As you may have gathered I like my digital tools. I like to play around to see what they do and what they can do for me. The only way I know if a tool is the ‘right fit’ is to experiment with it. As I mentioned in other blog posts, I do tend to stay back for a little while and get a feel of how others use the tool. Periscope was one tool I didn’t want to go near at all. I knew others who used it on a daily basis and I always thought that it wouldn’t be right for me. At the time I was still in study mode, so it wasn’t a necessity then. But as time moved on and I was gathering research on how the public felt about personal branding, I decided to face the fear and record my first periscope broadcast. The fact that periscope is live is really what scared me. My days training in RTE meant I was more used to starting over if I made a mistake. I tried it anyway.
The setting was glorious on the grounds of UCC. I showed my audience all around the campus while speaking about how personal branding can impact your online persona. So two things were promoted at once – UCC and me. I did gain many insights on how people from all over the world felt about personal branding. They wanted to know why I chose that topic for my thesis and what digital tools I would recommend. I was slightly proud of myself that I actually did it but also that I was able to use it as a digital archive for my thesis as well as learning people’s opinions. I also got people interested in attending UCC – added bonus!
Video marketing is really a way to engage with your audience. YouTube exploded with users and people became famous. Blogs have transformed into Vlogs. The tools available to us as this type of engagement as really expanding from Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook all bringing video to the masses. After using Periscope for a while, the audience has tended to shift in demographic so I now also use Facebook Live. So what is available to us there really is no excuse, you would think. But is the use of video/live streaming for everybody? (Sidebar – should I still use the term ‘video’? Video to me means tape.)
Business could use every digital tool available to reach all audiences; but what about manpower and funds to do this? I recommend to all my clients that when they decide what their goal is; they need to decide on what tools they will use to reach that goal; it doesn’t mean every one. If you know your audience, you should know how to reach them. Video may not the option from the start, but don’t rule it out. Digital audiences change very quickly.
Know your goal – know your message – know your audience – know your tools – know your strategy
Facebook Live Post – https://youtu.be/tGXMScqPcyw
