Have you noticed people taking videos with their smartphone, and you are not thinking more of it? There is a very interesting recent development where smartphone users are testing their skills in broadcasting. Anyone that uses Twitter already knows that Twitter recently launched the live broadcasting app Periscope for iPhone and for Android.

Facebook has joined the game and launched their own live streaming service, using the Facebook platform. Who can  broadcast live on Facebook? I am afraid this  by invitation only, The person has to be certified by Facebook, a public figure, and need to down load the App.

There is another recently launched App called Meerkat and much touted My Eye. My Eye ethos reads;

Life isn’t a rehearsal – Share every single exciting, unplanned second as it unfolds. Capture every surprise, smile, late night early morning, anywhere in the world. Connect, discover, share – no scripts, just life as it happens.

What does this mean for the restaurant and hotel industry? A lot, but we will get to that in a minute.

First, let’s talk about live broadcasting of content. This is basically the ability for anyone, anytime, anywhere in the world to instantly broadcast through their smartphone what is happening in their life as it happens. These Apps allows anyone to stream live, unedited content to the Internet with just the smartphone.

Live Streaming Content is Everywhere

With live broadcasting utilizing the smart phone Periscope, Meerkat and My Eye has fast become the hottest trend, you can be sure that your guests will be live doing a live broadcast of their visits to your restaurant, or of their stay in your hotel.

From the very moment they are greeted by your host staff to the time they are bid farewell with a smile on their face, everything will be broadcasted to anyone who tunes in to the broadcast around the world, as it happens.

Consider the positives it will bring. It shows that you care about your guests’ experience and want them to be completely satisfied with every visit. This is something that will show up in the live broadcast, in their commentary, and it will show in every interaction they have with your staff.

This can be both good and can be a serious challenge.

Good in a sense that you are getting virtually free advertising as your guests are doing a live promotion for your establishment and hopefully you will be getting more customers.

A challenge in the sense that anything that goes wrong, poorly handled service situation, bad meal, poor customer experience will instantly be spread throughout the social media for people everywhere to see, followed with a tweet ¨This restaurant sucks¨, the hotel staff did not even say goodbye when I left. (If you listen closely, you can hear managers are everywhere cringing.)

But remember, live broadcast can be a restaurant owner’s and the hoteliers best friend so embrace it and be prepared for broadcasting app on guests smartphones to start showing up at your doorstep, if they have not done that already.

Prepare your hotel or restaurant for Live Content

How do you prepare yourself for something like this?

• Be sure that you are offering free WiFi at your establishment, and monitor your bandwidth to ensure that you have enough to support your guests live streaming usage.
• Have convenient areas plugs and adapters so the mobile phone can be charged. The broadcast feature drains the phone quickly.
• Train your staff and explain to them what to expect with this new technology and guest behavior. Explain to the staff this is an opportunity to engage and delight the guest, providing care and service what the guest wants and needs right now. Finally reinforce what you expect your public perception to be.
• “Smile, you’re going onstage!”: What employees tell one another when they’re headed out to guest-facing areas, is a saying used in one hotel.
• Train your staff and explain to them what to expect with this new technology and guest behavior (guests will be seen speaking to a phone and might not hear you or seem distracted).
• Give your staff a hands-on demonstration of these apps and how to interact with guests who are live streaming.
• Finally, you can even use this latest trend of live broadcast content in your restaurant as a way to engage and attract your guests to your restaurant. Whether you show a glimpse into what happens behind the scenes with your chefs preparing food, or you preview the day’s specials by having your staff get together for a warm greeting to potential diners, the broadcast app can be used to get the word out and drive more traffic to your restaurant.
• Of course, for this to be successful, you need to have your business unit on Twitter and a Twitter following. Perhaps, this is the time to take a good look and evaluate Twitter marketing as part of your digital marketing strategy.
• Finally remember the Periscope broadcast will expire after 24 hours, and the My Eye broadcast will expire in 72 hours. However there are ways to save these broadcasts and make them available on other social media.

Stream full conference sessions

All too often, big conferences or events with simultaneous goings-on will find sessions filling up and leaving attendees without a session to attend. With one of the apps, no one has to miss out. Tell them which app you will be using, and give the attendees a demo how to setup the app at the registration counter.

As the event organizer, arrange few volunteers to log in to the app with their twitter handle to live stream the most in-demand sessions. The app encourages comments on Twitter from people watching, so make it known that questions and +1s can go through the app and Twitter.

Create conversions with the choice of App.

Get exclusive content from speakers

Maybe a keynote or quick session just is not enough time to get all the best questions and stories out of the incredible speakers. Setup on-on-ones that can be streamed through the app for attendees following along.

Spotlight your sponsors

Every event has a slew of sponsors that help contribute to the success of the event. Give them a little extra room to shine with one-on-one chats, product demonstrations, or other fun, short video streams

Now your turn, join me at my Periscope broadcast!

Best part about the apps they are totally free. Grab it on your iPhone or iPad today and start planning out how you utilize the tool to increase engagement within your hotel or restaurant. We would love to hear from you, what experience you have so far, and how you have prepared for the world of live broadcasting. Twit your questions to @sameriks, and I can answer them in  the live broadcast.