Social Media Tuesday: Playing Around With Vine

As a fashion fanatic with a small attention span, I was looking for quick ways to stay up-to-date with all the runway shows happening in New York and London this past week. Instagram’s blurry runway photos started to get on my nerves, and I could hardly wait for Style.com to release their professional images hours later. What app proved to be the most engaging and useful? Vine.

Sunday night was the first time I tested out the Vine app that had been sitting on my iPhone’s home screen since its release on January 24th. For those of you who aren’t familiar, Vine is the latest social media feature available from Twitter. Videos are no longer than six seconds and marketers are starting to hop on board.

Like most social media guru’s, I hate to waste my time on “the latest” social media platform that I see no future in. However, I believe Vine is a great option for brands looking to add to their social media content. To use this application successfully, it takes some planning.  HubSpot created a great list of “The Do’s and Don’ts of Using Vine for Maketing” to help get you started.

The most important lesson I learned is that Vine is NOT a replacement for YouTube, Vimeo, etc. It is obvious when a brand is trying to communicate a message within six seconds that is meant to be a much longer clip. To be able to accurately communicate an idea, feeling, or environment in six seconds, do some pre-planning before filming.

The ability to humanize your brand is what Vine does better than any other app (if done correctly). Showing behind-the-scenes footage, a quirky office environment, or a funny dance is a great way to make your brand more relatable. It’s also a fantastic opportunity for people online or on their mobile to get to know your brand a little more. â€ª

Humanizing your brand does take some thought – don’t rush into it. However, in business today, engagement is a requirement, not an option, if you want to survive. Properly using social media platforms such as Vine increases your brand loyalty, which ultimately increases sales. So what are you waiting for?