Mindshare: Zen and the Art of Periscoping

More and more people are logging onto Periscope to meditate with the help of livestreamed videos. In fact, Periscope’s largest meditation group, Global Meditation Scope, has over 200 Periscopers leading 150 types of meditations. Their programs span 25 countries and five continents. In just a few months, this group has reached nearly half a million people worldwide.

The explosion of meditation on Periscope is just the latest example in the growth of livestreaming. From concerts to gaming to everyday observations, livestreaming enjoyed a huge boon in 2015 -- thanks in great part to the launches of Periscope and Meerkat.

In fact, there have been over 100 million broadcasts created on Periscope since its launch. Another streaming platform, Twitch, now reaches over 100 million users per month. And Facebook is moving into the livestreaming space as well.

For brands and marketers, it’s important not to ignore this trend. But if you’re going to get into social livestreaming, make sure you have a clear purpose for what you’re doing. Viewers won’t tune in if your content is too self-serving. In addition, real-time social streaming means giving up a large element of control, something that brands should be prepared for.

The Periscope meditation movement also follows another trend that we’ve been tracking at Mindshare: Communi-Seeking.People are naturally wired to seek out communities and groups to belong to. But shifts in culture and new technology have changed what types of groups consumers can join, and how they go about joining them -- something that brands should look to leverage.

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