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Firm Management

Three Ways Accounting Firms Can Use Periscope for Profit

Periscope is one of the newest social media darlings. A mobile app, it permits interactive video streaming on demand. The big benefit of Periscope is that, unlike traditional video streaming, its platform permits the audience to post comments and ...

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Periscope is one of the newest social media darlings. A mobile app, it permits interactive video streaming on demand. The big benefit of Periscope is that, unlike traditional video streaming, its platform permits the audience to post comments and feedback during the live stream.

The best use of Periscope is to produce content that promotes this interactivity. Here are three ideas to consider for optimizing your return on investment with Periscope.

  1. Pose a question

Start your Persicope session by asking a question. Let the audience give their opinion. The question shouldn’t be so deep as to require long answers and lots of typing. It can be a yes/no with a reason.

We’ve seen such benign questions as “how much should you tip?” that are easy but with highly opinionated answers. These work well on Periscope. Some accounting-related questions could be:

  • Should you use automated tax software, the big chain tax shops, or a CPA firm for your taxes?
  • What payroll software do you like best?
  • Are you using desktop or cloud accounting software?
  • Do you have a financial planner?
  • Do you outsource your accounting or do it yourself?

These questions and those like them will help you stick to your topic and allow the audience to give their opinion. You can give yours too, of course, and that’s where the education comes in. The open-minded ones can become prospects.

  1. Host a Q&A session on a technical topic

Do you have clients with a ton of questions on a new tax change or some aspect of your business that you’d rather not answer one-on-one? Schedule and promote a Periscope session on the topic and take questions from audience members throughout the session.

Doing Q&A sessions is a great way to help clients who cannot afford one-on-one coaching and don’t mind asking their questions in front of a group. The questions from clients are invaluable; you can see where you are delivering, where they are confused, or where possible you have a whole new service opportunity.

In this type of session, you have a chance at the beginning to do some training. The training will answer the most basic questions and will promote more advanced questions. The entire session will demonstrate your expertise and get you hired when they can’t solve the question or issue on their own.

  1. Hold a Focus Group

Need your clients’ opinion on something? Periscope is perfect. A focus group format will allow you to lay out your idea and gather feedback about it. You’ll be able to see exactly when questions came up during your session, reactions, comments, and audience ideas to enhance yours.  

Throughout all of these sessions, be sure to share your contact information liberally. If you have a free white paper for people to download, that’s even better. The whole point of doing a Periscope session is to encourage the audience to connect with you on other media that is hopefully more sticky than Periscope. They should be encouraged to join your newsletter, connect with you on LinkedIn and visit your website.

You can save your Periscope videos and post them to your blog. Be sure to adjust your settings before you start your sessions so that recording is turned on; otherwise the sessions disappear after 24 hours.

Try Periscope and let us know how it works for you.

 

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Sandi Smith Leyva, CPA, CMA, MBA, has helped thousands of accountants grow their practices through her innovative coaching and training services.