If this is true, a majority of the people reading this have already stopped and moved onto another cute cat video or to check their email/newsfeed that they most likely just checked 8 seconds ago. For those of you who are still with me, let's delve into the wonderful world of Vine. Many brands and companies may be confused when it comes to figuring out the best way to utilize a video platform that only allows 6-second messages; a similar issue that brands used to have with Twitter's 140-character limit.
What brands need to understand, is that they do not need to come up with an extravagant and elaborate advertisement or have an explanation of their product/service within the 6 second span. What they should be focusing on is trying to spark the interest of the consumer enough to engage them into wanting to learn more about what they have just seen. Sometimes, having a confusing or complex Vine may be an extremely effective strategy. Wall Blog author Rob Crombie says it best in his recent article: "Don't use [Vine] to tell your audience something you want them to know. Use it to tell your audience something they'd want to know." This leads us into the first method for using Vine to effectively reach customers:
USER ENGAGEMENT
Vines can be used to increase follower engagement with brands. Companies can ask their followers to create a Vine of themselves using the company's product in creative ways, or explaining why they love the product, and run it as a contest or giveaway. Brands can run this campaign with a prize for the best Vine or simply as a way to let your biggest fans show off their creativity and love for the brand. An effective strategy would also involve retweeting some of the most creative contributions in order to encourage more fans to post Vines of their own. Asking a fan base to post their Vines to Twitter with a specific hashtag makes this method extremely easy to track. This allows customers to essentially do the marketing for the brand and potentially create a marketing campaign that goes viral.
Here is an example of Confused.com showing exactly how it's done, starting a contest through Vine: http://vinebox.co/wycgqLvd8aG
PRODUCT DEMOS & NEW FEATURES
Vine can be useful for companies who can fit in a quick tutorial of their product.
Having only six seconds to work with, incorporating a brand new product into a Vine may be difficult. That is why Vine may be better utilized to promote a new feature of an already well-known product. Want to let the world know the groundbreaking news that your popcorn company is now offering PURPLE popcorn? Then Vine is the perfect tool for the job.
Here's a Vine from Opel showing off their color selection: https://vine.co/v/bJ2EqwTWKQg
BEHIND THE SCENES
Vine can also be used to show very quick glimpses of behind the scenes footage of an actual TV advertisement that is currently in rotation. This method can be used to bring in the consumer on a more personal level to the brand or to allow them to see the hard work put into making a television commercial.
However, going behind the scenes does not have to be limited to showing the inner workings of commercials. It can also be used to show off your office space, introduce members of your company, give a glimpse of how your product is made or show what kind of experience you can expect from a service provider.
Callaway showing off their Headquarters: https://vine.co/v/bdhJFYKr36K
Cafe Moka in Virginia showing us how to make "Latte Art": https://vine.co/v/b5QMDvJ0wBQ
The Glitch Mob giving a little album preview before it's released: https://vine.co/v/b1KZtFxDr3Q
CUSTOMER SERVICE
At Fueled, we believe that Vine may be used in customer service interactions as well. Responding to a customer's question with a creative Vine could be extremely beneficial for a brand. Companies can look at what questions are being asked the most by their followers on Twitter and come up with a creative way to answer those questions. A quick Vine response that allows the customer to visualize the solution is usually more effective than a boring written response. Not only is this content creative, but it shows that the company cares about its' followers and want to be as helpful as possible.
This method could also be extremely useful for companies with FAQ sections that customers usually have a hard time understanding. I know that I would love to have my questions answered by a Vine, instead of having to call a 1-800 number and speaking to an automated response system. I cannot express the anger I feel every time I am forced to wait on the phone to speak to an actual human representative to ask a question that takes less than a minute to answer. Not to mention, the countless times that I have had to answer a bunch of security and account questions before speaking to the representative, who would then proceed to ask me the exact same questions again. As one of my favorite internet memes reads, "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That!"
Here is NatWest's response to one of their Twitter followers' question: https://vine.co/v/hbYjz0Qzh5V
ALTERNATIVE PRODUCT USES
Vine can also be a good way to let people know about the various uses that a product may have. For example, Vinegar is said to have over 150 alternative uses. Consumers are always trying to get the most out of their product, and I'm sure these types of Vines would be greatly appreciated.
Here is Oreo helping us find a new use for the beloved cookie: https://vine.co/v/bQe2lF60n3J
Look, Vine doesn't have to be one of the main components of a company's content strategy, but to ignore it would be foolish. It definitely adds value to a brand's marketing efforts, at least as a supporting or secondary bit of content. It's simple to use, time-saving and completely free … so what's there to lose?
Author Bio
This article is written by Antonio Armenino from Fueled, an award winning mobile app design and development house based in New York and London.
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