If you run a business of any kind you’ve probably heard of one of the latest social media crazes – Periscope. You may love it as many do, or you may find yourself saying “Ugh! Another social media tool I have to spend my time on? I can’t even.”
Well, Periscope isn’t just another social media tool. It’s actually marketing genius that, if used properly, can make you money.
Periscope provides a platform that, up until now, wasn’t available for business owners – the ability to interact with your audiences and followers in real-time. Not only that, but the ability to let both Facebook and Twitter know when your broadcasts are live, which helps you bring new people to your work. People who may have never found you otherwise.
It’s no wonder then, that aside from it’s rapid growth in popularity, people are also making money with Periscope. Millennial business coach Amber Aziza was able to make $125,000 of revenue that she credits to Periscope. I, myself, have also made money thanks to Periscope in the form of book sales, coaching clients and ticket sales to workshops.
However, there is a bit of an art to making money with Periscope. Here are some of the tips to keep in mind if you’d like to add Periscope to your marketing plan.
Don’t start a broadcast with a sales pitch.
This is probably the number one rule of sales, yet so many people still ignore it. If you’re planning on making money with Periscope, your utmost priority is to ditch the sales pitch and stick to providing value to your audience.
In other words, use Periscope to show people what you do. Are you a freelance writer? Give some online marketing tips for getting blog posts noticed. Are you a business coach? Give some valuable tips for sales.
The point is to give the value first and then worry about the sale. People don’t want to feel like you see a dollar sign on their heads, they want to feel like they are being helped. Besides, if your free stuff is good then they’ll be more likely to purchase your paid offerings.
Have a content plan.
Just like you should have a content plan for a blog, you should also have one for Periscope. After all, you are using Periscope as a marketing tool to help boost your business, so you must make sure the content is in line with that goal.
For example, when I was hosting an online workshop about getting online press I would use Periscope on the days leading up to it to give sneak peeks. On one day I would talk about how to get published on The Huffington Post and maybe the next day I’d give some tips on making a website PR friendly.
As a result of using this strategy, most of my sales for that class came directly from Periscope on the days leading up to the event.
Don’t try to be perfect.
Part of the beauty of making money with Periscope is it forces people to be themselves. There’s no editing, no perfect lighting, no need to put on make-up and no scripts.
In a day when people want to know everything about a brand, this authenticity can actually help you build a loyal following and make money.
One of my most successful broadcasts was when I was giving some blogging tips and got so excited about what I was teaching that I literally knocked the glasses off of my face and broke them. Live. On the internet. For the entire world to see.
I made a joke about how I’m really clumsy (which I am) and kept going. That night three people purchased a seat to my workshop and I sold some books.
The best part about this is that it requires no preparation on your part. There’s no way you can plan to be yourself, you just are.
Have a Call to Action
While you don’t want to start with a sales pitch, you do want to always have some sort of a call to action on Periscope. If you’re not currently selling anything – like tickets to a workshop event – then direct viewers to some sort of free opt-in so you can build your list. Just remember to provide some great value for free before mentioning it.
Final Thoughts
Making money with Periscope is actually pretty simple. It doesn’t require fancy sales strategies or any equipment other than your smartphone. Perhaps that’s why so many have fallen in love with this platform and have used it to increase their business revenue.
