Can You Successfully Use Periscope as a Marketing Tool?
More and more companies are beginning to explore Periscope and its potential uses as a marketing tool.
Our own MONSTERS Roving Reporter Bob (AKA The Blob) recently dove in and did some research on the Periscope app to find out if it could be a marketing asset. It turned out to be quite the adventure.
We’ll get into that in a minute, but first, for those who don’t know…
What Is Periscope?
Periscope is an app that allows you to share and watch live videos instantly.
Here’s how the Periscope website describes the experience of using the app:
“It may sound crazy, but we wanted to build the closest thing to teleportation. While there are many ways to discover events and places, we realized there is no better way to experience a place right now than through live video. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around.”
Here are a few other notable facts about Periscope:
- Periscope launched in March 2015
- The app was purchased by Twitter for $86 million
- Periscope added more than 1 million users in its first 10 days
- Individuals can log in to Periscope using their Twitter login info
- It was named the 2015 App of the Year by Apple
A Man, an App, and a Deer: Using Periscope for the First Time
Here is Bob’s recap of his first experience using Periscope…
1: THE DOWNLOAD
I have NEVER used the Periscope app before, so I decided to test it out. In about 15 minutes, I had downloaded and installed it onto my phone, and began the app for the very first time.
2: THE SET-UP
Set-up was fairly easy. I already had a Twitter account and app on my phone, so I literally only had to hit a button, it automatically pulled the info it needed from the phone, and BOOM… I was in. Easy enough.
3: FIRST THOUGHTS
When I first started the app, I began playing around with it, trying to figure out what exactly the app did. It was time to figure out if it was as easy to use as it was to install.
I immediately hit the Globe Section and began playing around with the map. The “LIST” section was a little confusing since it didn’t seem to be based on the location I was looking at (maybe I’m wrong), so I decided to just scroll around the map of the surrounding area where I live to see what was happening.
LIVE FEED ONE: I began viewing a feed that showed a group of teenagers at an event as they watched a group of rappers and dancers. They were… extremely excited. NEXT…
LIVE FEED TWO: I hit another button and I was watching an older woman who looked extremely melancholy. She stared at the camera awkwardly and was giving advise about life. Odd since she looked like she needed some advice herself. NEXT….
LIVE FEED THREE: I was staring at a deer…
…an actual deer…
…in someone’s bedroom.
Turns out that someone down in the area actually has a pet deer that they have been raising at their house for the last 10+ years. I started laughing and had to show my wife the video feed.
AND… she actually KNEW the deer. Her name is Dillie The Deer and she became a viral sensation back in 2009. She has been featured on National Geographic and a variety of television shows all over the world.
I continued watching the Live Feed and began chatting with the owner Melanie (who was extremely nice). She began telling us that she was having a book signing at their house for a book she had written about the family’s experience.
I let her know that we were interesting in coming to it and she gave me her email. After a few extremely nice emails back and forth, Melanie gave me the address and location to come down and see her and the deer.
4: HANGING OUT WITH A DEER IN ITS BEDROOM
Sure enough, the next day, my wife and I found ourselves at Melanie’s house, hanging out with Dillie in her bedroom and talking with both Melanie and her husband Steve. They were both INCREDIBLY nice and told us that we can come down and visit with them whenever we wanted to.
We bought a book from them. Melanie even made sure to give a “nibbled” copy that Dillie had chewed on as her signature. It was too freaking cute.
They were pleasantly surprised by the amount of people that showed up at the book signing since most of their marketing they do is Live Video (like Periscope) and online.
5: CONCLUSION
So in short… can someone successfully use the Periscope App as a Marketing Tool?
ANSWER: Yes Indeed!
You can read all about Dillie’s story here.
Or check out this wonderful piece that National Geographic did about Dilly and her family…
