Twitter & Vine… for those in the know, what a GREAT combination!
For those less familiar with Vine however, we are DEFINITELY NOT talking about a street intersection in downtown Manhattan, even though when I kuyhaa idm first heard of these two great social media platforms in combination I couldn’t help myself imagining the voice of a gnarled traffic cop shouting out to his dispatch team that he is hot in pursuit of the bad guys on the intersection of ‘ Twitter & Vine’!!
But amusing wordplay aside and stepping back into the world of the practical, what is Vine and what is its relationship to Twitter?
And even MORE IMPORTANTLY, how can this be of value in your social media marketing campaigns?
In a nutshell, Vine was launched by Twitter in January 2013 with the idea of creating video capability which in its snappy brevity would be the video equivalent of a 140 character Tweet.
Thinking back to the start of 2013 the timing was perfect as we were beginning to see a massive acceleration in the use of video downloaded from mobile’s and smartphones suddenly being integrated into many personal blogs.
And just as suddenly,in January 2013, Twitter now had its own option – VINE – allowing for the inclusion of short, snappy video links with a maximum duration of 6 seconds – perfect in the high speed, short attention span, digital marketing world that surrounds us all!
Some Key Facts About Vine:
- It was Twitter that launched Vine to the world in January 2013 – but cleverly Twitter have also ensured that Vine videos can also be posted to Facebook.
- The 6 second duration is counterbalanced by the fact that the short Vine videos are on ‘loop’ – so despite being brief the better constructed videos can be incredibly powerful at re-enforcing key businesses messages.
So When Might You Use Vine Video?
Well firstly you might want to consider all of the ways that a brief 6 second VISUAL snapshot could benefit your brand or product – and you might also want to take some inspiration from some of your all time favourite commercials BUT to help you along here are 4 key areas that come top of mind:
PRODUCT DEMO’S:
In cases where you can quickly and easily demonstrate key product benefits and SIMPLICITY – here the shortness of the video can only enhance the beneficial simplicity and straight-forwardness of a product.
BEHIND THE SCENES:
Consider what a great way this is to introduce yourself and business colleagues to your audience and customers while at the same time giving them a rare glimpse ‘behind the curtains’ of your business so to speak.
When this is done well it can really re-enforce the sense of a real connection with your business and massively enhance loyalty to your brand
A TASTER OF THINGS TO COME:
If you are running or attending an exhibition, putting on a webinar or Google Hangout or about to announce a new product launch, creative Vine video can really drive anticipation and customer commitment to attend the event.
Think of those brief ‘trailer’ videos that are aired a few weeks before a new movie comes out – and how they can often create a real sense of anticipation and a desire in you to attend a film that you know may actually know little about, just because they are so brief and so effective at ‘whetting your appetite’
TESTIMONIALS & CASE STUDIES:
Six second sound-bites of satisfied customers OR ‘before’ and ‘after’ clips of how your product or service has transformed the customers experience – can you think of how powerful that might be in YOUR business?