Brand Engagement with Periscope Producer

The digital landscape evolves constantly. Brands encounter new tools and features to connect with customers on an almost nonstop basis (Instagram Stories and Snapchat Spectacles, to name a few). Only those that acclimate quickly and strategically stand the best chance of getting ahead of the competition. Video is a key way to drive storytelling and new options such as changes to live video capabilities are shifting the way we think about video content. With the diverse opportunities provided through video and live streaming, brands have new ways to share top-level content in the moment through channels like Periscope, the Twitter-owned live–streaming platform.

Periscope recently introduced Producer, a new way for brands, media organizations and other live video creators to broadcast high-quality streams from external sources, including streaming software, hardware encoders and professional cameras, on Periscope and Twitter. Like the options that have historically been available, viewers can interact with the live stream with comments and hearts, and they are able to watch the stream in Periscope and Twitter apps and online at Periscope.tv.

Periscope Producer provides a new level of options for users, and particularly for brands that want to take advantage of live video to provide their audiences with a new perspective. Many of the existing options that allow for live streaming on social media channels, such as the original Periscope capabilities and Facebook Live, have limited users’ options of filming with devices and tablets. While this can be convenient for quickly catching an important or impactful moment, it limits the sound and visual quality.Producer makes it easier to improve the quality while still allowing viewers to stay in the moment. This gives brands more options for sharing top-level content.This, in turn, can increase the viewer’s overall experience so that they’re better able to connect with the brand. And as recent data has shown, when consumers are traversing channels and content so quickly, every touch point, each story and each piece of content needs to work together.

So how does Periscope and its new Producer compare to Facebook Live? Facebook Live still has a significantly higher reach than Periscope thanks to its integration within Facebook. For reference, people in the U.S. spend nearly 20 percent of their total time online on social media platforms; 14 percent of the total time is on Facebook, and the average user spends 50 minutes per day on that platform. However, other platforms are looking at ways to take a larger portion of users’ times, and one of the ways they do that is by adding features that appeal to different groups.

Producer will likely draw more brands that want to test out a broader range of options, which could potentially draw some brands away from Facebook Live. It will be worth watching to see if Facebook Live will change how users are able to stream higher quality live video, or if Periscope (and thus Twitter) will be able to gain a larger market share of brands through this move. And for brands looking to ramp up their engagement with customers to boost, Periscope may very well help navigate the crowded waters of brand marketing.