As entrepreneurs and business owners, we know that our number one marketing challenge is getting prospects to know, like and trust us enough to do business with us …
So we write personable website content, we publish valuable content on our blogs to highlight our expertise and build credibility, we engage with our audience on social media …
Can you relate?
Would you be interested in a way to speed up this know-like-trust process? A way to move your prospects along their journey to becoming a buyer of your products or services faster?
If so, consider content marketing with Periscope …
Periscope is one of the newest social media platforms, and it allows you to engage with your audience via live-streaming video. When used strategically for business, Periscope dramatically accelerates the journey from prospect to paying client or customer.
It works so well because nothing sells “you” better than YOU! And Periscope broadcasts YOU!
To help you get started without wasting your time on trial and error, I’ve outlined five of the best strategies for content marketing with Periscope to build the know-like-trust element between you and your audience. You can use whichever one applies best to your personality and your business, or mix and match as you see fit.
Periscope Success Strategy #1 — SHARE YOUR EXPERTISE
With all content marketing, we share our expertise to build our credibility and establish our authority in our field. We do so in a way that builds relationships and gets our audience ready to say “Yes” and become paying customers and clients.
Content marketing can take the form of articles for your blog, videos, infographics, special reports, success stories, and more. Social media also plays a part in a good content marketing strategy … generally, as a traffic source.
Periscope — as we’re using it for business growth — is a great blend of social and content marketing.
Periscope’s live-streaming video is a dynamic and intimate way to deliver content and share your expertise with your audience.
And, yes, you DO have expertise to share … YOU are an expert at what you do! That’s why people give you money in exchange for your products or service.
To determine topics for your periscope content, think about the questions people ask you. What do prospects need to know in order to make a buying decision? What do they need to believe?
Share your expertise by delivering content that answers these questions and develops a belief system that prepares your prospects to become buyers.
Periscope Success Strategy #2 — DEMONSTRATE YOUR PRODUCTS
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a live-streaming video demonstration of your product worth?
Periscope is a great medium for product demonstrations because it IS live and interactive. Your viewers can engage with you and ask questions. And you can build excitement for your product by showing it in action.
For example, I could describe one of my favorite Pampered Chef tools — the toast tongs — with words. I could even show you a picture of it …
But if I do a ‘scope from my kitchen and tell you the story of how my teen-aged son uses them to safely and cleanly remove his favorite cinnamon bread toast from the toaster without burning his fingers …
And if I do a live demonstration to illustrate the story … T
hat’s a more powerful message. Right? It’s more memorable. It’s more compelling.
It would sell more toast tongs.
Periscope Success Strategy #3 — GIVE VIEWERS “BACKSTAGE” ACCESS
People like to feel special. They like having or experiencing things that aren’t made available to the general public. They like to feel like insiders … members of a special club.
Let me illustrate with another story about my son …
My son is a baseball player — a catcher — and his favorite MLB player is San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey. Buster came up through the Giants’ minor league farm system and played for a short time for the Fresno Grizzlies — the triple A team in our hometown of Fresno.
We were able to take a private tour of the Fresno clubhouse and see the locker that Buster used when he played here. We saw the batting cages where he took batting practice. It was pretty special …
My son felt like HE was special.
And that’s the feeling you want to give your audience — your tribe. You want them to feel special.
You want to build strong relationships that make them loyal for life.
Giving them an exclusive, behind-the-scenes glimpse into your business is just one way to accomplish this. And Periscope is an effective medium for it.
Periscope Success Strategy #4 — HOST LIVE Q&A
Let’s face it … People have questions. They want answers. Periscope is an intimate way to give them those answers.
There are any number of ways that you could use Periscope to answer your audience’s questions …
You could have “office hours” like your old college professor where you have a set day and time set aside for Q&A ‘scopes.
You could have your prospects, clients, and customers send you their questions by email, and then answer them on a ‘scope for your entire audience. Kim Garst is doing this with the hashtag #AskKim. If you ask a question on Twitter using #AskKim, she will answer your question during one of her Q&A ‘scopes.
If your audience has questions that are more sensitive, you could also do a private ‘scope for a select audience. Or a “members-only” private Q&A.
Or you could simply answer the frequently asked questions that you see in your business.
However you choose to format your live Q&A on Periscope, the fact that it’s live and interactive is, again, in your favor. People can ask for clarification if they don’t quite get it. The answer to one question also may spark additional questions.
And by doing it at all, you’re building stronger relationships with your tribe.
Periscope Success Strategy #5 — MAKE EXCLUSIVE OFFERS
Exclusivity makes people feel good … like they’re getting something that not everybody has access to because they’re somehow more worthy or more special. It taps into the emotion of being one of the chosen few, an insider, one of the “cool kids.”
The strategy of making exclusive offers to your followers works well with all forms of content marketing, including the various social platforms. It works well on Periscope, too, because of the intimacy of the platform …
You can look someone in the eyes (of course, you’re actually looking directly into the camera lens, but you get the idea) and be very sincere when you say that this is just for them. You can say the same things in words, but when you say it live on camera, it’s that more believable and powerful.
So what can you offer exclusively to your Periscope audience?
- You can offer an exclusive discount, contest, or prize giveaway.
- You could give out coupon codes or a secret passcode or phrase that they need to mention when they come in to your physical location (these are great if you have a retail store or restaurant).
- You can give the “secret” unpublished URL to a special piece of exclusive content.
Be creative and make your offer irresistible to your audience. Doing so builds the relationship and gives your prospects, clients, and customers a unique and memorable experience with you and your brand.
Implement, Evaluate, and Adjust
These Periscope strategies will absolutely work to build the know-like-trust element between you and your audience. Mix, match, and tweak them to fit your personality and your business.
Most importantly, keep track of your results.
You have to know what’s working and what’s not working so that you can make adjustments in your ongoing content marketing strategy.
AN INVITATION FOR YOU:
I share marketing tips, tools, techniques, and strategies every weekday on Periscope. Follow me to be alerted when I’m live!
