Why I'm "Scoping"… My First Periscope and Takeaways [VIDEO]

Have you ever wondered why people balk at new tools or platforms online?

Instead of looking at something and making a decision for themselves that they probably won’t be using it they have to declare to the world that they’re not ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ and won’t be joining in.

Really?

How about just not using it?

I’ve seen a little bit of this around Periscope, which is why I brought it up.

Initially the idea of joining another platform and having to engage somewhere else felt overwhelming.

“Damn it! Something else I have to do!” I’m a little dramatic like that. Once, when my therapist told me I was dramatic I defended myself by saying I was ‘reactive’, not dramatic. Her response was pricless.

“O.K., you’re reactive with a capital D”….

Still cracks me up.

Back to Periscope.

Periscope however isn’t necessarily a whole new social media platform (in my opinion).

It’s a way to provide more value, connect and engage with your audience! AND… since my big post last week was about overhauling The WordPress Chick, which includes a huge content strategy, it just makes sense for me to “scope” (are you impressed with how quickly I’m picking up the lingo?”).

My First Scope

I actually own two courses on Periscope, but haven’t had the time to dive into either of them yet (I will… probably. Maybe. In this case it’s not a bad thing because I’m implementing anyways and still focused on my primary goal. Content).

I decided I would host my first scope on a Friday at noon PST. There wasn’t a specific reason for this other than I made the decision earlier in the week that I would get my first one done that week and that was the first available time I had (where I could actually do my hair & makeup beforehand. haha). I definitely want my scopes to be somewhat spontaneous, but I’m not quite ready to host one where I’ve just rolled back from the gym. 🙂

I really didn’t have a huge plan for what I was going to scope about other than an quick introduction, what I was going to talk about and asked people what would be helpful for them.

I think as I do this ‘overhaul’ to my site and develop a content strategy it only makes sense to share that process with my viewers. I planned to do this through posts as well but figured I may as well stream it live, right? We’ll see how it goes. I think I’ll start with the whiteboard process first and then maybe mention one tool. Of course this plan is coming about as I write this post… so bear with me if there are a few changes along the way.

I know this is a shorter post than I’ve been writing lately – but thought I’d simply post the first scope here and we’ll adjust the post strategy as I go (right now it’s more important for me to get this published). I think I’ll do a screencast video and post on how best to utilize your scopes for content on your site after I have a few more under my belt. 🙂

My Takeaways

• Periscope is AMAZING for engagement
• Being yourself is key
• It will probably take a few times to get comfortable with following the chat and providing value
• Periscope will also be great for promotion: Create the relationship & establish trust FIRST
• Periscope should be part of a content strategy – not your only strategy (although it’s friggin BRILIANT)
• Having a regular schedule & being consistent will set you apart
• Repurpose your scopes and continue to share them

Let me know what you think!

You can also view my scopes here (well, as of this writing I have one. But there will be more!).
http://katch.me/kimdoyal

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