Up Periscope!
Periscope is a live streaming app for both iOs & Android mobile devices. Originally a start-up, Periscope was purchased by Twitter in March of 2015. After the purchase by Twitter, Periscope became readily available to anyone with a Twitter account. According to Tech Crunch, Periscope saw over a million sign-ins during it’s first 10 days. Periscope continues to grow in the live stream scene, leaving the competition in the dust. As of posting, Periscope now has over 10 million users.
You may be saying, “That’s great, but how can Periscope help my organization?”
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Twitter Integration - If you have a Twitter following, you have a built-in audience for Periscope. When you sign up for Periscope, you can let your followers know that you’re using Periscope. Your patrons can easily follow your Periscope when searching for others on Periscope. You can share a link to your Twitter followers letting you know you’re going to Periscope.
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Tease Your Events with Rehearsal Periscopes - Most movies have a trailer to generate a buzz about their movie. You can use Periscope to generate buzz about your event by showing select rehearsals live.
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Use Periscope to Host Q&A Sessions - Periscope has a built-in chat function. The chat feature allows users to interact with the Periscoper via text on screen. Organizations have taken advantage of this functionality by using it to interact directly with their patrons. Recently, the UCB Theatre in NYC started using Periscope for Q&A’s. They used a branded hashtag (#AskAnImprovTeacher) on Twitter to field questions.
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Give Your Patrons Backstage Access - Use Periscope to allow your patrons a glimpse backstage, and not necessarily just for performance-related access. If your patrons are like most people, they like peeking into the medicine cabinet when they come to visit. Consequently, something that may seem mundane to you, like set-building, or costume-making, might be compelling to them.
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Have Some Fun - Turn your use of Periscope into a fun way of engaging people. Give a tour of your venue on Periscope and reward the first person to correctly “spy” an item specified at the start of the tour by giving them a free t-shirt or complimentary tickets to a future show. There are endless possibilities.
Periscope has taken a real foothold in the social media landscape. It’s interactive nature makes it an invaluable marketing tool and sets it apart from other social media platforms. Chew on the ideas above and maybe they will spur your creativity and help you use Periscope in ways that increase your organization’s visibility and social media footprint.
