Periscope, like all social media, is not a one-way street.It’s also not a place where you get in front of the camera and talk at people. It’s meant to be a conversation, even when you’re the only one front and center on camera.

For Periscope to grow your business, you need to do more than just broadcast to the masses. One of the best ways to have an impact, gain new followers, and nurture your relationship with other periscopes and your own viewers is to be a viewer and show up on other broadcasts.

Follow leaders on the platform and also ones in your area of expertise. There is always more to learn about this ever-evolving platform and it helps to stay current if you want to be seen as a leader in your area of expertise.

Consider your own list of followers. Are you following some of them? While it’s not necessary, nor advised, to follow all of them, follow the ones who broadcast on topics of interest, ones you can learn from, ones who could use your support.Bottom line: Follow some.

Show up on some broadcasts. Now, this does not need to be overly time-consuming. The very nature of the platform allows for people to pop in and out of broadcasts. You don’t need to be there for the duration (but it’s nice when you can be). When you are there, engage. Engage by commenting on what’s being shared in the broadcast and adding to the chat in ways that enhance the conversation. Add value but don’t take the focus off of the broadcaster. Be careful not to sell or come across as outshining the very person you intend to support. Be courteous. It’s like coming into someone else’s party. Be Periscope Polite.

Actively support by sharing broadcasts on twitter, Facebook and with your followers to whatever extent you feel comfortable. You don’t have to share to all three (or any) every time but it’s a nice gesture of support when you do.

An easy, and much-appreciated, way to support is to type content in the chat to help the broadcaster. This can be the highlights of the content they are sharing in short bullets of text. It can also be websites or other links they share verbally (since they can’t type in the chat as a broadcaster).

Support can continue after the broadcast when you have the ability to share and retweet the replay to their broadcast for up to 24 hours.

Each of the ways you support others on Periscope, contributes to your presence on the platform. Viewers who contribute to the conversation and support other broadcasters are often rewarded by gaining new followers. You also become memorable so that when your handle shows up in their Periscope feed, or when shared on social media like Twitter and Facebook, they may be more likely to tune into your Periscope broadcasts.

Being a viewer is part of an overall Periscope strategy to grow your business. This is one of many ways to have a bigger and more broad impact on this live streaming app. I’d love to hear how it helps and any other tips you’d add to this list. If you would like to explore how to get started on Periscope or how to improve your Periscope strategy so that you can grow your business as either a broadcaster or viewer, you can purchase a Periscope Breakthrough Strategy Session here. I’d love to help you grow your business and have some fun in the process.

And to learn more about Periscope, Blab, Facebook Live and the strategy of using them to gain collaborators, referral partners, and clients, consider a Live Stream Breakthrough Strategy Session.