How to LIVE

The GIF that Keeps on GIF-ing: 7 Ways to do Vine Marketing

How did you kick off your week?

My Monday started off in my Marketing in a Digital World class where we tested out Vine, the new Twitter App. Vine is like Instagram, but instead of still-photos it allows you to create 6-second videos that play continuously (like the moving pictures in Harry Potter).  

The free app is easy to download, and even easier to use.  At the touch of a finger you can capture a moment with you and your friends, or create a work of art. The app is less than two weeks old, so there are a few bugs, and it is limited to use on the iPhone and iPod Touch. But it already seems to be developing a community of individuals and businesses around itself  despite the bugs and exclusivity to Apple users.

Here’s the big question: How will businesses incorporate Vine into marketing strategies?

I thought about 7 ways a business can use Vine to engage with its customers:

1) Mini-advertisements

This is the most obvious way for businesses to use Vine, but it might be the most challenging with only 6 seconds. Malibu Rum created a pretty cool ad here: Malibu Rum on Vine

2) Mini-Series

Create stories around your product ending with cliffhangers. Like the commercial this will be a challenge to construct because of the time constraint, but story boarding is a process that can help achieve the best use of time. 

Creating a mini-series will keep people tuning in every day (or week, but I suggest you keep that the maximum wait time) for the next episode. So, even if people don’t use your product, if the series is entertaining they may tune in just to keep up.

3) Facility Tours/Process Tours

Use Vine to bring your customers into the facility! Give them mini-tours, so they can feel more involved with the company or organization. Especially if your product is foreign to the customer.

I love Heineken beer, but I’ve never been to Germany. Heineken should use Vine to take me on a tour and maybe show me their brewery (hint hint @Heineken).

The point is to make the customers feel like they are a part of the process.

4) Updates 

Simple updates like those on Twitter are also an option. Videos make the update more personal! 

5) Live Vines 

Live Tweets are a common occurrence at most events these days. Live Tweets bring the action of an event to all of those who can’t be at the scene. Why not use Vine to show people what they’re missing?

A few soccer clubs in the English Premier League are doing just that! 

6) Collect Testimonials

Creatively collect testimonials. Vine makes it easier for customers to be a brand ambassador. You can tie this point in with the next.

7) Contests

It’s a new way to issue challenges to your customers and you may be able to engage with more of them since it’s a simpler process than Youtube. (might even take less time and effort).

Want to learn more about Vine? Here are a few sources:

Pro-tips for making your own Vine

The Next Big Thing: Smartphone Mini-Videos

7 Ways Vine can make Animation Easier

Cool Vines

Content is the New Campaign

We have been hearing about how content is the new campaign since early last year, but companies and marketers still struggle to grasp the concept. So let me try to explain this again. Content is exactly that. Content. It's about cutting-the-crap out of marketing and "keeping it real". It's about establishing reliability by focusing on easily accessible valuable information. So please, cut the sales pitch out of your blog. It's not about you, it's about everyone else.

Still don't get it?
Maybe this will help.

2013: The Year of Working Social Smart

CMO recently released the 2013 Social Media Landscape. Last year’s social media landscape featured a great amount of social media platforms, but this year it seems that we are taking a depth over breadth approach. The 2013 Social Media Landscape focuses on the big six in SM: Facebook, Google +, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and Youtube.

The landscape rates the platforms on multiple variables, and inspired the creation of my first infographic. This infographic transforms the 2013 Social Media Landscape to act as a quick reference for which platforms to use to optimize customer communication, traffic to your site, brand exposure and SEO. So the next time you’re uncertain about which platform to use to reach your customers or acquire better rankings,  just look at this!