, a catchy title will draw people in will make or break a broadcast.
– Welcome people as they join and try and get people engaged in a conversation.
– If possible have a rough plan of what you are going to cover in your broadcast, this will help to improve the flow.
– Ask people to share the scope with their Twitter following, this will help to build the numbers.
– Be passionate about what you are showing and talking about, remember people love to see passion… if you show how fired up you are they are much more likely to keep watching and share.
– Drop in your site or another way to direct the viewers to more information about you. Don’t be dropping your site every two minutes but maybe at the end of a broadcast so those who want to know more or buy into your services have a place to go.
– Practice, the more you do it the better you will get, remember your broadcasts are only out there for 24 hours!
– Download the video at the end of your broadcast, this can then be shared across other networks.
Check me out on periscope by following me @tomforesight