periscope tips for newbies

 

16 Tips on Getting Started with Periscope

Periscope has taken the world by storm, and for me it’s the next best thing to getting an MBA. No, really, it is. Do you want to learn how to make green smoothies? Want to learn about taxes and accounting? Marketing? Sales? There is a scope for just about any topic you can think of, and you should at least be watching a few. It’s almost like a 24/7 online video education station, and I am hooked.

But What is Periscope? Periscope is basically a live streaming app which you can use your phone  ( iPhone or Android) or iPad to broadcast and stream live from wherever you are as long as you have strong wifi or 4G connection.

  1. Your first step is to join Periscope by searching the app on your app or play store. Download the Periscope app and install it. Once you sign up which you can sign up with your Twitter profile, make sure you have a profile photo AND a description. I don’t follow back any users who have no description or photo. You just look like spam, and we don’t want that. Get your pretty photo up in there, and write some things about yourself. Of course, I recommend adding some keywords related to your business in your profile for Google Juice. And here is another blog post teaching you how to set up your Periscope and some shortcuts.
  2. Follow contacts from Twitter. Periscope is owned by Twitter and makes suggestions based on your Twitter followers. Alex Petti, a great networker on Periscope, suggests you get at least 100 followers before you do your first scope. The first step in getting followers is to follow others.
  3. Watch a week’s worth of scopes. You learn so much by watching the more experienced scopers, and you also get tons of followers just by watching. Make sure you’re interacting and chatting with others during those scopes. Support them, give them hearts, and connect with them, too.
  4. Pick a wise title. Titles are everything because you’re competing with other folks that are scoping during the same time slots. I’m still learning how to come up with the best titles, especially ones with emoji, which are a hot thing in Periscope. Just don’t forget to title your first scope.
  5. Ask for support. It’s scary doing your first scope! I suggest pre-advertising using your social media profiles. Go create an ad on Canva (which is free), and include your scope title and broadcast time. Don’t forget to add which timezone you’re in because you’ll get interest from all over the world.
  6. When you’re ready to scope, make sure you title it, then turn Twitter on so your scope automatically gets loaded to Twitter. Just by doing this, you can get people signing in because they saw it on Twitter.
  7. Greet and interact with the people who join your scopes. Ask them where they’re tuning in from. What do they do? How did they hear about your scope? Are they new to you and your business?
  8. Acknowledge viewers who may be watching a replay. Do this at the beginning of your scope. Since your followers will have 24 hours to check out your broadcasts, you may get tons of replay watchers who missed it live, so make sure you address them, too.
  9. Start strong. Some scopers are printing out cards or showing their Canva ad at the beginning of their scope to get some high energy going. The first 10 seconds matter! You want to be engaging and let your personality show! Be sure to introduce yourself, explain what you’re about and what kind of scopes they can expect from you.
  10. Have fun and don’t give up. I have done 43 broadcasts, but I have to say my first 10 scopes felt lonely and scary! I pushed myself past that phase, and I’m so happy I did because I’ve connected with wonderful people. Not only that, but I’m growing my brand thanks to Periscope. I’m also learning so much great information for free. The content is unreal.
  11. Ask for shares, hearts and for follows. Don’t be a nag about it, just do it naturally: “Hey, if you think your followers also want to learn about this topic, please scroll up/down for IOS or left/right for Android. Also, be sure to follow me by clicking on my icon so you don’t miss my future scopes.”
  12. Watch your head. I made this mistake yesterday. You should have your head and face in the upper part of the video. Once comments start rolling in, people won’t see you otherwise.
  13. Ask for interaction, ask questions throughout, and maybe have a “peribuddy.” My current peribuddies are Erica H. Vincent, B.Coleman and Kiersten from TLC Social, as well as Mike from Frugal Webguy and Yusuf Chowdhury. Whenever these peeps are in my scopes, they are a huge help. They type out notes for what I’m saying, links for me to my private FB page, and links to my webinars. So give them some love and follow them.
  14. Get a tripod for your scopes. I followed Regina’s advice and ordered the 50-inch one from Amazon with a photo extension. I love it! It’s a bit fragile, so be kind to it.
  15. Test different time zones and times for scoping. This will depend on your audience and also who’s sharing your scopes. I’ve done scopes during lunch time, dinner time and later at night, and I’m still testing which times are best. You may discover certain times are uniquely good for you, depending on your content.
  16. Repeat topics. Since you will catch a different audience in different time zones, you can actually repeat some of your best scopes so they reach a bigger audience. Periscope users are used to this, so it’s okay to do so.

Remember that your scopes disappear after 24 hours, so be sure to be scoping regularly so it doesn’t look like you have zero recent broadcasts. Have you periscoped yet? What are some of your tips?