With Facebook’s recent adoption of video for Instagram, marketing professionals are re-examining this intriguing application and its predecessor, Vine. Both of these programs allow users to post short videos which can be used to lead consumers to your landing page. Vine and Instagram marketing may not be the most robust platforms, but if you recognize their strengths and weaknesses, you can definitely utilize them to strengthen your inbound marketing initiatives. 
It should be noted that while Facebook took ownership of Instagram, Vine is owned by Twitter. As you might expect this makes Vine and Instagram virtual proxies for their respective corporate parents. This has turned into a tit-for-tat between the two, with one unveiling a new feature followed closely by the other. Shortly after Facebook introduced video for Instagram, Twitter announced it had redesigned the camera tools, channels for sharing and the ability to re-Vine other posts.
Instagram was originally designed to host photos, and only recently added the video features. Vine, on the other hand, was designed to take, edit and host six second videos. This has contributed to slightly different types of users for each app. Vine, which was adopted by eager new users, tends to be a little more creative and unorthodox, while Instagram users are more likely to be more human-oriented and heartfelt. Vine also seems to attract users who are more enthusiastic about the challenges and rewards of the medium, while Instagram may be more tailored to casual users.
Instagram marketing is probably the area to devote the lion’s share of your interest because it has almost 130 million active users, while Vine reports only 13 million users. With the added power of Facebook behind it, Instagram marketing is more likely to skyrocket in popularity, while Vine has tapered off. This is not a death sentence for Vine, but it does hinder their heretofore unobstructed ascendancy.
Instagram has some other benefits like the ability to filter clips and delete them, while Vine requires scrapping the entire video and redoing it. Instagram also allows clips which are 15 seconds long, however, added length is not necessarily a clear advantage. Twitter and Vine have performed a variety of studies indicating the 6.5 seconds is optimal for most users.
Utilizing Vine or Instagram marketing is not as simple as shooting a promotional video. Like their parent social media cultures, users are not usually amenable to marketing messages which direct them to a retail site. You will need to produce creative, humorous or intriguing videos that compel users to discover more about your organization. The ability to rapidly produce and easily share these short videos should stoke your enthusiasm for these apps. A truly engaging clip can rapidly inundate the blogosphere and generate huge buzz about a product or organization.
Both Instagram and Vine can be portals for finding and connecting with new consumers. With the right advice and expertise, your next Vine or Instagram marketing video can open the floodgates to whole new markets.
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