Mourn no longer, my dear local marketers and small business owners; the team at Periscope heard your pleas. Many of you know, May 4, the livestream video saving platform, Katch, said goodbye, as it was no longer able to sustain its model with minimal funding and no new capital. Local brands and businesses used this service in conjunction with the live-streaming app, Periscope, to engage their communities and target audiences in creative ways. This, in turn, provided good links, driving traffic back to their sites and hopefully establishing good citations and authority; but videos have to live for more than 24 hours to accomplish that.
Periscope Lost? Local Marketers and Businesses Left Adrift
The loss of Katch created a problem for Periscope and local businesses who chose to use the streaming service as a low-cost video marketing tool. These users would no longer have the easy functionality to keep their videos beyond 24-hours.
So, what was Periscope to do? Even with the demise of Meerkat, Periscope isn’t the only big fish in the livestreaming pond. Facebook didn’t buy Meerkat, as speculated, but instead launched Facebook Live. Initially, only for use by brand and public figure pages, in April it was rolled out to the rest of us. With their familiarity, bigger communities, and saved videos, Facebook Live is a big draw. Periscope needed to save broadcasts beyond 24 hours to remain competitive.
Catch Up on Videos with #Save
Well, the team gave us their own announcement, via a live stream, of course. As it turns out, they are doing a public beta test that allows users to keep videos for as long as they want, whether that be a short time or long. They are working on a “holistic solution to cover all of this, coming in the near future.”
So how do they plan to implement this? It’s simple really; just add #save in the title before beginning the broadcast. This one step allows the users videos to be stored on Periscope’s servers indefinitely. And it has integration with iOS, Android, GoPro and Betascope; wherever the video is shared and as long as #save is added anywhere in the title, the video will live on beyond 24 hours. Of course, the owner of the video can delete it at any time.
And yes, you will be able to see the comments, questions and hearts from your community. This is a great way to address any missed during the livestream, which could help you identify any issues and possibly boost your reviews scores online; as some consumers are using Periscope as yet another way to engage brands, to have their issues resolved.
This is great news for those of you who spent the last couple of weeks fearing you’d made the wrong choice by selecting Periscope & Katch as a local marketing solution. Keep calm and livestream on, and work to build community with your audience.
Local Business Live Video Strategies
Remember, no matter how long you can save that video and repurpose it there are some best practices with live video to consider:
- Videos should be brief but informative – Just like you wouldn’t go over two to three in a sizzle video, your livestreams should ideally be 10 – 15 minutes of good content.
- Interaction, interaction, interaction – The number one rule of real estate is location, and if you want people to take the step to engage with you, by visiting your website or store; interaction is key. Watch the chat scroll and try to answer a few questions or give shout outs, especially to those who you notice repeatedly check in with you.
- Local Content – Local SEO strategies must have excellent local-focused content. A livestream is a great choice, just be sure it adds value to your consumers or provides a unique solution; and remember Google’s E-A-T guidelines.
Keep it Local
Now all of this is well and good but how can you engage your local audience effectively with Periscope? Here’s a few fun ideas for livestreams that embed you further into your community and reflect well-thought out local presence management.
- Scavenger Hunts – Involve complementary local businesses and give those who participate a prize, coupons for future use or exclusive access to resources.
- Sales Promotions & Product Launches – What better way to kick off a sale or new product than an actual “commercial” made in store on the first or launch day? Show your consumers things that make them feel good about your products and services and what sets you apart.
- Q&As – These are a great way to give local consumers a peek behind the scenes of their soon-to-be favorite local spot. Integrate this with Twitter, being sure to use a unique hashtag, and promote it to ensure a good virtual turnout.
All of these social tips and skills are great but the greatest thing these can do is reinforce your good data online. Social media may only provide a small uptick in local search placement, but fully engaging consumers drives them to find you on- and offline. Make sure all of your NAP data is clean and helps consumers find you physically when they’re ready to become customers or clients.
Are you using Periscope regularly in your local marketing efforts? Are you seeing any positive moves in physical traffic and online SEO? Tell me about it in the comments.
