Twitter could be on to a winner with Periscope the live video streaming app, recently purchased at the beginning of 2015 for a cool almost-100 million dollars.
With the amount of social networks saturating, new acquisitions by market leaders have to be made in the knowledge that there is a demand for the service in which they are investing. Users can be fickle when it comes to new networks; for them to latch on there needs to be a sufficient individuality to the service. Luckily this lovely little app has oodles of personality.
Periscope lets you broadcast live streams to your followers all around the globe who can join, comment and (if they really like what you’re doing) send pretty little fluttering hearts up the side of the screen. Your network is built like this – users discover your stream by exploring pins on a map, they watch and like what they see, they follow you, and from then on are sent notifications whenever you are streaming. For business users this means the more followers you have, the bigger the benefit for your brand (and the more pretty little fluttering hearts on the side of your screen).
Twitter are normally very reliable with their acquisitions, having bought Vine before it was even launched, and Periscope is an ideal candidate to join their network of social networks. Ideally if you are splashing out nine figures on something you want to be fairly certain that it is going to take off. A lot of social networks can be curtailed either into the category of ‘for business’ or of ‘for pleasure’, with only the best ones successfully covering both. What we love about Periscope is that it does just that. It can equally be used as a tool for watching a guy on his gap year bungee jumping off of an elephant (while mourning your comparatively boring life), as it can be used to get involved with live Q&A sessions with professionals from a well respected brand in your industry.
Periscope is a great little tool for building your brand – and with the app being relatively in its infancy, there couldn’t be a better time to get involved. Here’s how you can do just that.
Behind the Scenes Footage
With Periscope the sky is the limit – one moment you’re watching a guy doing his shopping in Walmart, the next a traveller showing you around her yacht, the next a bloke in a Giraffe costume dancing around his office (yes, that was us.) People love being exposed to a place they might otherwise never see, and that includes work space. If you’re developing a new product, have a new office or a really interesting work site people want to see. Just showing them around and explaining what you’re doing is a great way to build recognition of your brand.
Office Celebrations
Whether it’s someone’s birthday or the Anniversary of your company launch, everybody loves a party. If your colleagues have got the afternoon off for tea, cake and cocktails, invite your customers to get involved too. On Social Media day, we at Giraffe had a Periscope’d garden party and viewers were commenting about how much good fun we looked, and that they would love to work with us. Office celebrations get your audience viewing you as real people who love having fun which can work wonders for brand image and identity.
Professional Q&A Sessions
Holding live Q&A sessions is a great way to concrete your brand as an industry leader. Get people to submit their questions to you while you are broadcasting. Not only does it encourage trust in your service, it’s a great way to showcase that you are comfortable under the spotlight.
Focus Groups
Building a new product or service? Get your audience involved! On Periscope you can use Focus Groups to get people to vote on different decisions in the during the development process. Not only is it a great way to conduct on the spot market research, it will make your customers feel valued and part of creating something.
As with any new social marketing effort, there is likely to be a period of trial and error, but if you keep at it there is certainly untapped marketing potential for Periscope. If you’re uncertain, just download the app and see what others are using it for. Before long your business could be relishing in more web traffic, increased brand awareness and many, many pretty little fluttering hearts on the side of your screen.
