Guest post by Lesley Waldsmith
At one of my previous agencies, the CEO used to remind her employees, “This is a 15-second business!” She was close…it’s actually a 6-second business thanks to new video sharing app, Vine. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, pick up your phone and do it now (it’s currently only available for the iPhone but stay tuned Android users).
Through this amazing new tool, video novices, like myself, can make creative and unique looping vignettes with seamless transitions. The vignettes are produced in 6-second loops and can be shared via Twitter or within the Vine app. On Twitter, the videos play automatically and are muted. You can un-mute in Twitter or watch your video with sound in the app.
Vine has so many applications: everything from being a really neat tool for community managers to develop engaging new content, to enabling citizen journalists to capture and share news in real-time. Vine only launched a few weeks ago, so it is still very much in its infancy as a communication tool. According to a survey conducted by AYTM Market Research a few days after the launch of Vine, only 8 percent of internet users surveyed had heard of the app.
While the creators are working out some kinks and putting policies in place and internet users are discovering its potential, it’s a great time to learn the basics and think through how to integrate Vine into your social strategy.
Tips to Get Started:
Practice
To create a Vine video, you point and press down on your phone’s screen … to pause during filming, you lift your finger. My instinct was to double-click to start and stop, so practice a few times to get used to how it works before making your Vine.
Plan
Like any good piece of content, plan it out before you begin. Jot down how you plan to use the 6-seconds to accomplish what you’re trying to communicate. Make those seconds count.
Play
Before you start making videos for your clients or your brand, tackle the basics and have fun with it on your own. This goes for any new application you’re trying to integrate into your social strategy—know the ins and outs before suggesting it to clients or your boss.
Check out some of the examples and see how brands are already utilizing this new tool. Happy Vine-ing!
About Today’s Guest Post:
Lesley Waldsmith is the Director of Public Relations at Hafenbrack Marketing and sister company, Genessa Health Marketing, where she leads the public relations and social media teams. Follow her on Twitter @LesleyWaldsmith
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24614969@N04/8428190827
