If you’re focusing on building a personal brand, you simply MUST get active on Periscope!

I’m on Periscope. Follow me @chrisducker

You might be thinking, “Wait a second Chris, I was just getting a handle on incorporating Instagram and YouTube into my brand building strategy and was even considering the idea of doing a podcast – and now I need to learn Periscope?!!”

Well.  Yes… and No.

NO because you don’t need to ‘learn’ Periscope, because there’s really nothing to learn. As you’ll soon see from this post, functionality is quite easy and there’s no reason why we can’t have you doing your first live broadcast (if your a newbie) in 15-minutes from now!

YES because the only thing you need to say YES to is actually ‘doing’ Periscope. It’s in the consistent doing of periscope that you’ll find traction with your brand building.

What’s This Periscope Thing All About?

For me, Periscope is about intimacy and simplicity.

• No editing.
• No webinar slides.
• No countdown timer.
• No commercials.

And if done correctly and consistently I believe Periscope will become the go-to platform for personal brand builders who wish to deepen their relationship with their audience. But wait. There’s more…

It also means that emerging brands now have an opportunity to build an intimate and loyal following with a global audience too. And even faster than ever before.

I truly believe this is truly going to be a game-changer. And it’s all happening right now – in real time.

Periscope is about living in the moment, candid and unscripted. In fact, the more candid and unscripted it is – the more engaged your audience will become and the more hearts you’ll get – you’ll love those bloody hearts, trust me – they’re addictive! So whether you’re a brand builder, a speaker, an author, or an emerging entrepreneur looking to bring your innovation to market – you’ve got to get on Periscope. You can download the app on iOS devices, or on Andriod, too.

Interested? Good!

Here are twelve ways that you can use Periscope to build your personal brand! 

#1 Keep it Candid

Don’t stress about trying to come up with the perfect topic to discuss.  Be you, and be vulnerable.  In fact, why not have your first broadcast be about the fact that it’s your FIRST broadcast!?  Seriously.  This is a perfect way to turn the tables on your viewers and make the show about them.  Ask them what kinds of broadcasts they like to see, and what they feel makes a good or bad broadcast.

#2 Entice with Your Title

What’s amazing about Periscope is that no topic is too small.  Even people with broadcast titles like “I’m bored” are getting a live audience.  Yes, it’s cra-cra… I know.  So take a few extra moments to think of a title that would entice you to want to join in.  (And don’t’ over think it).

#3 Acknowledge Your Viewers

Unlike a webinar which requires you to have content you’re teaching, with about 10% given to Q&A, a good Periscope session is all about hanging out with your audience – and that begins with personally  acknowledging the profiles that enter your broadcast.

#4 Ask Questions

Some of your viewers will only be there to watch, and some will be there to be a part of the conversation.  Help draw out these viewers by asking questions.

#5 Don’t be Afraid to ‘Go Off’ on Tangents

Periscope is all about being authentic and REAL, and the reality of intimate conversations is that sometimes they get off topic or go down a path of reminiscing on a story from your past.  So don’t be afraid to keep it real.  Go off on tangents and enjoy where the conversation takes you.  Even if your broadcast topic is about teaching a specific thing, still have fun with it.

#6 Ask for Some ‘Love’ and ‘Shares’

Hearts are currency on Periscope. The heart count shows how much people are enjoying what they’re watching and your total hearts received (which Periscope refers to as “love”)  will be displayed under your profile, becoming somewhat of a social vanity metric.

Likewise, we’re all more adapt to acting on recommendations from people we know, than complete strangers. Because of that – ask for people to share your scopes – they WILL do it, and it WILL help grow your Periscope following!

#7 Follow Those that Show You ‘Love’

After your broadcast is over you can view vital stats, such as how many total viewers you had, how much ‘love’ you recieved, etc., and even WHO sent you love (right down to the # of hearts they sent). This is a great opportunity to follow those that like you.  It’s also a great opportunity to offer a follow back for those people that show you the most “love” during a broadcast.

#8 Build a Following by Broadcasting Often

I have no doubt that the most successful broadcasters on Periscope will be those that broadcast often. How many times is ‘often’? At this point in the game I have no idea, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we see 10-20 broadcasts a day coming from popular personalities. I’m averaging one a day, but sometimes pop on for a second when I have some downtime.

#9 Play ‘Show and Tell’

You can never go wrong playing ‘show and tell’. So give your viewers a full experience of your broadcast by showing them a 360 degree view of your surroundings. This includes introducing them to people near you, along with showing them any interesting items that happen to be there.

I’ve shown people around my home office, discussed items such as podcast mics and even dragged my wife (affectionately known as Mrs Quack online!) onto a couple of broadcasts, which has always got a nice burst of hearts… I wonder why?!

#10 Act Like You’re Hanging Out with a Friend

Think about the last time you and good friend got together. Did you feel as if you had to have an agenda? Did you worry about whether or not they would laugh at your jokes? Did you feel as if you couldn’t pause the conversation to get a drink of water? All of these things that might be seen as unprofessional in a webinar are 100% the ‘standard’ on Periscope.

That doesn’t mean you can’t teach anything or have an agenda of what you’d like to discuss, but don’t hold too strictly to it. Periscope is all about living in the moment – and communicating that to your audience.

#11 Explore With “Me’

Sharing exciting, or engaging experiences is typically how strong friendships are born. Now just imagine being able to have that kind of power on-demand, with the entire world! Yeah, pretty powerful stuff right?

So the next time you explore something new like trying new food, seeing new places, meeting new people… or even using new gadgets – take the world with you. It will bring a human element to your brand and give your viewers a deeper connection since they are truly sharing this moment with you in real time.

#12 Learn From Your Replays

Great athletes watch themselves on tape in order to get better.  And since Periscope saves your broadcasts you can use this feature to your advantage by taking a look at your own performance to see how you could improve. Don’t be harsh on yourself. This is a work in progress, especially if you plan to be in business for the long haul it’s all about incremental improvement. And if you don’t like what you see, you can easily delete it, or simply wait for Periscope to delete it automatically… 24-hours after you end your broadcast.

How Does Any of this Help with Brand Building?

Here’s the Paradox of Periscope…

While I don’t see Periscope becoming the go-to place to generate more leads and sales for your business (not directly, anyhow), I do see Periscope becoming an accelerator to helping your existing leads convert – and a lot of the time, faster.

Why is that?

To put simply, the mere fact that your audience can tune in and see you live will prove that you’re real, and demonstrate that you care enough to connect with your audience, customers and prospective customers.

None of this means you should stop posting YouTube videos, Instagram, or Twitter. It just means you should consider sharing a few of your private moments with the world – it’s all about P2P… People to people.

So, don’t waste anymore time. Download the app, connect with me and other people, watch, have fun, interact, give some love and then start broadcasting yourself.

And be sure to follow me @chrisducker – see you soon!

What did you think of this infographic? I’d love to hear from you. Please drop me a tweet, or a quick message on my Facebook Page! And, as always, if you know of someone that might benefit from seeing this, please do share it with them – they won’t be mad at you for providing them value. Promise!