Periscope is a “live video streaming platform”, which basically means you can transmit a live recording of yourself to your Persicope and Twitter followers. Imagine Skyping someone, but instead of video calling a single person, you’re instead linked up to the whole community. Not only that, whoever’s watching you can comment and ask questions. These show up on your screen whilst broadcasting making it easy to answer and interact.
Here are some Periscope lessons we learnt along the way for anyone thinking of streaming their own event.
Position yourself wisely
If you are in charge of the transmission than we would recommend getting to the venue very early because location is extremely important. If you are filming on a mobile device it means you don’t have the luxury of things like external mics etc. If you can sit in the front row so that you are close to the speakers for good sounds and no one blocking your image!
Keep it steady
We would definitely recommend that you invest in a stand or tripod as that will make your video look a lot more professional! Nothing is worse than a shaky camera. Think of the viewers at home watching this and what will be like for them watching you walking around or a shaking image. Lock the device on the stand and this will guarantee a smoother watch!
Systems check
There is nothing worse than arriving at an event to find out you have no battery or memory space. To prevent this double check all systems… Twice! Check that your device has enough hard drive space available and full battery! A great insurance is to bring a backup device in case of disaster! Most IPads etc. battery life while being used in 3 hours so if you are concerned about running out of battery mid-stream sit near a plug socket to keep the device charging
Spread the word
If you are going to go to the trouble of using periscope at an event then make sure to spread the word. Using social media such as Facebook and twitter itself is a great way to get viewers. Make sure you tell people before the event and encourage them to follow you on Periscope as they will then also get a notification from the Periscope app when your stream starts. If you market heavily in advance, people can have the live stream in their diaries in just the same way they would if they were attending the event in person. Keep tweeting before the event so that people are reminded about it and continue to do so during the event as you may get more people joining part way through if they see a later tweet.
The key to maximising Periscope is to learn by doing. Don’t feel shy about experimenting and if you need any advice or assistance just give the PLANIT team a call on 01 2011850.