I know how tight budgets can be, and even when there is ample in the advertising category, it’s imperative that small businesses (or any business, for that matter!) spend their money wisely.

So why should they bother with Periscope?

Before I answer that question, let me explain a little bit about Periscope.  Honestly, it’s highly likely that many of you have at least heard mention about this tool.  If you’re on Twitter, you’ve probably seen tweets announcing someone is about to me live, or leading folks to someone-or-other’s live “scope” or a replay.

Periscope is a Twitter-based app that allows you to feed live video recordings from your smart phone to your Twitter followers.  The beauty of this tool is the real-time involvement with your followers. While you are on a live feed, your viewers can post questions and comments that you can respond to in real time.

I hope it’s not just me whose head is reeling with the possibilities for the small business owner!

Caveat: Periscope’s low barrier-to-entry is both its blessing and its curse.  While the lack of special equipment necessary (aside from a smart phone) will allow most anyone to use this format, it also means that you may will find quite a bit of “junk” out there.  But it only takes a few seconds to weed out the useful and well-done from the rest… Make sure, however, you’re not part of “the rest!”

4 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Get ‘Scoping…

1. It gets you in front of your customers – Forget expensive TV ads.  They’re costly, and not always seen by your demographic.  Sadly (or maybe not) many people are chucking the TV for Netflix, YouTube, AppleTV, or other online entertainment sources.

2. It allows you to connect with your customers – Where else would you be able to speak to a group of customers, or potential customers, discuss issues on their minds related to your business, and then address them in real-time?

3. You can use it for website content – If you’re saavy enough to have someone managing your website, often enough they still need you to provide content.  Not a writer?  Well, if a picture is worth a thousand words, video can be many times more so! Record a quality scope on a hot topic related to your business, shoot it to your webmaster and voila! You have another page of content!

4. You can’t beat the cost – All that’s required is a Twitter account (which, you have been working on growing, right?) and a smart phone.  Put a short outline together, brush your teeth and comb your hair, and you’re ready to roll.  Now, of course, as you grow and get more savvy with this, you may want to upgrade your equipment, but you don’t have to when you’re first starting out.

 …And 4 Things to Keep in Mind

Be prepared.  At least write a short outline of what you want to convey, even if it’s just on an index card or small note pad.  If you’re fumbling and disorganized and jump around, you will lose credibility with your customers. And viewers.  And you can just wave your potential customers goodbye… Another way to prepare is to watch and join a few scopes before you jump in. My all-time favorite is Michael Hyatt – I learn so much personally and professionally from him.  But there are other good folks out there, too.  Go through your Twitter feed and see who’s already there. Take notes of what you like and what you don’t like.

1. Be professional. Put your best foot forward. While you should absolutely be real and be yourself, nobody takes a slob seriously.  Look like you know what you’re talking about, and give people a reason to put their trust in you.

2. Practice. A great idea is to record yourself on your computer a few times, just so you can see your bad speaking habits or mannerisms.  I recently watched a scope where the presenter was constantly fixing her hair and scratching her nose.  Ugh – she had some good material, but I just could not keep watching it!  If you decide you’re really not the best face for your business – find (read: pay) somebody else to do it for you!  Yes, it’s that important!

3. Record your scopes. Periscope only saves them for 24 hours, and they take up uber-space on your phone if you save them there.  The solution? Open up an account at katch.me.  After you configure the settings properly, katch automatically grabs and records your scope and sends you a link. Just lovely ☺

So before you consider Periscope as just another flash in the pan, do some research on your own.  Googling it will reveal the breadth and scope of usership this app is enjoying.

 And when everybody from mom-and-pop businesses to “big guns” like Michael Hyatt (with about 1 million page views per month) are utilizing it, only one question remains: why aren’t YOU?