Starting my career in inbound marketing as a social media strategist, I always look forward to new platforms or tools. I’m eager to explore them and assess their interface, usability, mobile features, and, as a senior consultant at Kuno, decide if I would recommend them to a client.
I must admit it’s been a while since I’ve been really excited about a social media newcomer. Enter Vine, a mobile app recently released by Twitter that essentially allows users to publish the video version of a Tweet: a brief 6 seconds of looping video. Users have flocked to it in the weeks since its release for a variety of reasons. And at this stage of the game, I would argue that any brand could use it. I’ll give some suggestions momentarily, but first let me tell you why I think Vine is so great:
- User-friendliness. I downloaded Vine and recorded my first video in about 2 minutes. You simply touch the screen to record, and release to stop recording. You can record a series of intervals of any length you choose, up to a total of 6 seconds.
- Brevity. In today’s crowded, content-heavy world, attention spans are short. Watching a 6-second clip requires minimal commitment and attention on the part of the viewer.
- Concision. Like Twitter, it forces you to be succinct.
- Quick and easy video marketing. We know that visual content is top dog right now, but I find a lot of marketers are intimidated by it and operate under the misconception all of their videos have to be these expensive, professionally produced, scripted things. Those are great, but don’t need to make up your entire arsenal of video marketing content. Vine makes visual storytelling easy.
- Transparency and humanization. Having some fun with it can add a bit of quirk that’s received well on social channels. [See Below for a little Kuno Office fun!]
A little office fun… K-U-N-O! #iheartkuno #vine vine.co/v/bX5FMXX06dM
— Kuno Creative (@kuno) February 28, 2013
I’d be remiss if I didn’t note a few shortcomings with the app:
- Want to share the hilarious new video of your dog with your friends on Twitter or Facebook? Well, you also need to share it on Vine. When sharing options are displayed, if you turn off Vine, it turns off the other sharing options, as well.
- Currently, Vine is only available to iPhone users. Sorry, Androids. I’m sure your time is coming.
- There isn’t a way to edit your videos. Linger a bit too long on one shot, and it can’t be undone. I’ll concede, however, that editing functionality would contradict Vine’s intended simplicity.
Now that you’ve gotten a feel for the sheer genius of this app, you might be wondering how you can use Vine for your brand. Here are a few ideas:
- Conference or Trade Show – Share a shot of your booth or capture the energy in the room.
- Holiday Celebrations – Get your team together and have them wish followers Happy Holidays/Valentines Day/St. Patrick’s Day/4th of July… you get the idea.
- Team Introductions – Granted, time is of the essence so you won’t be able to do this with a large team, but introduce team members with a quick shot of them at their desk stating their job title.
- 6 Seconds of a Day in the Office – Walk around and give a quick tour or show a typical day of the team hard at work.
- Product featurettes – Give a quick demo of your product in action or showcase it from different angles.
- Announcements – Have a new product set to launch or even a special promotion? Announce it with video.
- “Before” and “After” shots – This would be great for service providers. Take before, during and after shots of room renovations, product installations or assemblies.
While it’s only been out a few weeks, many brands jumped on the bandwagon quickly and are using Vine to promote their business.
Here are a few examples of brands already using Vine and using it well:
GAP: Not only is this a clever use of Vine, but it’s very on-brand and fits in perfectly with GAP’s series of television commercials over the years.
Trident: The videographer behind this optical-illusion from Trident clearly has a lot of patience.
Al Monitors: If you feel you lack GAP’s creative resources or Trident’s patience, here is a great example of a way to use Vine that anyone can do. I love this one because it simply lets you meet the people behind the Al Monitor brand, which is something I don’t think enough brands do.
Moose Tracks: I chose this example because it’s clear it was easy to shoot, but it also tells a great story and makes the viewer laugh.
Ritz: Ritz gives a nice example of an easy product featurette.
People Magazine: People’s correspondents used Vine to capture moments with celebrities on the Grammy’s red carpet. Here’s a nice brand mention by comedian Kathy Griffin.
If you’re still questioning whether Vine can be used to tell a meaningful story in only 6 seconds, I encourage you to download the app and watch the amazing stream of user videos. I’m always amazed by the limitless creativity.
I’m dying to know, marketers: Are you using Vine yet for the brands you oversee? Please leave a comment below and show off your videos, or feel free to share your favorite examples from other brands.
