Social media watch: 5 Ways to Use Twitter’s Vine app

Our 2013 trends presentation touched on the importance of video as a means of connecting shoppers with products. With the recent launch of Twitter’s Vine app, merchants have yet another reason to make video a top priority this year.

For those who haven’t already checked it out, Vine is a mobile app (currently only available for iPhone or iPod Touch) that enables users to capture and share 6-second looping video snippets, which display and play within a Twitter post. The app enables users to capture pivotal, colorful or just wacky moments in live action, rather than with a still image, and share instantaneously. Vine is the latest of several apps to enable quick sharing of mobile video, starting with Viddy and now also including , which features 15-second video status updates.

A perusal of VinePeek, which streams newly-posted Vine videos as they’re added, suggests that the new app will be used to capture plenty of cute moments involving pets. But there’s also serious potential for merchants to engage social followers using Vine and other mobile-video apps. And because the format is quick and simple to use, merchants can experiment without breaking the bank. A few potential uses include:

Promotion of live events. While merchants may well want to shoot extensive video at live events to edit and post after the fact, Vine is designed for instant sharing — enabling followers to share in the excitement as it happens and perhaps get a backstage sneak peek. When a NASCAR driver was featured on ESPN’s “Sports Night” program, NASCAR posted a Vine video showing a glimpse of the interview, as well as the scene from behind the cameras in the studio — enticing Twitter followers to tune in.

Demonstrate a quick how-to. While 6-second clips won’t replace extensive product demo videos, merchants can use Vine to highlight a specific feature, expert tip or handy trick. Cadbury UK recently promoted its new “Egg ‘n’ Spoon” product with a quick video showing how to scoop out the candy filling, and encouraged sharing by offering a prize drawing to those who retweeted the clip.

A new format for user-generated content. Consider a contest inviting followers to submit Vine clips featuring your products, or encourage customers to use clips to illustrate their product reviews.

Build brand identity. Advertisement-style clips that build on a current campaign or reinforce brand image are quickly becoming popular. Gap asked followers what shoes they’d wear with its Skimmer pants, and illustrated the question with a quick clip that encouraged followers to “be bright.”

Reinforce lifestyle affinity. Like longer-format videos, Vine clips can give followers a glimpse behind the scenes of a brand and demonstrate that staff members are attuned to the tastes of their clientele. And with the brief format of Vine, the clips can be quirky and tongue-in-cheek, as in this post from Urban Outfitters paying homage to National Beer Can Day.

Have you tried Viddy, Vine or Tout yet? What potential do you see in mobile-video tools for your brand?