To evaluate the success of a scope or video stream, most people only look at the number of viewers who visited the broadcast. That is a good metric, but not your main or even best one. Periscope lists the time watched/viewer (time watched per viewer -TWV). This is an average of how long viewers actually watched your scope.
If you see that viewers only watched an average of 1 minute of your 20 minute scope, it doesn’t mean that you should do 1 minute scopes, but it does mean that you should make your content as compelling as possible so that people stay.
Question, which is best for your product? A 10 minute scope with a 2 min TWV or a 100 minute scope with the same 2 min TWV? Both! Short scopes may seem better mathematically, but If you are on for super long, you will have several people in and out of your scope. Remember the longer your scope, the more people you will have popping in and out. So reintroducing yourself and your product frequently is key.
To compare short vs long scopes for audience interest, a TWV percentage is a lot better reference. This will allow you to compare a 10 minute scope against a 30 minute one. To get your TWV percentage, I have a great formula for those who are mathematically inclined. If you talked for 30 min, but your TWV is 50 secs, your TWV% is 2.7% (30 min=1800 sec, 50/1800= .027).
To find out what your ideal percentag should be, check out your favorite scope from someone else. You can see their stats and apply the formula. If your TWV is low you may have a problem with what is happening in your stream. The higher the TWV, the more people are interested in your content. Make sure your background, sound and content are compelling.
Now back to my favorite topic… CONVERSION. Let’s say on average you have 20 people in your scope, and 3 people usually sign up for your list. You actually have a conversion rate that averages at 15%. Now, let’s say you advertise your scope by being part of a scope train that gets you 300 viewers. If your 15% metric holds true, you should add 45 new subbies or customers in a single scope! Amazing right?
That is why we focus so hard on conversions in this group. In broadcasting, advertisers buy time for spots (commercials) based on their core demographics (the people they are focused on selling to).
The better the advertiser is at targeting what a “ 65 year old, female, widow, who lives alone” watches, the more likely their “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up” commercial is to have high conversions.
Did you know that your favorite radio station, TV show and magazine are simply wrappers designed to attract you, so that you watch the commercials? I know this is a startling truth, but your favorite show didn’t get cancelled because they were tired of making it. It wasn’t getting enough viewers, thus advertising revenue to sustain it. Remember, soap operas were created to sell “soap” to housewives. You should think of your content the same way. Your scopes should be designed to attract your ideal customer/client.
So what does this mean for you? Now that everyone has great content, and you are strengthening your CTA, your next step is understanding your ideal customer and attracting them to your content. In radio/TV we give a name to our sweet spot demo, and target that person. Let’s say I have a country station whose focus is 25-54 year old females. I would then develop a profile/avatar on my ideal customer. A 35 year old mom with 2 kids, hubby and a household income of $100K. Her name is Melanie. My next goal is to write out what Melanie would like or need that my product provides, and why it would interest her.
For example, for my product Networking that Works – I could see Melanie being interested in networking to:
• Get a new job
• Find more like minded friends
• Get Play dates for kids
• Launch her own biz
• Get more community focused
• Overcome Introvert Event Anxiety (I just made that up)
• Get out of the house and socialize
So, I would create live broadcasts with those titles in mind. Now my broadcast becomes the wrapper for my amazing product/service.
If you find that your product doesn’t have many anchors to your “Melanie” you may need to rethink your approach.
In all honesty, this should be one of your early activities in the product development stage. When you know your ideal customer before you create your product, you are much more able to create something that will knock it out of the park.
Your turn. In the group comment section, share your answers to these questions:
- What can you do to you better segment your audience “sweet spot”? What are your target demos?
- What is your target demo and what is your ideal customer’s name/description (your avatar)?
- What kinds of things would they like from you?
- Any other amazing things you would like to share!
I hope this helps! – Michelle
P.S. I wrote this just for you. Let me know what other things you like to have covered or how I can better simplify this for your success.