What is Vine and How can you Leverage 6 Seconds to Showcase your Business?

Introducing the newest addition to the Twitter Family – we give you…Twitter Vine!

Vine is a 6 second video app that works alongside Twitter – it can be used to capture and share what people are seeing and showcasing in a short stop-go animation.

Remember when Twitter launched and we were flummoxed as to how we were going to say what we needed to in just 140 characters.  Well now, via video, they’re challenging us to just 6 seconds.

Creating a Vine

The process itself is actually very simple and doesn’t require any editing. All you need do is download the app – and follow the simple steps to connect it to a relevant Twitter account.  You’ll see those of your followers already on Vine and you can connect with them via this channel too.

Once live and ready to use, to create a Vine simply hold your finger to the screen to record and remove it to stop.  Pretty simple. The short clips are then threaded together in a continuous video – collectively limited to just 6 seconds.

With Vine videos only running to a maximum of 6 seconds, this should (we say should) help to inspire creativity in businesses, giving the masses the chance to showcase brands and products in an intense time frame.

However, with just 6 seconds, you’re going to have to rise to the challenge by really getting stuck in creatively if you want to make this platform work. Getting the most out of that six second time frame is of upmost importance, being savvy with your content and keeping things simple should help you to do that.

Remember that this isn’t YouTube – subjects that require explanation and guidance should remain firmly in the company of YouTube channels.

Internationally known fashion brand Levi’s have already fallen victim to this error by posting a Vine Video that really belonged on their YouTube channel. The subject they were posting about needed far more explanation than just 6 seconds and as a result its message was unclear to viewers.

Only 2 weeks ago Twitter Vine shared 100,000 videos in one weekend thanks to New York Fashion Week. This shows how much of an impact Vine has already had on social media –but it serves a whole new purpose that businesses will need to get to grips with in order to make it successful for them.

So before you jump in, take a look at our Tips and Ideas on how to use Vine for business:

• Events – Covering major events is a great use of Vine- it’s also an easy way for companies to release a sneak peak in the run up to the event. A teaser will get people talking around a hashtag and is a great way to build momentum. When sharing content from events, creativity is key! You want to make sure you’re giving away a sneak preview to your event but not giving away too much! A 6 second limitation should help with that!
• New Product Launch - Use Vine to demonstrate a new product launch, service or feature. It’s all very well showing pictures of the new product or written text saying what that product is, but nothing does a product justice more than seeing it in action for real or through a video.
• Customer Engagement - One of the greatest aspects of Vine is how powerful it is when it comes to customer engagement. The challenge for brands will be to find ways to create something genuinely compelling and engaging within the constraints of the format – that is engaging and not irritating to viewers. It’s a great way to get your audience’s attention allowing you to use emotional appeal in your video advertisements, a major advantage over any text-based advertisements!
• Testimonials - A picture can be worth 1000 words and a quick 6 seconds of happy faces ‘see our customers smile’ – or one word snapshots of what they think of your product or service could be pretty engaging.
• Brand Awareness - Vine is a great way showcase the personality of your business – showcasing insight into what  you’re about – your views, your ‘why’.
• A way to meet the team - Introducing your followers to your team. Whether you’re giving an office tour, interviewing employees, or showing what it is like to be in the office, viewers will appreciate the chance to get to know you a bit better. By letting your followers know who you are, it connects on a human rather than ‘corporate’ level -e making your business more trustworthy and tangible.

As with all social media activity from a business perspective, don’t just dive in without thinking.

Give yourself time to think about the point you want to get across, you have only 6 seconds so choose your time wisely and keep it focused and importantly – creative.

Happy Vining…

@Michelle Carvill is owner and Marketing Director at Carvill Creative – the online visibility experts. A digital marketing and design agency based in Maidenhead, Berkshire.  The agency covers all aspects of marketing strategy and online visibility – covering social media marketing and social media training, user focused website planning and conversion focused website design.

Want to talk to the team at Carvill Creative about your social media activity or training needs? We’re happy to chat, so simply ‘get in touch’.

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