Note: I wanted to name this post “How to Kick Your Fears to the Curb, Punch Doubt in the Face, and Do Your First Scope” but it seemed a tad long.

It’s no secret that video has become an insanely effective platform for growing your business. While true, getting in front of a camera can be downright terrifying for many of us.

The scariest of all: live video.

While the thought of creating unedited video content may make you shift uncomfortably in your seat, I’m a firm believer that if you’re scared while doing something, it probably means you’re onto something big.

I’ve been scoping since last August but I remember my first scope like it was yesterday. It felt like my nerves were having a go-kart race with how quickly I was talking myself in and out of broadcasting.

Imagine my surprise when two months later, my first community coaching client came from Periscope. I know Periscope can be a game changer for your brand too.

The great thing about Periscope is that it:

• allows your audience to connect with the (literal) face of your brand
• helps you rapidly build your thought leadership in your niche
• builds community rather quickly and in an authentic way
• takes less time than planning and editing a YouTube video/webinar/workshop (Can I get an amen?!)

Eminem said it best: Guts > Fear.

Here are a few tips to get you more comfortable:

Write a few talking points on a note card

Are you nervous about freezing up on camera and not knowing what to say? Outlining a few of your thoughts on a note card may help. Jotting down some quick bullet points to reference during your scope can give you that extra dose of security before starting your broadcast. Heck, I used a note card for my first month of broadcasts. Do what makes you feel most comfortable.

Even though you have some talking points, give yourself some wiggle room to explore your topic. Periscope is about interacting with your audience, not just being a talking head. It’s much more casual than a webinar presentation so let your hair down and be yourself. You can do it!

Cover something you know inside and out

I cannot stress this enough. You’ll already have a few nerves when scoping (hey, it’s normal!) so choosing a topic you know like the back of your hand will help you feel more at ease.

Ask yourself: What is my expertise? What is my edge? What could I talk to someone else about and never run out of new things to say? That’s what you should scope about for your first time.

Try a private scope with a few blogging besties (BBFFs)

If you’re worried about the smaller things like how to flip the camera or end a broadcast, a private scope can help you work out the tech issues and kinks so you are focused solely on creating engaging content when you do your first scope. Your besties can also comment during your private scope so you can get a feel for answering comments at the same time as teaching your content.

Ask your community to join in

Want your people to watch your first scope? Just ask! Really, it’s as simple as that. Whether you decide to give them days, weeks, or just a few minutes notice, tell them that you’ll be jumping on to talk about the topic you’ve chosen. If you’ve been investing in your community, you’ll find many will be more than happy join in and cheer you on.

Okay, so now you’ve got the nerves out. Here are a few things to keep in mind while scoping to keep things in perspective.

Don’t get hung up on the number of people tuning in

The most common fear I hear from bloggers and entrepreneurs who haven’t jumped on the Periscope train yet is “what if no one tunes in?” I want to start by saying I have never heard of anyone scoping without anyone joining in. It’s time to put that fear to bed and scope anyway.

As an extra tip, if you put “first time scoping” or another variation of this in your broadcast title, many people will hop in just to say hello and encourage you in your first broadcast. Periscope is cool like that.

Don’t worry about your heart count either

You do not need X amount of hearts for your scope to be seen as valuable. Repeat that until you believe it. Forget about this vanity metric for your first scope and focus more on creating an engaging conversation around the comments you receive during the broadcast.

*Everyone* flubs

No one, I repeat, NO ONE expects your broadcast to be perfect. Perfect is boring to watch anyway. Flubbing does not equal failure, friends. Is the fear of saying “um” or “like” one too many times keeping you from interacting with your audience? Don’t let it.

Don’t hit delete after you stop your broadcast

When you hit the ‘end broadcast’ button, I’m willing to bet a part of you will be tempted to hit the delete button on your replay. I know because I heard this little voice after my first few scopes too. Whatever you do, don’t delete it!

There’s no right or wrong way to scope, so have fun with it!

The post The Non-Scary Guide to Your First Periscope Broadcast appeared first on Sindie.

Note: Since this post was published in 2015, Katch has been dissolved. 

Periscope is the new (cool) kid on the block.

For those of you who are wondering “what the heck is Periscope?”, I’ll give you a quick rundown. Periscope, which is integrated with Twitter, is a fairly new live streaming app that allows users to broadcast themselves live from around the world.

Those video broadcasts, also known as “scopes”, can then be replayed for up to 24 hours later.

Why should you care about Periscope?

Did you know that 10+ million Periscope users watch over 40 years’ worth of footage every day?  People are flocking to Periscope for a reason. So why is it important that you jump on the platform now?

• You can connect with your audience in real-time through comments.
• You can repurpose your Periscope video content in future blog posts (like what I’m doing right now).
• You become a better speaker by finding your speaking style.
• You quickly grow your thought leadership platform.
• You become more comfortable on camera while showing the true face of your brand (YOU!)

Okay, so you’re convinced, but you may be wondering how you can really get started. Many bloggers I’ve talked to that haven’t adopted the platform say it’s because they think they will look weird on camera (wrong), they think they won’t have anything valuable to share (double wrong), or they can’t come up with scope topics.

This post will help you with that last piece. Like keeping a master list of blog post ideas, it’s good to do the same for Periscope. To help you on the right path, I’ve put together 9 content types with real examples from some of my favorite scopers.

Q&As

If you want to use Periscope to maximize engagement, hosting a Q&A session is a great place to start. User questions could spur blog post, product, or service ideas. You never know what you can gain from a quick Q&A video. It also helps you become a better speaker since you get practice thinking on your feet.

I recently hosted a Q&A where I invited my audience to ask me any questions they had about Twitter, my favorite social platform. I loved connecting with my community members in real-time while answering many questions in one sitting.

Inspirational and Motivational

Who doesn’t love a good pep talk? Periscope is a wonderful platform for sharing nuggets of truth and inspirational stories. It helps you become more relatable and you consistently increase your transparency by broadcasting this type of content. To get started, choose a topic you’re passionate about, maybe one that isn’t usually discussed but needs to be. This is where you will make an impact.

Big Announcements

Did you make a leap in your blog or business that you want to share? Is there something you’re dying to unveil to your audience? Periscope is a great way to do this because you can catch the true reaction of your viewers and make the announcement really personal.

This past weekend, I signed up for my first business bank account! While it may not seem like a big announcement to some, it was for me so I scoped about celebrating the “little” victories. It felt awesome and I’m glad I saved that piece of news for Periscope.

Live Events

Have you ever been at an event and thought “Man, I’d love to relive this event again and again”? Periscope not only lets users tune in to the event live, but when synced with Katch, users can access the video after the event.

Business and brand coach Maya Elious recently scoped her speaking session at the Blogalicious conference. Smart, right? She then saved her talk on branding through Katch and showed the long-lasting power of scoping live events.

Giveaway or Contest

Have you recently launched a giveaway and aren’t sure how to create buzz around it? Periscope can help raise the visibility of the contest in a more natural and personal way.

I love how Stephanie Shar recently announced the winner of her #LoudLadies contest by using Periscope to live stream the announcement and give the winner an extra shout out to her followers. If I ever do a giveaway, you can best believe I will be doing the same thing.

Tutorials

People eat DIY video tutorials up. Bring your knowledge to Periscope and show your audience how to do specific tasks or how you use certain resources. It’ll give a behind-the-scenes look into your creative process while being super actionable.

After receiving a few emails asking about how I was using Slack, a group communication platform, I decided to scope about how to utilize the tool. I also scoped about why you need to sign up for Katch if you’re using Periscope. (How many times have I used the word Katch already? I don’t want to know…)

Roundups and Lists

Creating a roundup or list of resources on Periscope can lead to intentional and productive repurposing. Just think of all the newsletter, social media, and blog content you could create from just one roundup!

Infopreneur rockstar Regina scoped about her favorite designers while showing their websites to her audience. Let’s all find more ways to share the love when we Periscope, too. Roundups and lists are a great way to do this.

Pass-the-scopes

If you’re nervous about anyone will tune into your first scope (trust me, people always come!), collaborating with other creatives might be a way to put those fears to bed. A great way to do this is by creating a “pass-the-scope” event.

Marissa Burdett, Chloe West, Michelle Anthony, and I all hosted a pass-the-scope event last month called #ScopePowerHour where we talked about Being Your Offline Self Online. We covered Transparency, Vulnerability, Voice, and Balance. It was so great to chat honestly about a somewhat “taboo” subject and make some killer friends in the process. After collaborating, we started a mastermind group and are planning on hosting another #ScopePowerHour session so be on the lookout for that!

Weekly Series

Ready to get more ambitious? Maybe it’s time to start a regular weekly series around a specific scope topic you’re interested in. You can ask your blog friends to join in on the fun, too!

For inspiration, check out Nora Conrad and Sarah Anarna scoping every Monday. They call their series #AccountabilityMonday and aim to help others kick-start their week with some extra motivation.

Next steps?

The more you get into Periscope, the more you’ll want to make an effort to stand out on the platform. Start by branding some of your common scope themes with specific hashtags you can own. Mine are #CommunityScope and #SassyScope. What will yours be? Now, let’s get scoping!

The post 9 Content Types to Get You Started on Periscope appeared first on Sindie.