So What is Periscope All About and How do I Use it ?

At first, I was skeptical about Periscope, but being a social media marketing specialist it was obviously something I needed to try out for myself. There’s so many new social media platforms out there it’s hard for anyone to keep up. And honestly, I thought it seemed a little bit too much like Snapchat. Which is a social media platform I use often personally with my friends and I. But I was wrong, Periscope is a lot cooler!

So, I basically just downloaded this app for the purpose of writing a blog about it. But my heart started to flutter with excitement. As I started to realize what it was (that’s how much of a social media nerd I am). I’ve decided to share my journey through Periscope with you as I start using it more often.

My first impression of this app.

1. Live Broadcasts from people anywhere in the world!

Wanna see what’s up in Mexico City or New York? You can watch anyone’s live broadcast from anywhere in the world. What makes it different from other apps is that what you are seeing is in real time. I can choose a destination of my choice, and choose from a list of updates in that area and start watching it. I thought that was pretty cool. You can also message them (publicly) to start a conversation. I found that a lot of people would get personal and do a little shout out for you, which I thought was pretty cool. Broadcasts from Canada are pretty slim right now though…

2. Great for promoting a business and what they do on a daily basis

Being a social media marketer, there were ideas buzzing in my head immediately for ways this could work for clients. As a business, you can show people a day in the life at work – what you do, how you communicate, what happens behind the scenes, how you make something. The opportunities are endless for real-time broadcasts that you would your clients and followers to see.

I watched a brewery in Denver pour some of their beers and explain them, which was a great idea.

3.  Am I going to see things I don’t want to see?

With any app that allows you to share video and image content…ummm….how much inappropriate content am I going to see, and what are the regulations like? I did check out their content policy statement – it does have some guidelines about inappropriate content, and I would imagine these users would get removed based on their violations. But I guess you just have to be really picky about what update you decide to select and watch.

So far, I’m a huge fan of Periscope, and I’m looking forward to writing another post about it as I learn more about it.