If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth millions. People are obsessed with videos which is why YouTube is touted as the second largest search engine on the planet. The entry of a video-driven social media app was only a question of when and seemingly out of nowhere, Vine came strongly crawling in.
Experts are calling it the “Instagram for videos” – this is how Vine is reinventing the social media sphere. Social media prophets are dubbing it as the next big thing. Despite its relatively “newcomer status” not to mention the fact that as of press time, it’s only available for the iOS market, Vine is already reshaping how people do Twitter marketing.
While the best of Vine is yet to be discovered, there are already a number of tactics or executions that you can easily implement to usher in Vine into your social media marketing or content marketing mix.
Create Mini Video Teasers
Everyone wants to get the first dibs on the brand they like and follow. This is why people love reading gossip blogs because they want to be in on the latest news and create the impression that they are part of a “special circle” that gets information ahead of everyone else. With Vine, you can create no-fuss teaser videos for your Twitter audience.A restaurant can show off a behind the counter mini clip of a chef cooking a new menu item. A fashion brand can provide a sneak peek of its latest collection. What this does is creating buzz around your product or service even before it launches which is a good strategy to attract customers.
Boost Your Brand’s Social Proof with Video Testimonials
To be perfectly candid, written testimonials are extremely easy to fake and don’t be surprised if ever you found out that there are businesses out there are fabricating testimonials as if it was the normal practice. They are faceless and often times, too good to be true. Testimonials such as these don’t do much for your credibility and your conversion.
Vine is a great alternative to gather video testimonials from your satisfied customers and clients. With a simple click on their iPhones, your customers can give you high impact testimonials of what they love about their brand. You can even ask your on-ground crew (if you have) to generate on-the-spot testimonials. For example, if you own a restaurant, you can go to a customer after he finishes and meal and ask what he thinks of your food right there and then. Throw in a discount coupon valid on their next visit as an incentive. You didn’t only get a testimonial which you can post on your site. You also made a customer feel special with an incentive which is good for building loyalty.
Increase Audience Engagement through User-Generated Content
Every day, business owners and marketers are faced with the constant challenge of coming up with new content which is essential in today’s marketing arena. If you’re running short on ideas, you can use Vine to run a campaign to encourage your audience to submit their own video content that shows how they utilize your products or services. The mechanics can vary, just be sure that by submitting their videos, they are consenting for you to republish them for marketing. In order to encourage participation, you can make this into a contest wherein the best quality or most entertaining videos get a special prize.
You know what else you can do? From these Vine submissions, you can mine insights from your customers making Vine a free research marketing tool. If there are really creative ideas, you can further develop them and make full blown marketing campaigns. Vine videos may be short but they can surely ignite what can be your next big marketing campaign.
Put Together Short Product Demos
Explainer videos are making waves in digital marketing and are revolutionizing how businesses promote their products and services. Case studies have shown how videos can increase sales by 100% and sign ups by 200%. With Vine, you can create short explainer videos demonstrating the main feature of your offering giving your unique selling proposition a high impact and compelling representation. It’s cost effective, does not require an entire production team and you can be done within a short turnaround time.
Humanize Your Company through Quick “Behind-the-Brand” Videos
When people follow a brand through intimate and personal channels such as Twitter, they want to know what happens behind the scenes. This is actually a marketing opportunity that many businesses fail to maximize. By letting them in on your day-to-day operations, you are putting a face to your company, making your products and services more relatable and likeable.
Simple things such as giving 6-second virtual tours of your office, sound bites from your employees and allowing them access to things they wouldn’t normally see will give more humanity to your company. Given all things equal, people would naturally gravitate to a brand that they feel they have a personal connection with. So, if you have a great corporate culture and a fun working environment, why not show them off?
Spark a Word of Mouth or Viral Marketing
The integration of Vine on Twitter makes it easy for users to share these bite-size videos to their network making it a very potent ground for any business who wants to get into viral marketing. Of course, it still depends on the content you’re sharing. So plan accordingly and make a mini storyboard that is hard to resist.
To Vine or Not to Vine? That is the Question
So far, the main critique against Vine is the length of videos users can upload. At 6-seconds, there are a number of those who doubt on what impact Vine could really make. However, there are also a lot of businesses who have used Vine successfully to strengthen their social media marketing even though the app is still in its infancy.
Part of successful online marketing is having a forward-looking perspective when a new platform is introduced. No one thought Instagram would be a hit but look at where it is now. Vine may be heading towards the same path and you wouldn’t dare fate and miss out on the opportunity to reach millions of prospective customers and earning potential revenues.
As an internet marketer, you have to be constantly hungry for new marketing technologies. As of now, let Vine satisfy that hunger. Check it out and see how it can work for your business.