Periscope logo
Since social media has become a part of everyday life, there’s no surprise that businesses have utilized various social media outlets as one of their main advertising avenues to reach their target market. After all, 81 percent of small businesses use social media, and of those, 94 percent use it for marketing purposes.
Just when a business has conquered all necessary social media outlets, there’s another outlet that captures their attention and challenges them to reach their consumers in a much different way. The latest addition to the social media family comes with a high-pitched whistle heard through cellphones across the globe. Only a few months old, Periscope is an app that allows a person to live broadcast to their followers while engaging with them at the same time.
The newest live-streaming app, launched by Twitter a few months ago, has quickly grown in a short amount of time. According to the latest data released by Periscope, there are over 7 million registered on Periscope and over 36 million broadcasts have been created in the past three months.
Within these three months, Black businesses have been strategically reaching their customers all while connecting with other businesses. Most recently, three successful Black entrepreneurs (Pamela J. Booker – @koilsbynature, Adeea Rogers – @trendysocialite and Christine St. Vil – @momsncharge) have teamed together on Periscope to promote other Black businesses. Black Biz Scope (#blackbizscope) is an opportunity for Black-owned businesses to share their business or service each Friday with the support of a thriving, vibrant, buying community. Each business is allotted five to 10 minutes to discuss their product.
Some Black entrepreneurs use Periscope to provide helpful tips – Nicole Walters (@NapturalNicole) recently discussed how business owners could keep their earned money in their pocket or Tamara Floyd (@NaturalHairRule) providing tips to her followers on how to stay focused and tools for solopreneurs and mompreneurs. In addition to providing helpful information and tips, other entrepreneurs take a more authentic approach to their business – Amber Aziza (@Amber_Aziza) asked her followers to assist in choosing her next personal assistant. During each interview, she had each candidate discuss “how millennials impact the world” for about three to five minutes and her followers will vote on who they think is best for the job.
Over the next few months and even years, there’s no question that Black businesses will continue to flourish exponentially online.
