I joined the good times on Periscope about a month ago (whoopee!), so I’m not an expert by any means. But, if you’re new to the social media platform, I’d love to help you get started.
(If you’re wondering what Periscope is and why you should join, read this blog post and then come on back and I’ll give you some tips for your first scope.)
Playing and connecting with other creatives on Periscope has quickly become my favorite daily to-do. (Follow me @blacksburgbelle so we can hang.)
If you’re kinda freaking out about doing your first scope or want some tips to get going, I’m happy to give you a slight shove towards making your first move:
1. Take two or three days to get acquainted with the platform.
If you’re brand new to Periscope, give yourself a bit of time to check out the platform before your first scope, but not enough that you travel to procrastination station.
I spent two days watching other scopes so that I could see how people were using the platform. I started commenting and giving hearts, following people that I wanted to connect with and learn from.
Over the course of a couple days, watch 15-20 scopes to get a feel for things.
2. Plan your first topic and practice a bit.
If you’re nervous or haven’t done a lot of speaking or live streaming video, practice what you’re going to talk about. And, pick a topic that you’re passionate about—that you can talk about easily.
Even though I have plenty of experience speaking, I practiced before my first five scopes. When I hit the broadcast button, I felt more comfortable because I’d gone over what I planned on saying.
If you’re covering more than one or two points, jot down notes. I do this for almost every scope, because it’s easy to forget what you want to say when people are asking questions and commenting.
This also helps to avoid rambling. If you ramble on and on, people are going to lose interest.
I get annoyed when I feel like someone is wasting my time because they aren’t prepared or they spend five or ten minutes rambling before actually getting into the topic they’re scoping about.
3. Prepare for your first scope.
Check your lighting before you begin by opening up your camera on your phone and switching it to video. The lighting will look very similar when you scope.
When you start your scope, that’s it. You’re live immediately, so it helps to check this before you start. Move around until you’ve got good lighting.
Select the little Twitter birdie button before you hit ‘start broadcast’, so that it sends out a tweet to your followers that you’re live.
If you’re nervous about creepers saying inappropriate things during your scope, deselect the location button before starting your broadcast. If you don’t share your location, your scope isn’t shared on the map and you’ll get a lot less trolls. I’ve only had to block one person on my scopes, because I don’t share my location when I’m scoping from home.
Before you begin, stabilize your phone or device. You can use a stack of books, a box or a tripod. Videos are always better when they aren’t jumpy.
4. Do your first scope within the first week on the platform.
After you’ve practiced and set yourself up for success, it’s time to go live. Eeeeeeeep!
Take a deep breath and do your best. Your first scope probably won’t be amazing. You’ll feel a bit awkward, maybe even tongue-tied, but it gets easier.
If no one joins you live or only one or two people join you, keep going. Talk as if you’re talking to a group of your ideal customers. You never know who will watch the replay and join you next time! That’s how you grow your following on Periscope.
5. Do another the next day.
Just get it in your mind that your first scope is gonna be kinda awkward. You’re getting used to the platform. Remember the first picture you uploaded on Instagram or the first tweet you sent? They probably weren’t masterpieces.
Periscope is just like anything else. The more you do it, the better you get. You’ll start to feel a lot more comfortable after your first 10 scopes and you’ll be really good at it by your 50th scope. Don’t let the awkwardness of your first scope hold your back from doing another.
Everyone has a semi-awkward first scope, even those of us who speak or do live streaming video for a living (raises hand slowly).
Do your second scope that same day or the next. If you let too much time go by, you’ll come up with more and more reasons to delay. Don’t do that!
When you’re new to a social media platform, you don’t have many followers which gives you room to mess up. If you wait until 100+ people are following you, you’re going to feel more pressure to be perfect.
If you’ve joined Periscope but haven’t shared your handle, make sure you do so in the comments right here so that we can all connect. (And, if you’re looking for more creatives to follow and connect with, check out the comments on that post. We’re seriously having so much together. It’s like a daily slumber party with people all over the world.)
Okey dokey, April!! You’ve given me the kick in the booty I’ve needed to hop on Periscope! Eek!!
I commit to doing my first scope by this Sunday (my lovely dog might make a guest appearance with me to keep for support)!
Actually, I was a guest on my friend’s periscope 2 weeks ago. So, I got the hang of it then.
Love your tips. I need to watch a few more before hopping on.
You can find me @teachgoodstuff! Woohoo.
YESSSSSSS! Can’t wait to connect with you on Periscope m’dear! I’ll be on the lookout for your first scope. You so got this. 🙂
It’s such a fun platform!
I’ve started to figure out how I’ll use it too, to add value and help more people. I did a scope the other day where we did a full prewriting brainstorm and outline together – live. It was super cool, and I got a ton of great feedback from it.
I find that having a loose “activity” like that planned that will involve your audience in the content is great to make the whole thing feel more like the interactive & conversational platform that it is.
It’s super fun for me too – because I get to have buddies with me, helping to show how to do things. I’m loving it!
xo
K
@TweetWithaK
It’s soooooooooo much fun.
That sounds like the kind of scope you should be repurposing. I’m thinking about covering repurposing your scopes in next week’s blog post if I start doing it this week! We’ll see.
Yes…I love that tip. Thanks for sharing!
I did my first scope about my two dogs just so I could get used to the platform. And I can go on and on about my pets. I can’t figure out how to use it for my business. I don’t think people want to watch me knit or crochet or make things for my Etsy shop. Though I watch people play the piano (Pianodude) or walk around London(MarcBernstein) or draw. I really like how RandomOlive does her scopes about brush lettering. I wish I could think of something like that to do. I’m @Kyoti13 on periscope.
YAY! I love seeing people’s doggies. I’m a dog lover. 🙂
What about if you were to talk about something while knitting? What about showing a finished product and talking a bit about how you made it? What about talking about yarn and why you picked the type of yarn you did for your products?
What about showing off your yarn stash? What about talking about the behind the scenes of a handmade business?
You’ll come up with more and more ideas!
I’m still trying to get a handle on Periscope. I did my second live jewelry demo on it and a friend was watching it and gave me great feedback along the way (especially in regards to lighting). It’s been fun, though, to watch and connect with others, and I’ll be interested to see where it goes. My handle is Linkouture.
That’s totally fine! I think we’re all still trying to get a handle on Periscope. 🙂
That’s exciting. So happy to connect with you on there!
Sounds like an interesting platform! I am not really the one to make videos of myself talking, let alone broadcasting live, but I went ahead and signed up. My handle is @angieharris
I look forward to viewing other’s posts first before doing my own. 🙂
Hey Angie! Definitely some people are more comfortable with video than others. I think this platform will be fun for those of you who don’t plan on doing much video…because you can still connect with those who do. You can comment and ask questions which makes it worth it!
Hi! I’m @randomolive on Periscope and I do brush lettering demos! 🙂
For getting started:
– I was watching one of Tara Swiger’s early scopes and she was asking people what they might scope about. And I said I was thinking of doing lettering. And her audience basically encouraged me to just jump on and do it!
– I did my first scope on a Saturday evening when I thought very few people would be watching. (it was even a holiday!) I didn’t tell anyone! It was super simple and all I did was draw the alphabet. And then, I deleted it in five seconds. And then I did another one right after it (but I told people on Instagram first). I’ve been hooked!
– I was making the titles too long at first, so they got cut off when the program tried to tweet it… Make them short and to the point.
– I agree with turning off your location. I don’t see creeps on my scopes.
– I don’t usually show my face… I’ve only done that on one scope where I was live-scoping from Hobby Lobby.
– Talk about stuff you love!
– I learned to put a post-it in the frame to show my website and where I want people to go. It’s hard to give a website address verbally, so having it nice and readable on a post-it really helps!
– Knowing they disappear in 24 hours really helps! (or if you really don’t like it, just go in and delete it)
– People are usually really nice!!! I think because we all know it’s scary to put yourself out there on live video, so we see you being brave and appreciate you for it!!
YAY Olivia! Thanks for sharing.
(For those of you who missed last week’s post, Olivia was included in the 10 creatives you should be following on Periscope! Follow her!)
These are all such awesome tips.
Yes yes yes to talking about stuff you love. Yes to showing something else if you don’t necessarily want to show your face…if you’re a maker, make!
I’m gonna have to make sure my titles aren’t too long. That’s a really good one….thanks for including it.
I jumped right into it after watching one and I must say ,I am having the time of my life.I am the type that would rather talk than write.With a background in tv broadcasting its a a no brainer ,even though ,I get a little nervous cos this is not a news item,Its me being myself and doing my thing.But am HAVING A BLAST .my handle is THEREALMRSO.
For tips ,I would say once you start bring your best self people only want to deal with authentic people who speak their truth and are real and have something to share ,that feels real ,that is to say that they practice. At least that what I look out for .
Isn’t it sooooooooooo much fun?!?!? YAY!
I’m so excited to connect with you on Periscope. That’s pretty darn cool that you’ve got a background in tv broadcasting. That does make it a no brainer.
YES…be yourself…talk about things you truly love! I totally agree.
I jumped on right after your blog post introducing us to Periscope! I have been addicted ever since. And I’m an introvert! LOL
I agree with the others that I felt I didn’t have anything to talk about or value added to share, BUT you will be sooooo surprised once you jump on. It’s so much fun, people are so supportive, and I’ve met some fabulous new peeps in the process.
My handle is @jewelsbytrish. I’m sharing about jewelry, behind the scenes peeks, and self-care. I’d love to connect.
Thank you April for encouraging us all! =D
Woot woot, Trish!
Yes, the supportiveness of this community is completely amazing. You will definitely be surprised. It feels so good to connect to all of you in this way.
THANKS for sharing.
Okay so here is my really basic question – when I turned the video on to do my Scope, I could see out the front camera but could not flip it back to get it on me. I know people are looking at the screen when they talk (b/c they say hi to people) but could not figure out how to do it. Once I start filming can I turn the screen around? I normally have that feature when using my camera to take photos but can’t get it on Periscope.
Apparently double tap the screen. I couldn’t figure it out at the time either haha
Okay I so you got me motivated. My first scope is done just now. I made it kind of relevant rather than just showing my kids being cute like many first timers seem to do lol although there is a quick view of my 2 month old. I focused it on a bit of a behind the scenes for my blog challenge while also giving some accountability for a task I desperately need to do (declutter my office). Can’t believe I shared it but now I will go start on it! I’m @simplifycreate 🙂
I’m still putting off doing my first broadcast, but to be honest I’ve been working 10-12 hour days and was simply too drained to even watch other people’s scopes… I hope to jump in when the craziness that is my complete website redesign passes.
Thanks for the tips, they will come handy!
I did iiiiit! And it was so fun!
I honestly didn’t know how many people would show up, but they came, and some folks I don’t know from before as well!
I was sketching a lettering piece and thought to answer some questions, but there weren’t many questions so I just rambled as I was drawing to keep the conversation going… 😀
Love this app. Did one periscope, was a little scared at first, but had fun doing it. You can look for me @cyndeejewelry
I’ve been holding off and kicking my feet, but today I followed your advice and did my first scope.
Honestly, I knew that I wanted to talk about using your website to establish trust and transparency but wasn’t sure which piece to tackle. After your scope this morning, I made a short and sweet outline about how your shop/blog policies can help you put your foot down with the comment trolls.
Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll make another outline tonight for tomorrow!
Thank you so much for this, April! I have been doing monthly challenges and sharing short videos in my FB group so I just know that this platform is perfect for me. I will be doing my first scope tomorrow because it is the first day of this month’s challenge. Woohoo! So excited! I just started following you and you can find me @kerry_burki.
Love reading this! I just watched you today on the Creativelive broadcast and am excited for more of your class. I also just did my first periscope yesterday! It was short and sweet, and awkward. But I will watch more of others broadcasts and try again. Thank you for all the tips! I just started following you today too. @foxanddoll
#1 – Hope you are feeling better.
#2 – Just finished watching your class on CreativeLive last month. So awesome. And soooooo much great, amazing information. I downloaded the Periscope app when I first read this blog post, but ignored it.
But I watched your daily scope the last day of the class and am now kicking myself for waiting. So addicting.
So, now I am planning my first scope for Saturday morning. (I’ve got 2 kids, a husband and a full time job, so I don’t have much time during the week.)
My handle is @CleverCreators. I’ve been following everyone you recommend, and those who left their handles in the comments. LOVE this!
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