Periscope! 5 Awesome Ways it has Helped Me and My Business

When I first heard of Periscope, I was naturally skeptical. For one it was connected to Twitter and at that point, I had an account but barely tweeted, mainly because I’m not a social media person. So to download another app on my phone where people could see my face? No thanks! But that soon changed, thanks to some people in my networking groups that showed me the ropes! I’ve been hooked ever since!

Periscope is a phone app that lets you conduct your own broadcast, while viewers have the option of commenting or just enjoy without saying anything. As they say on their website, through live video you can “discover the world through someone else’s eyes”. When people like what you’re saying, they tap their phone and hearts will appear on your screen, showing participation and love for what you’re sharing! The more hearts, the better!

Meeting people on Periscope is something that can happen every day, depending on how often you scope and how active you are in other people’s broadcasts. I came across people who’s scopes resonated with me; they had a positive message to offer and were extremely informative with their scopes. There were a lot of “how to’s” that offered substance. For instance, you have scopers with strong marketing backgrounds who share tips on making more money or writing effective business plans for your organization. Those scopes were right up my alley. I would offer my thoughts, asks questions, and participate in conversation with other viewers. That’s how I was able to not only meet new people, but connected with them as well. This included getting new clients! They read my bio, checked out my Twitter page, watched some of my scopes (it took me a while to get scope, but I finally did) and were interested in working with me. Not only that, we were also able to connect to continue supporting each other through guest posting, podcasts and other special projects!

I struggled with speaking out loud as a child and some of that shyness followed me into adulthood. I’ve been able to combat a lot of that shyness over the years, especially through writing and speaking. But once I was able to get comfortable on Periscope, the sky was the limit. For one, it’s a very laid back, relaxed setting on Periscope, where a lot of casual conversations take place. I just had to get past that awkward moment of the first scope, which is something that everyone goes through. But once I got past that hump, I was able to interact on different topics and gain a good number of viewers who were interested and supportive. That’s the thing – viewers on Periscope are very supportive and friendly. It gave me comfort and confidence to keep going. The more I scoped, the more confidence I gained in speaking on certain topics because there were people who could relate to what I was saying. You will be surprised at how people actually benefit from what you have to say. Once that connection is made, it’s easier to speak and come up with topics to discuss.

As someone who struggled with interacting with people, I must say Periscope has helped in such a unique way. Once I got a feel of the audience and what they had to say, I found myself scoping on a regular basis and participating on other scopes with no problem. There is definitely a comfort that’s developed as you get used to how everything works. Soon you find yourself building and growing your own platform and coming up with different ways to present information. Now, I’m at the level of making videos and enhancing the quality of my newsletters, because I understand how powerful face to face interaction can be. It doesn’t have to be something that’s dreaded or uncomfortable. It can be a place of servitude and healthy outlets.

As a writer and blogger, I have to admit that at times it’s a struggle to come up with new content that will keep the audience interested. Once I started becoming active on Periscope, the ideas and projects kept coming to me non-stop. It was the jump start of encouragement that I needed to continue with my blog and expand my business. Once I did a session on Periscope, I had fresh content to put on my blog, which also increased traffic and gain new viewers. So if I was too lazy or just plain tired to get on my website and start blogging, I would scope about the topic. This actually made it easier for me to write the content for my blog. I was also able to provide content to sites through guest blogging which also turned out to be helpful for me. Creating new content helped to expand my platform and meet new people who were interested in what I had to say.

I’ll never forget the day I got my first client off of Periscope! All because I decided to engage with the audience from someone else’s scope. By this time, I was only obtaining clients in person – which is something I still prefer, but meeting someone through social media provided a whole new outlook for me. I was pretty regular on Periscope, letting people know who I was and what I specialized in. I told them how I help people with writing as a freelancer and how I was available to help business owners who needed help with content for their site or communicating with their clients better. Someone reached out to me to help them with their website content and things just began to grow from there. I now have projects lined up that I’m very excited about because I’m working with people who are in the same mindset as I am; looking to grow and aren’t afraid to ask for help.

Getting new clients on Periscope is an awesome experience. Just be sure to get to know more about the potential client and what they’re all about. If they are open and aren’t hesitant to share their vision and what they’re all about then by all means, go for it. I find that not only am I able to get new clients, but I can reach out to hire people for myself. There are all kinds of people and business owners on Periscope, ranging from virtual assistants to authors, screenplay writers, health coaches and so forth. Tune in, follow and listen to what they have to say for a bit because eventually, they reveal themselves and what they’re all about. From there, you can make a decision to reach out with them and discuss off line.

Because of Periscope, my business has expanded in so many ways. I’ve come into new ways to develop my platform and be effective. Here are some of the most successful things that have happened in the past few months:

• First Podcast interview scheduled
• Conducted my first chat session with an author which was VERY successful
• New mailing list launched
• Breakthrough in completing my first book
• Launched new website

Again, these are just some of the things that have happened for me. There’s so much more in the works as I continue to meet and connect with people who are in the same mindset as I am. That means they’re not about any games, they are upfront and serious about what they do.

• Once you start scoping, try to be consistent. This will help build viewers/followers.
• Don’t be afraid to participate in other scopes. This is how you can meet people and gain new viewers for your own broadcasts.
• Crack that egg and put your photo up! When you first open your account with Periscope and Twitter, you will get the basic egg that comes with a new account. This is a turn off to many scopers you may want to interact with and will make people hesitant to interact with you.
• Beware of the trolls! Like many other social media platforms, you have those folks who like to distract or spam whatever they’re trying to sell. Periscope provides the option for you to block these types of people. Just remember to stay focused and not let them be a distraction if they pop in during your broadcast.
• Be yourself. Periscope is a very casual and laid back atmosphere. You don’t have to be formal or try to be someone else. As I tell my viewers and visitors who read my site, use your own voice in order to build your own audience. The worst thing you can do is try to be someone else.

If you’re on Twitter, you can watch broadcasts and easily open your own account. If you don’t have an account but would like to watch from your laptop, you can watch me live on my channel here. If you’re on Periscope, awesome! I’d love to connect and check out your broadcasts!

Find out more about Periscope here!