3 Periscope PR applications

By Eline Alberts, PR consultant for LVTPR

In the PR industry Twitter is still a popular way of communicating. Visual material is - as most Twitter users know – a great way to engage. Recently, the Periscope app surfaced, offering live streaming via smartphones and linked directly to Twitter. Periscope was used by a citizen journalist during a bomb threat in the Netherlands. As a result, the app gained national prominence and a connection between PR and Periscope was established. As a PR consultant I found it high time to look at the possibilities of Periscope, and how the tool is applied best in PR.

1. Events
Periscope is a perfect way to show what is going on during an event. In stead of monitoring hash tags, Periscope offers the possibility to witness the event live. During a press conference, journalists everywhere are able to watch it real-time.

2. Live interview
As a PR professional, it is often a challenge to organize an interview with a spokesperson and journalist. Both are on a tight schedule and not always in each other’s vicinity. Periscope allows for spokes to make a live announcement. Journalists are able to directly join the stream and ask questions. Like a webinar, but more interactive and the ability to inform journalists real-time during the (spontaneous) announcement. If it fits in the journalist’s schedule, he or she can curiously log in and see if the topic is relevant and ask questions.

3. Brand visibility
Adding Periscope as a PR communication tool contributes to your innovative image - be it in B2B or B2C. At the same time it shows that you are transparent when it comes to sharing information and that you are open to opinions of others (users, journalists, etc.) and keen to interact.
Recently, our client Aspect Software gave a live update via Periscope for the first time. The update entailed a four minute video with the most interesting company activities of the previous week. After this live Periscope streaming, the company made the video available through YouTube.
Although the use of Periscope might not suit everyone or every company, it is still advisable to stay on top of the new (interactive) communication tools emerging on the internet. The use of Periscope is still in its infancy, the first step is to look at the possibilities and analyze them. As a PR consultant I can’t wait to apply Periscope for other customers as well.

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