Everyone is talking about it; it is the new kid on the social block. Developed by Twitter, the latest social media platform called Vine allows you to create six-second videos to share with your friends or your brand’s followers.
Simple to use and with great usability, Vine uses hashtags just like its creator so that people can easily search its content. This feature also feeds through to its ‘Explore’ function – which also allows you to see the most popular videos of the moment.
Videos created are on a loop – in a manner similar to animated gifs, an image format that has been popular since the very early days of the internet. With only six seconds, you need to be creative. So what can it be used for? Dom Hofmann, co-founder of Vine, said: “Posts on Vine are about abbreviation — the shortened form of something larger.
“They’re little windows into the people, settings, ideas and objects that make up your life.”
From looking at the platform it seems as if most users are creative, social and young – as with many of the other platforms. Although, several brands have already made short videos, including Pepsi NEXT and Urban Outfitters. Urban Outfitters used the platform to create material for its ‘Bear Off’ and showed its products in real life, for example how they move or look in light.
You can also use sound in the video. Which can be turned on and off in the corner, when posted on Twitter – make sure you keep this in mind when filming.
So how can brands use the function?
- Glimpse into the heart of the brand. What’s the point of having expensively decorated offices if no one sees them? You can invite people in and introduce people to your team.
- News from the ground. Out and about, see something worth shooting – simply point, film and tweet or post.
- User generated content lends itself to the platform. Get users to upload their stories of your brand in video form and win over other users.
- Behind the scenes. Do you run a magazine? You could invite users to a see behind the scenes of a shoot or interviews.
- Promote your products. Show how your products look in real life and demonstrate how to style them.
We have put together a small video to show how you can use it: