This guest post was kindly provided by Timothy Thompson, a DIY master and father of three from Staten Island. Thanks Tim!
How do you tell your brand’s story in six seconds or less? Most TV and Web ads are 15-30 seconds, which can seem like an eternity in comparison, but companies across a multitude of verticals are marketing in a brand new way: Vine.
Vine is a new microblogging platform that records six seconds of video and shares these posts to a social feed, similar to Instagram or Twitter. For most, Vine is just another phone app for funny videos, but many brands see Vine as an opportunity to communicate their brand messaging and engage a new audience in a fresh, fun way.
Home Improvement
Lowe’s made an early impression on Vine with its “Fix in Six” series—videos that offer quick tips for the home. Because it’s so easy to stop and start recording with Vine by simply pressing your thumb against the screen, Lowe’s uses stop-and-go animation to create lively clips that promote the hardware retailer as a solver of around-the-home problems, not just a building full of product for sale. Lowe’s was one of the first companies to create a popular Vine feed and still makes “Fix in Six” videos today.
Fast Food
McDonald’s is known for some memorable commercials, and while their marketing team is still in full force on the networks, it’s now using Vine to pair up with some recent campaigns. For its new chicken wings, McDonalds uses Vine to create short teaser videos for its longer television commercials. The wings might be nothing more than a glorified McNugget, but the commercials sure are catchy.
Retail
Target is taking stop-and-go animation to a new level by promoting its football snacks with this snappy video of chips and dip during a kickoff. Other retailers like Urban Outfitters like to show off company culture on Vine over simply showing off their in-store inventory.
Celebrities
Famous figures like Paul McCartney are using Vine to engage fans, raise money for charity and sometimes just for fun. Musicians have an especially great time on Vine because it’s a great platform to preview short clips of concerts or new songs.
Auto
Because Vine is so user-friendly, lots of companies host video contests to let fans of their brand get their own Vines published by these big-gun accounts. Nissan USA hosted its own contest with a fun sample video to help followers get creative.
Have you used Vine to market your business?
If so, how?
If not, why not?
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