Speakers, You’ve GOTTA Get On Periscope!! (Says Who?)

Maybe you’ve heard about this new social media/video streaming app called Periscope. (Maybe it seems like you’re hearing about it everywhere.)

Periscope launched in March and by early August they had surpassed 10 million user accounts. I guess that’s what you call reaching “critical mass,” because that’s about the time I went from knowing about Periscope to not being able to get away from it.

There’s no denying that Periscope can be an amazing tool for speakers–you have a message to share, and now here’s another way to share it. (If you want some great advice on how to take advantage of it, Daniel Decker wrote a great post about that here.)

That’s not why I’m writing, though. I’m writing for those of you who may have felt something like I felt last Friday…

You see, I have a Periscope account myself, but I haven’t done a “Scope” (as Periscope sessions are called) yet. I’ve just been watching casually from the sidelines, trying to decide how–or if–I want to get involved. That’s been fun, but…

Last Friday, as I was watching some friends’ Scopes, I got that feeling. You know, that feeling that sometimes comes on when you look around and you see several of your friends or peers or competitors doing something that you’re not… 

You feel your muscles tighten. Maybe you break out into a light sweat. You start getting anxious.

And you think:

Uh oh, they’re getting ahead of me.

Uh oh, I’m getting left behind.

Oh man, I’m missing out.

Can you relate?

If so, then all together now, let’s take a deep breath. In… Out… Now another. And another.

These are just thoughts. You can let them go. Whew.

Yes, Periscope can be a great thing. So can YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and numerous other social media platforms.

But you don’t have to use them all. If you’re a solopreneur, you can’t use them all. (Not well, anyway.)

I think back to my conversation with Gretchen Rubin, #1 best-selling author of The Happiness Project, a few years ago, when she said:

“There’s this thought that ‘everybody does X, so I have to do X.’ No, just figure out what works for you. You don’t have to do it all… Just start with one thing…”

Us entrepreneurs can easily get caught up chasing every new thing that comes along:

Oh, I’ve gotta do that!

Oh, wait, here’s a new thing over here!

Oh, I need this!

My advice–before you get carried away on a new chase–is always to pause and think about your business objectives:

• What is it that you really want to do/achieve?
• Knowing that you have limited resources and you can’t do everything, what matters most in your business, right now?

Keep your focus on that, and then ask:

• What is the clearest path that will get me there?
• Is this new thing [Periscope] part of that path?

If you can’t accommodate Periscope right now, then I’m here to tell you: that’s okay. You have permission to pass on Periscope. And anything else that doesn’t serve you and your business at any given time.

After all, your business is your business.

On the other hand, if you are going to do Periscope, then be intentional about it. Have a plan. Sure, allow some freedom to experiment. But don’t just let it become an aimless time-suck because it seems like something you’re “supposed to do.”

Does this help?

I guess, in the end, what I want to say to you is… RELAX. Everything’s gonna be okay.

Thanks for reading, and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below–feel free to share your struggles with social media, your best advice for other speakers, your Periscope link for us to follow you… whatever’s on your mind!

P.S. Speaking of business objectives and having a plan: If your #1 priority right now is getting more paid speaking engagements, I’d love for you to join me on a free “JumpStart Your Speaking Business: How to Get Paid to Speak to Associations” webinar that’s coming soon. I’m putting the finishing touches on the program right now, so just click here and I’ll let you know when the date’s confirmed.