PeriscopePeriscope is an up and coming live-streaming video application making its way in social media. Though there are many benefits to using Periscope, there are many aspects that brands should consider before diving into the live-streaming world.

I took a seminar on the best practices of Periscope, and here are my first impressions:

Bandwidth: Periscope is a commitment

Periscopes niche in the social media realm is that its live and instant- and there isnt any way around that. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, brands can not prepare their post in advance and share it at a later date. Posts must be planned well beforehand to account for the real-time component.

For some brands the preparation could mean coordinating with a spokesperson, creating a storyboard and script, or even planning an event.

Periscope streams can also be accessed by users within 24 hours after a live stream event. Brands could potentially miss an opportunity to engage with users who choose to watch it when it is convenient for them unless they prepare for a staff member to monitor their account around the clock.

Brands should also be prepared with additional content to stream in case the viewer wants more. Viewers are a captive audience, they have actively clicked for your streamits best to keep them engaged. During a PRNews webinar on Periscope, Anastasia Khoo, the Director of Marketing for the Human Rights Campaign, said that Periscope users tend to interact more than users on other forms of social media by asking questions and engaging in discussion about the content. She advised that brands should have supplementary material about their video content incase viewers want more information.

Because Periscope is live, brands should also advertise when theyll be streaming well in advance to ensure the post will draw a significant viewership and provide return on investment. Periscope hopes to eventually have a feature that allows brands to alert users when theyll be going live on an upcoming stream, but for now the most effective way to inform users of new live content would be on other forms of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Resources & Technology

In addition to planning the bandwidth that live-streaming requires, there is also a technical aspect of live-streaming that must be taken into account. In order to achieve a high quality video feed, brands should prepare for the unexpected. Your Periscope crew should have phone chargers, a personal wifi-receptor if broadcasting in a public setting, back up cellphones with varying networks, and definitely a tri-pod.

Content

There are many different occasions in which a live-stream is appropriate. Most brands use the app for Q&As with spokespeople or a person of interest, live events such as news conferences, live product testing, and sneak peeks or behind the scenes segments about the brand.

Tuning in on a Periscope stream is more deliberate than scrolling through Facebook newsfeed. Users get a notification when someone they follow on the app is about to go live, so when they tune in they are already engaged because theyre genuinely interested in what the brand or post has to offer.

Before deciding if live-streaming is appropriate for their audience or message, brands should also consider if the content they want to stream would attract enough viewership to bring a return on investment.

Final Thoughts

Brands should take into consideration the time, planning, preparation, advertising, and resources that are essential to a successful Periscope account and decide if all of the work is worth the benefits. Apps that feature videos are becoming more influential to consumers, and brands should adapt their means of engaging with users whether or not that includes Periscope in their digital repertoire.