What is Periscope and How Can it Grow Your Business?

The demand for video in real estate has never been higher. According to NAR, eighty-five percent of buyers and sellers want to work with an agent who uses video. While some agents have started using video to connect with their clients, a new technology is gaining popularity, changing the way real estate does video and social marketing.

Periscope (owned by Twitter) was released to the public in late March, boasting a way for people to connect in real time. The app, which is available for Apple and Android, allows users to stream live videos from anywhere. When you create a broadcast or "scope," you can show viewers what's happening around you in that moment. Viewers who tune in can follow you, comment in your live stream and "heart" your scope. Hearts are equivalent to favorites on Twitter or likes on Facebook — they measure your popularity.

While your scope is live, anyone can tune in to see what's going on. You and your viewers can also share your live scope on Twitter, reaching an even wider audience. After you end your broadcast, your scope will be available for the next 24 hours in the app. However, you can also save your broadcasts and publish them on YouTube. While this technology is still new, those who have become more familiar with the app (such as social media strategist Katie Lance) suggest creating a new scope every 24 hours.

In real estate, there are a number of ways you can connect with potential and current clients with this new tool. Here are just a few ideas:

1. Stream Home 'Sneak Peeks' - Probably one of the most popular ways to use Periscope in real estate is creating live home tours or a pre-open house sneak peek. By live broadcasting a home sneak peek, agents will be able to reach a wider audience since your video will be viewable to anyone on Periscope. This could allow you to reach potential buyers who can't travel to the area multiple times or take the time off work. While you'll probably pull in viewers who live on the other side of the world and have no interest in buying your listing, they could ask some good questions that are relevant to viewers who are actively searching for a home in your area. A large number of viewers can also boost your popularity as a "scoper." More viewers means you're likely to receive more "hearts" on your video which boosts your popularity.