periscopeTwitter’s live video streaming service Periscope claims to offer the nearest thing to teleportation. I’m not so sure about that, although I did feel a little wobbly (probably nerves) when I made my first live broadcast earlier in the week.

I’m taking a risk here. I think Twitter was the most significant development for the Internet since Google rescued us from the cluttered banners and spam of the early search engines. It introduced real-time updates to the web (no more waiting for spiders to index our sites before our content reached an audience) and helped connect desktop and mobile experiences.

I believe Periscope could be the next big thing. It has the potential to completely change the way we think of broadcasting. Broadcasting is no longer a one-way communication channel. Individuals and corporations now have the ability to connect and engage with their audience directly.

Periscope, like many other social media channels, gives marketers the opportunity to build real relationships with their clients and prospects. As marketers, we should never underestimate how important this is because we can only effectively market to our target audience if we understand their needs and desires.

Video – But Not As We Know It

Periscope is different from other online video platforms like YouTube. It is mainly used for live streaming, which means that once a broadcast begins, there’s not much that can interrupt it. After recording, there’s no editing and no chance to hesitate about uploading. This is why I enjoy it so much. I can spend hours debating if a YouTube video is worth publishing, but Periscope doesn’t allow for that kind of second-guessing. As long as you have an interesting topic and an engaged audience, you’re usually set to go.

Note: Too many marketers delay content-led strategies because they want to deliver the perfect blog post, whitepaper or YouTube video. Sadly, because perfection is rarely attainable, projects are delayed and, often, abandoned. In content marketing, good enough is good enough. Let’s just get on with it.

Instant Feedback

Because Periscope is live, feedback is almost instantaneous. Therefore, it’s a great environment to test ideas for your content-led marketing strategies (including your email marketing). Get lots of “likes” delivered in the form of multi-colored hearts and you might just have a great idea. Lose viewers quickly and you might just have picked a lemon of a subject.

Investing just a couple of minutes via a Periscope broadcast to understand what resonates with your audience will save you hours of wasted time when it comes to creating more engaging, relevant and timely campaigns.

If you’re really stuck for ideas, you can even ask your audience what they want to see and hear.

Periscopes Limitations

As a social environment, Periscope is perhaps not the best place to actively sell from but if your keep your audience entertained, informed and use your broadcasts to build your position as a thought leader and you will drive engagement on your website which will create opportunities to build out your email lists (the perfect sales environment).

Are you using Periscope to engage your audience? Share your tips for live broadcasting below:

This abridged post first appeared on the iContact Email Marketing Blog.

photo credit: brefoto