When Vine debuted last January, I wasn’t convinced of how much difference just six seconds could make. Sure, our attention spans are seemingly dwindling by the second, but six seconds doesn’t allow for much.
Image: Chuck Hagel via Flickr CC 2.0
Leave it to me to doubt humanity. A year later, and I’m in love with BatDad. Still, the use of Vine, and Instagram’s answer to it of 15 second videos, didn’t seem like something brands would be able to leverage quickly.
There’s a long way to go, but a Vine sent by Jake Tapper on January 2nd finally made it all click for me. I find that to be a brilliant use of six seconds: the name of Tapper’s show and a rundown of what will be covered while he’s on the air.
It’s simple, straightforward, and highly informative.
As communications pros have to grab the attention of their audiences in shorter and shorter windows of time, the importance of quality content will only continue to grow. Microvideo is the perfect way to do that, and creating compelling content using Vine or Instagram can spread quickly.
Like most platforms, it has taken time for services like Vine to find their groove. Now that these tools have been explored, you’ll see marketers and PR pros exploring how they benefit their clients and/or organizations.
As an example, let’s get back to Mr. Tapper. I think his show promo provides a blueprint for what a successful Vine for marketers will look like. Simple, direct, and full of useful information. Creativity will continue to play an important role, of course.
Information can’t sell itself and with only six seconds to spare, how that information is presented is as important (in my mind) as what that information is about.
In July of 2013, photos still reigned supreme, with Buffer saying photos made up 93% of the most engaging posts on Facebook. This post from Pew in October, though, shows use of video online doubling from 2009 to 2013. That takes into account services like Netflix and YouTube, but the fact is that Facebook sees how important video is to selling ads.
There’s a reason autoplay videos are now present in your newsfeed… and it’s not just because your dog is cute.
Will Vine and Instagram videos be the preferred method for digital marketers in 2014? Maybe not, but I am confident you’ll see them become much more common.
What are your thoughts on the digital video revolution? Do you use Vine or Instagram videos as part of your digital marketing strategy? Please respond in the comments below.
[…] with Matt because he shares some really great insight into how he started out in public relations, why he feels microvideo will dominate in 2014, and adjusting to being a parent and balancing work along with […]
Have I told you the story of how, when Twitter came out, I scoffed at it, saying, “Who cares what I had for lunch?” Boy, did that little bird have the last laugh. ;) When I heard of Vine, though, I wasn’t that skeptical – perhaps because I love video (even though I consume much more than I produce), and the minute I tried it, I could see why people fell for it. It distills the joy of communication into 6 seconds of motion. How many people can argue with that?
Just the other day I conducted a training program for a very large regional healthcare system, and took the opportunity to share some Vines from similar organizations. It’s amazing how informative they can be, and isn’t that the first step to building an engaged and motivated community?
Great post, Matt!
[…] 1) How big of a role will microvideo play in 2014? KimberMedia account manager Matt LaCasse wrote a post about this this week […]
lauraclickYou bet, Laura! Thanks for stopping by!
Wow. How have I never heard of BatDad?!?! THAT. IS. AWESOME! Thanks for highlighting another great use for Vine and Instagram videos!
JasMollicaObviously, I agree with you. Because of the length of time in these videos, it will force brands to be very creative with what they’re doing. Hopefully this is the beginning of killing content that’s essentially talking points.
Nicely done, Matt. I’ve been very slow to using Vine and Instagram video. However, the way Jake Tapper used it was effective and, frankly, wise.
I can see brands, like tourism destinations, use quick videos to entice younger demos to visit. I could also see sports teams use it to promote games, events.
In other words, mircovideo is definitely something we need to stay on top of in 2014… and beyond.