How Brands Utilize the Periscope Broadcast

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For those late-comers who still don’t know exactly what Periscope does, let’s just say it offers teleportation. Well, the app actually offers teleportation through a camera. The Twitter-owned platform turned one year old in March and has already accumulated over 20 million live video broadcasts. The app allows users to acquire live-streaming video in the palm of their hands, resulting in increased engagement and interactivity on a mobile, visual medium. Live-streaming content is on the rise, and social media dominators like Facebook have adopted the new technology. The ability to visually broadcast video in real time is not only attractive in the consumer perspective, but also acts as a useful platform for the world’s biggest brands to tell their stories.

Companies like Spotify, Redbull, and DKNY have jumped right in to the live-streaming frenzy in order to promote their brand. This seemingly unorthodox method may appear a bit scattershot, but there is a method in place, and you just need to know the ground-rules. You may be thinking, “What the hell? Doesn’t hurt in trying!” However, Periscope requires some finesse, but if your brand can master the medium, the app allows a deeper level of exploration into your brand’s world. So, we’ve created a short list of rules to remember when your brand is getting creative on Periscope.

1) Transparency: Tear Down Walls
By allowing consumers to enter the land of your brand, a deeper buyer-to-seller connection is made. Raw, unscripted footage gives companies the opportunity to get on a personal level with the audience, by showcasing the fact that there are human faces behind the brand. This unprecedented level of transparency is not only entertaining to the user, but also usually results in a higher level of trust. T-Mobile recently took advantage of this aspect, and now regularly releases live broadcasts of CEO John Legere giving updates. Company executives can now directly engage with regular ‘ol folks like us, thanks to the technology that Periscope provides.

2) Appeal to Different Demographics
If there’s an up-and-coming app, you can trust that a large flock of Millennials will be comfortably using the platform in no time. Brands can use Periscope to appeal to different demographics, particularly a younger, tech-savvy audience. Since the app also connects to Twitter, brands can further pinpoint their audience by using hashtags.

3) Create Exclusive Events
Companies have also been attracting consumers to their brand by allowing access to exclusive events through live-stream content. By doing so, users can attend a concert, festival, or a red carpet event without getting out of bed. For example, Redbull invited everyone to a weeklong Guest House party in Miami via live-streaming. Users avoided the awkward party bouncer conversation, and were able to visually attend the exclusive party. By doing so, brands make their consumers not only feel special, but also further portray their brand culture.

4) Announce Products and Special Offers
We all love a good surprise, and Periscope acts as a great platform to release surprises. Companies can live-stream special announcements and offers in order to increase anticipation and social media interactivity. In this scenario, a company would announce what time users should tune in to the live-stream, and then “wow” them with their announcement. If brands want to add a bit of suspense and surprise to their next campaign, Periscope acts as a wonderful platform to do so.

5) Utilize Extreme Engagement: Live Q & As and Contests
Live Q & As featuring company employees or executives is a fun, engaging way to connect with your audience. Users are able to send questions through social media that are then answered on the spot. This method makes the consumers feel as if their voice has the opportunity to be heard. Live-streaming contests, such as the campaign Doritos put on called #DoritosRoulette, also brings interactivity to the next level. The chip company hosted a live streaming game-show in which they announced prizes to contestants in real time. Strategies like this aid in surging consumer engagement and help companies reach second-base (in friendship terms, of course) with their consumers.

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Technology is constantly changing, and in the world of video production, brands need to be able to continually adjust to ever-changing media platforms. Periscope and other live-streaming applications are only babies at this point, but their growth into a fully functioning, widely used product is not something that’s set in stone. That’s the thing with new technologies; we never know how it’s going to turn out in the end. Nonetheless, brands must be able to take the risk of testing out up-and-coming technology in order stay ahead of the game.

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ABOUT REVELATOR: Revelator is a full service film & video production company in Austin, Texas. We like to write, produce, & edit projects for t.v. and the web. We specialize in brand films, corporate identity work, as well digital advertising and t.v. broadcast advertising. If you need help with your script, production, or just an idea, give us a call.

REVELATOR SERVICES: Video Production, TV Commercials, Brand Films, Virtual Reality, VR Experiences, Script Writing, Music Videos, Lifestyle Videos, Technology Videos, B2B Videos, Product Videos, Feature Films, Motion Graphic Videos, Turnkey Solutions, and Live Event Video Production.