Periscope - Southern Gospel

Periscope is the newest app for video sharing. And it’s starting to pick up in the Southern Gospel industry.

Anyone remember how popular SocialCam became in the gospel community a few years ago. Unlike its predecessor, Periscope is live streaming and temporary, and it’s owned by Twitter. SocialCam had the ability for people to video and then choose not to share or edit with different filters. Periscope is live and unedited. The videos also last no more than a day. Some videos immediately are not accessible after they are streamed, depending on the user’s settings.

Also, Periscope seems to have taken off more quickly and widespread than SocialCam. I think SocialCam lasted longer in the gospel community than it did in other industries.

Mark Lowry so far seems to be leading the Periscope initiative in Southern Gospel. I’ve also seen a lot posted from the Ball Brothers and Allegiance. So what exactly are the implications for Southern Gospel?

It can help artists connect with fans in a different way. They have the ability to do live Q&As with fans as they submit questions and comments. They can give fans a behind-the-scenes view of life on the road. There’s also the potential for fans to stream sections of concerts live. As a blogger, I'm thinking it would be great to do live interviews with artists! With it being live and unedited, there’s no take two in what is posted, but the good news is that it won’t last long.

I know a major concern is increasing gospel’s fan base. Social media is definitely the way to reach out to a younger audience. Social media can help more people find artists and discover this music! Periscope videos whether that’s a concert clip or an artist Q&A just might create a new fan!

So what do you think? Have you used Periscope? Do you see how it can be profitable for Southern Gospel?