Have you used Vine? Founded in 2013, Vine, for those unaware, is an app that enables you to create videos up to six seconds long - kind of like the video equivalent of Twitter, in that you're constrained by very tight content limits. And like Twitter, that constraint is actually one of Vine's biggest strengths - with only six seconds to work with, you need to get to the point, so Vine videos, by design, are 'all killer no filler', only the crucial moments, only the essential action.
Video content is the thing in social media marketing today. Just this week, Facebook announced that it's now serving more than eight billion video views per day, highlighting how important video content has become to the world's biggest social platform. And while much of the focus has been on the rising video battle for video domination between YouTube and Facebook, Vine has quietly and steadily continued to build its following.
In fact, many Vine stars are now becoming bonafide celebrities in their own right - King Bach has more than 14 million followers on the platform, Brittany Furlan has 9.7 million. These creators are now converting their Vine talents into business opportunities, working with advertisers on new, creative campaigns, with Vine influencers being sought out because of the excellence of their on-platform efforts. Make no mistake, Vine is an important platform, and one which is rife with opportunity - the content is fast, easily consumable and can produce amazing results, when done right.
To underline the opportunity of Vine, Twitter's UK blog this week highlighted some examples of the more creative Vine campaigns that were posted by brands in October, starting with this from Ford UK
Ford worked with Vine star Zach King on the campaign, using King's Vine skills and following to help promote the brand. The result is an engaging, highly shareable video piece that's been looped more than 330,000 times already.
Walkers Crisps, on the other hand, tapped into the mass of discussion around Back to the Future's 30th anniversary with this Vine:
This is a great way to capitalize on a trending topic - rather than forcing their way into the conversation with a semi-relevant, on brand note, Walkers has contributed to the wider chatter by adding something creative, which is more likely to resonate with fans.
Another great example of Vine use comes from McDonald's UK - thinking a bit outside the box, the McDonald's team came up with this hairstyle picker to promote their breakfast menu:
As noted on the screen, when you tap the Vine loop, the video stops, giving you your hairstyle option for the day. This is similar to how brands have been using Instagram for interactive games, adding a more creative element to the process by using the functionality available in a different way.
This example from Burger King highlights just how easy it is to create a simple, yet effective, stop-motion video on Vine.
While they take time (and patience) to create, creating videos like this is less-daunting on Vine, as you only have six seconds to work with, while at the same time they can produce great results - this Vine has been looped more than 570,000 times.
There are some truly excellent examples of Vine content available, and it's an incredibly simple platform to use. As with anything, it takes time, and practice, to get good at it, but there are big opportunities present for those who are willing to venture into Vine territory.
And with such a big emphasis on video content, it could be your best option, particularly when starting out and looking for more creative video angles.