A lot of people are still unsure what to make of Twitter’s Vine app that was launched earlier this year but it’s alright to be confused. The fact of the matter is, Vine’s going places whether or not you find yourself creating and posting 6-second videos of your own and advertisers, brands and startups should be taking notice.
With the launch of the Vine app for Android this past week the user base is expected to grow exponentially. Why you ask? Well, aside from the obvious reason that now Android users will be able to get in on the 6-second action, Vine differs from other social networks in a variety of ways.
1. Growing user base. The beauty of Vine is that it’s easily one of the most successful GIF-based social network verticals out there albeit the user only has six seconds to make the magic happen. Six seconds isn’t much time to tell a story but believe me, it can be done.
Comedian Will Sasso is great at doing just that. As a result, he is one of the most popular users on Vine right now having amassed over 583k followers. If you haven’t had the pleasure of seeing him perform on MadTV when it was around don’t worry – he’s back taking center stage on the microblogging service. You can see him having interactions with Hulk Hogan on his iPad, doing a Bill Cosby impersonation and even ejecting lemons from his mouth. In the world after MadTV, he has found a new outlet through Vine and many other successful brands are doing the same.
What does this prove besides the fact the Sasso seems to have a bit too much free time on his hands and that he should probably quit using his cell phone while driving? It tells us that there are people out there using Vine every day to view and produce content. 13 million and growing according to Twitter. With a userbase that large, advertisers and brands should be taking notice. There’s a large potential audience just waiting to be tapped in to
2. No censorship. On Instagram, you can’t show nudity. It sucks but that’s just the way it is. And yes, we all know about the Facebook terms of service and how you technically can’t post nudity there either. We’ve come to accept that there are certain rules you have to follow when posting and sharing across social networks. Sharing naked photos of yourself, while it may not be necessarily illegal, is definitely frowned upon (unless, of course, you’re on Tumblr).
With the Vine app, those pesky censorship problems are all a thing of the past. Comedians can swear as much as they want without worrying about an ear shattering “beep” ruining their punchline like on mainstream television. Porn stars across the globe are free to let it all, er, hang out. It’s because of this “sans-censorship” approach Vine users are able to get a particular experience exactly the way it was intended.
Since we’ve already mentioned Tumblr let us consider Tumblr’s growth. Unfortunately for their sake, the service owes a large portion of their incredibly fast growth to its abundance of copyrighted material and pornographic content. Vine is able to avoid similar copyright infringement problems by requiring users to film their own videos and not allowing them to upload and share content previously recorded.
What does that mean for brands looking to dominate the digital space? In a world full of rules and what many feel are overbearing censorship laws, the thought of a social network free of such hindrances is appealing for a great deal of people. This only helps to further the belief that Vine will continue to grow. Lack of censorship helped Tumblr grow exponentially and while certain Vine users may come for the risque, a large portion aren’t and you’ll want to make sure your brand or businesses is there to interact with both of them along the way.
3. Behind the scenes. I know what you’re going to say. Instagram and Twitter can do this too and you’d be absolutely right. But think for a second; if a picture is worth a thousand words then what kind of story can that Vine video tell?
Vine shoots at 30 FPS. Multiple that by six seconds and you get 180 frames. So does that mean a Vine video is worth 180,000 words?
Sure. Why not.
Math equations aside, Vine has the ability to take people behind the scenes of their favorite actors on set or help them experience the magic of a product launch in a new way. Smart companies use Vine to promote their work and sports teams give fans a taste of the warm up before the big game. Good brands utilize social media to humanize their identity and Vine provides another platform to accomplish that goal.
The Conclusion:
Successful companies utilize social media platforms to highlight corporate culture, educate their followers, promote contests and products and to help humanize their brands. Sometimes, giving people just a glimpse is all it takes for a potential client or customer to feel a connection and for them to become a fan of your work or business.
While big brands might not necessarily need help getting their name out there, they’d be wise to jump on board and continue to push the envelope of proven social media success across the Vine platform. Smaller brands or budding startups would be wise to take advantage of the growing Vine user base as well. Use the platform to show the world what you or your company is all about and allow social media to work for your business.
