Brian Basilico
Do you remember the movie “The Truman Show“? It’s a movie staring Jim Carrey as an insurance salesman whose entire life is actually a live TV show. At the time it seemed so far fetched, but today it’s the new reality TV!
With mobile, phones, tablets and computers having better than average built-in video cameras, people have been creating videos with awesome quality for years. You may have heard of Vlogs (video blogs), Video Podcasts, YouTubers and other video posting services, but those have all changed rapidly.
We also have live webinars, Google Hangouts, and Instatelesummits, but these are all so 2014.
Welcome To The Age Of Live Streaming
There are many new apps and platforms being released soon and some that have been around for just a short time. These include Periscope (owned by Twitter) Meerkat (which works through Facebook and Twitter) Facebook Mentions, and Blab (which works through Twitter). The battlefield is getting crowded!
In this post, I am going to concentrate on Periscope. It has over 10 million users and most importantly, Twitter owns it, so it has some backing and some legs!
Let’s Talk Periscope!
So, I am one of those people who watches to see how all this new fangled social media stuff works and then I jump in to experience it. I recently recorded my third Periscope while recording my podcast about Periscope on www.BaconPodcast.com. I also interviewed Shelley Hitz, a friend and an author who has done over 75 Periscopes, to get her take on the platform. She loves Periscope, not only because it creates engagement with fans and draws traffic to her webinars and classes, but also because she has seen huge results (converting 25% of Periscope watchers to clients).
What I have seen…
If you think of a periscope, you would probably picture something used to ascend from below the water to see what is happening on the surface. I believe the original intent of Periscope was to take videos of what was happening in front of you and comment via a mic, but people have changed the intent and use it in ways that I think Twitter never imagined when it was created or released.
Pros
- Periscope is owned by Twitter and has over 10 million users. Meerkat numbers are sketchy, but I have to say in the millions. Meerkat integrates with Facebook and Twitter which is a plus, but in the end the platform with the most users (and viewers) wins!
- It’s easy! Download the app and start broadcasting. It auto posts to Twitter for you. It is not real complicated, so most people can make sense of it on the first try (although I will talk about some cons to the interface). But as apps go, if you have a Twitter account signing up could not be any easier.
- Unlike Instagram and and other publishing platforms, there are no choices. You just stop and publish – can’t get any easier than that!
Cons
- It only publishes in portrait mode. I have a stand alone selfie stick with remote record. You cannot turn the phone sideways (landscape – the preferred method for taking pictures). You can only take vertical videos. Another disadvantage is if you are watching hearts (live likes) or reading comments, your eyes drift to the bottom of the screen (not looking viewers in the eyes).
- It’s live. People have to stop what they are doing to watch. Some people will be trained to stop and watch, while others won’t. Also, the replays are available for only 24 hours. You can circumvent that with Katch.me. You can create an account through Twitter, save all your Periscope streams and then people can share and download them from there beyond the 24 hour limit!
- Competition. Facebook Mentions (the 800 pound Gorilla in the room), along with Blab and Meerkat are some of your competitors. If you can train your audience to pay attention to your Periscopes, then you are way ahead of the curve, but don’t expect people just to find you there without any prompting!
Final Thoughts
People are lining up to stake their claim on Blab, so they can create shows at specific times and people will tune in at “Same Bat Time, Same Bat Station”. Like any media (social or traditional) consistency is key. If you choose Periscope as your video broadcasting duJour, then you have to use other media (email, social media and more) to communicate schedules and expectations.
If you do a 5 minute video one day and an hour video the next, people will get confused and become un interested. Become intentional and consistent, and educate and inform your audience with what to expect, and they will in turn reward you with consistent views and attention!
I would love to hear what you are using, as well as how you are using it! Please share your comments and feedback! Comment away…
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