How to Use Periscope to Build Your Personal Brand [Infographic]

If you’re interested in building a personal brand, getting active on Periscope might be just what you need to get started. Periscope is a tool that you can use to create live broadcasts using your smartphone. You can also view broadcasts from other Periscope users in real-time, or view recent broadcasts. It’s the perfect tool for bringing people into your world in a way that is truly authentic – here are 12 important things to know about using Periscope as a tool for building your personal brand.

1. Start With a Great Title

When first begin filming your broadcast, you’ll be asked what you are seeing. This is your opportunity to enter a compelling title. Be creative with this. When people are scrolling and looking for live and recent broadcasts, this is what they are going to see. This is your hook.

2. Intimacy Matters

Remember that even though this is called a broadcast, Periscope is best used as a tool to allow your followers to get to know you. It’s not a format for presentation where you act as the authoritative lecturer demonstrating your leadership traits. Approach each broadcast as if you’re bringing friends along with you. Use a conversational tone and don’t be afraid to show genuine emotion.

3. You Don’t Need to Follow a Script

Don’t spend too much time planning. This takes away from the authenticity that makes the Periscope experience really cool. You don’t need to be linear with Periscope. In fact, you shouldn’t be. It’s not about showing things in a specific order. It’s about letting people experience something with you. So, if you see something interesting, don’t be afraid to change the direction of your broadcast. It’s those ‘wow! did you see that!’ moments that will earn you the most love.

4. Greet Your Viewers

As you’re filming, you’ll see viewers join your broadcast – let them know that you notice they’re there by thanking them, and refer to them by name. Don’t worry, doing this won’t mess up the flow of your broadcast.

5. Return The Love

When you receive hearts during your broadcasts, that’s your viewers sending you love. Make a mental note of the people who do that. Then, when your broadcast is finished, take the time to follow them, watch their broadcasts and send them love as well. This is essentially the Periscope version of mutual likes and shares.

6. Speak Your Call to Action

When your broadcast is coming to a close, don’t be afraid to throw out a call to action – you’d do that at the end of a blog post or other form of content writing wouldn’t you? Ask your viewers to show you love. invite them to follow you on social media, invite people to share. Let them know if your broadcast is going to be uploaded to Facebook, YouTube, or other platforms.

7. This is Still Content: Consistency Matters

As with all content, consistency makes a difference. While you don’t need to be quite as consistent as you would with creating podcasts or publishing a blog, you don’t want to post a couple of broadcasts here and there, and then otherwise ignore your viewers. So, create lots of broadcasts, tune into others’ broadcasts, send love, connect on other social media platforms, and get involved in the Periscope community.

8. Give Broadcasts a Behind The Scenes Feel

Remember, the point of Periscope is to give your viewers an up close and personal experience. You’re letting them know the real you and letting them into your world. This should be reflected in your broadcasts. Focus on letting them see things that they wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else.

9. Interact and Get Feedback

As with all digital marketing, your goal is to create relationships and generate engagement. In order to do this, you have to interact and ask your followers for their feedback. One of the coolest things about Periscope is that you can respond to comments live. You can also use those comments to see what your viewers are interested in seeing. The neat thing about this is that your viewers almost become your extra set of eyes. For example, if you are walking down a street, and somebody watching your broadcast notices something, they can point that out to you. Then, you can double back and explore what your missed.

10. Let Followers in on Your Experiences

Think of what you’re going to be doing in the next week. Will you be going to a conference or other event? Will you have the opportunity to try out a new restaurant? What about flying into a new city? Every new or interesting experience you have is an opportunity to share who you are with your viewers. Whether you’re enjoying your first bite of Ethiopian food, or meeting an admired entrepreneur for the first time, this app is the perfect tool for taking people along with you.

11. Learn From Your Replays

Don’t worry about your first broadcasts being awkward. They will be awkward, and that’s okay. In fact, there can be something a little bit charming in that. However, you do want to be sure and review your videos once they have been completed so that you can catch any mistakes and figure out what things work and what things do not.

12. Be Genuine

Sometimes, being on camera has odd effects on people. For some, it makes them turn stiff and formal – and as mentioned above, that’s probably not a good fit for this tool. For others, they may become too perky and enthusiastic, or they may fall into the temptation to be over the top and goofy. Unfortunately, doing any one of these things can be off-putting for your audience. Remember, they don’t want to see some ‘on camera’ version of you. They just want to see you.

This infographic breaks down the basics if Periscope.

This post originally appeared on Irfan Ahmad’s blog