I admit it; I’m crazy about Periscope. A relative newborn on the social media scene, Periscope is the iPhone app that lets you live stream video through Twitter from virtually anywhere in the world. An industry article earlier this month reports 10 million Periscope users with almost 2 million account holders opening the app on a daily basis. Hearing the buzz a few months ago, I downloaded the app to see what the hype was about with this new video tool.
At close to 50,000 Twitter followers, I decided to try Periscope to experiment with how well it worked and who would watch my videos. My content consisted of situations that moms face every day. Sitting in the DMV parking lot a few weeks ago while waiting for my teenager to finish a driver license test, I quickly opened the app and started to video the experience. My main motivation? Parents who were home running after toddlers or making lunches for their kids had nothing on the stress of a teen parent’s anxiety over a driving test.
My most recent video featured a plumbing mishap at my office. After rigging a quick fix until the plumber arrived, I thought it would make a funny video. The app certainly makes it easy to share, and my followers agree. My video views have increased consistently since I started Periscoping my summer experiences. As with anything, the more I used the app, the easier it was to use and share content.
Acquired for $100 million by Twitter earlier this year, the live-streaming video app is already popular in Europe with the U.S. quickly catching up. Currently, moms are experimenting with short five-minute chats and behind-the-scenes footage from special events, while brands are broadcasting from sponsored events.
I think the smartest users will begin to broadcast short informational segments with Periscope. For instance, I can envision TravelingMom.com broadcasting “City of the Week” each Tuesday at 5 p.m. and showcasing the flavors, sites and attractions of that city. Or a hotel brand might broadcast tips for the business traveler every Sunday at 6 p.m. Branded, scheduled content in very short form is where I see Periscope going in the near future.
While Periscope (and competitor Meerkat) show small numbers when it comes to brand awareness (both less than 10%) versus networks like Vine or Snapchat, the promise of these and other apps like it is something marketers need to watch closely.
