20+ Tips & Tricks for using Periscope

So have you heard of Periscope yet? If you haven’t, run and get the app and then continue on to read my 20+ Tips & Tricks for using Periscope!

FYI: If you are not in education, you can skip this paragraph and go straight to the tips and tricks. 🙂 So this week I attended the SDE National I Teach K conference and had an amazing time! So many inspirational teachers and presenters with great ideas and wise words for those of us teaching kindergartners. Honestly each and every year I attend, I get to the last day and feel like my brain is spilling over with ideas and strategies galore and I hope I can remember them all. But one thing I took away from the conference this year, was networking and meeting with other like-minded teachers. And then one of them introduced me to Periscope. Oh my goodness…how amazing is this app. If you haven’t heard of it yet, it is a live broadcasting app, but one that allows you to immediately engage with those who are watching. I am already imagining the endless possibilities! After having my own 3 periscopes, I started researching and find quite a handful of quick and easy tips and tricks to help you have your own successful periscopes!

And don’t forget to follow me…you can find me via @kindergarten chaos.com!

Tips For Using Periscope

Before You Begin a Periscope Broadcast

1. You don’t have to have fancy equipment to get started, A smartphone or tablet with the Apple/Android app installed is about all you need! If you want, you can use a tripod to lessen shakes and natural movement from your hands.

2. When you set up your profile, use your ‘brand’ name, so people can can recognize you. For instance, my profile originally said Abigail P, but I changed it to Kindergarten Chaos / Lovin’ Our Chaos. People usually recognize your brand, before your name. And don’t forget to add a photo and description. This gives unfamiliar viewers a sense of who you are and that you are a ‘real’ person.

3. ALWAYS have a full battery! I can’t tell you how many broadcasts I have watched over the last few days, where periscopers have had to cut a chat short, due to low battery. 🙁

4. Try to have the best wi-fi connection available to you. If you know you have spotty reception in your kitchen, then don’t go in your kitchen to have a broadcast! But do realize that sometimes viewers have spotty reception and they might comment about it. It’s not always you.

5. Let your readers/followers on your other social media platforms know ahead of time about your upcoming periscope, including topic(s), and/or ask for questions.

Starting a Periscope Broadcast

6. Turn on location tagging if you are interested in have your geographical location posted. Periscope does not give your exact location, just general geographic location. This way new people can ‘discover’ you!

7. Hold phone/device vertically for a more appropriate size. Trying to get a horizontal angle, can sometimes produce a weird viewing angle. Due to questions and comments from viewers that ‘block’ the bottom 1/3 of the screen, you want to make sure you are using the top 2/3 of screen effectively.

8. Whatever you ‘focus’ on when starting the broadcast, will be the ‘thumbnail’ of your broadcast, so consider that when planning your broadcast.

9. What are you seeing now? This is where you will post the title of your broadcast.

10. After titling broadcast, click start broadcast.

11. Do NOT start talking right away. Followers/viewers are just getting notifications of your broadcast, give them time to join.

12. Flip camera, so it faces YOU!!

13. Be yourself and talk away!!

14. Encourage questions, feedback & hearts from viewers. Give your viewers what they want! Commentary? Narration?

15. Try not to cancel in the middle of the broadcast or during the midst of comments or heart streams.

16. Close broadcast by thanking viewers, reminding them where they can find you, and inviting them to another broadcast.

17. Stop broadcast by swiping top of screen down and then pressing the Stop Broadcast button.

After Periscope Broadcast has Ended

18. You can save your video to your phone. Or you can use the settings to auto-save all broadcasts to your camera roll.

19. Video will be saved for 24 hours for followers to view at their own convenience, although they will not be able to comment. But they can still add ‘hearts’ to your broadcast!

20. After broadcast is finished, promote the replays to followers on all social media channels.

Other Helpful Info & Tips

21. Periscope is owned by Twitter. Use hashtags in your title, that are relevant to your topic and twitter, in order to bring more exposure to your broadcast.

22. You can have private broadcasts with certain followers. It won’t show up in the watch table and it will only notify those whom you have selected. This would be great for winners of contests; giveaways, etc!

23. You can turn the link to twitter on and off.

24. You can turn on & off the comment feature, so only followers can comment, or anybody/everybody can comment.

25. Engage with other broadcasters, even if they don’t have the same amount of followers. You never know who is tuning in!

I hope you enjoyed all of the top tips and tricks for using Periscope today. Go have fabulous broadcasts and don’t forget to follow me! @kindergartenchaos.com

Would love to know the tips and tricks you have found for using Periscope or ways you are planning to use it for your blog or shop! Post your comments below!