Here is a reblog of a post, courtesy of Martin Jones. You can find contact information for Martin at the bottom, near the comment section. He shares information about getting started with Vine, the new short video platform, for your business. Check out the tips and let us know what you think in the comments.
There are a multitude of social networks that are beneficial for marketing your business, and all of these sites have introduced new features that can help you further your advertising efforts. Twitter has been on a bit of a spree recently between the forthcoming Lead Generation Cards and Vine. The former is beneficial for convincing users to join your mailing list, but the latter is the service that you need to start using if you want your account to stand out.
Twitter explains that Vine is a mobile service that records videos that can be shared and looped on your page. When the social network says that the clips are short, it’s not exaggerating in the least bit as Vine only records for six seconds. That might sound completely useless from a marketing perspective, but that amount of time is actually more than enough to create messages. What’s more, the limited recording time actually forces you to be creative instead of just filming commercials for your business.
Vine’s popularity is currently exploding, so now’s the perfect time to start using the service. Topsy Analytics recently reported that the feature has surpassed Instagram in terms of shared links on Twitter. Users enjoy sharing and watching videos on the social network, and small business owners can easily capitalize on this fact by making Vine part of their marketing campaigns.
Here are a few tips to get you started on Vine.
Use stop-motion animation
Stop-motion animation is something of an antiquated style. The shooting style is where objects would be positioned, have their pictures taken, moved around and then photographed again. Eventually, all the images would be spliced together to make it appear that the camera’s subjects were moving naturally. The film style has made a comeback recently as it was used in the films “Coraline,” “The Corpse Bride” and “ParaNorman.”
The Search Engine Journal explains that Vine has a feature for stop-motion animation. The site points out that most smartphones can take pictures at 30 frames per second, meaning that small business owners can easily create short clips without bringing in expensive equipment.
The animation style will give your videos a unique look that other companies might not be able to match. Ultimately, stop-motion allows you to truly vary your videos so that they all have high entertainment value and don’t feel like basic advertisements. This may be the best way to actively engage Twitter followers with your marketing content.
Teach viewers
According to the Content Marketing Institute, you can also use Vine to educate consumers. For instance, a short video can be paired with a lengthy article so customers will be able to see how a product functions. Alternatively, you could use a clip to demonstrate how a service works from beginning to end. Remember that you only have six seconds to include the entire lesson, so you can’t really go into the finer details.
Vine can be a great marketing tool when used properly. Have you started using the video service?
