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Power Your Retail Business With Content Marketing via Vine

By Scott Olson on Mon, Dec 09, 2013 @ 02:21 PM |

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Stores and online retail heavily rely on social media to promote sales, gain new customers and show off new merchandise. Reaching out on Facebook and Twitter is ideal because the costs are nearly non-existent for significant returns. Now stores have a new way to engage an audience with Vine.

By now, you're probably familiar with Vine, a mobile app that records six seconds of video and shares it to a social feed similar to Twitter. Most of Vine's base consists of amateur users making funny videos to share with friends, but now with the new editing and draft features, businesses and retail companies are using Vine to create a whole new level of marketing.

How It's Done


Photos via Apple App Store

Vine videos are usually short clips stitched together to create the final six-second product. Originally,you could tap the screen to create dozens of separate shots or hold it down for just one take, but once the video is finished there is no editing. What you shot was what you got. But now, Vine has been updated with two new features, editing and drafts. Drafts lets you save up to 10 Vines at once and editing enables rearranging of clips.

It will take a few attempts at first, but don't be discouraged. Making the perfect Vine is just like anything else — it takes practice. There's no better place to draw inspiration than companies already on Vine. Here's a stop-go video from JC Penney promoting in-store deals:

How It's Shared

A great benefit to sharing videos on Vine is it's directly tied to Twitter and Facebook (Twitter actually owns Vine). You don't need to build a new following with your Vine account. The existing base on other social networks will see your videos without ever using Vine in the first place. On the other end, following a variety of brands on Vine is a great way to gain a sense of what methods work best for engaging audiences with this new social network. Follow companies like Lowe's, Urban Outfitters and Gap to see different videos other businesses are coming up with.

How It Helps

Once you have a grip on how Vine works and feel comfortable creating videos, there are several ways to make it work best for your retail store.

Intuit, which offers accounting and payroll solutions for small businesses, suggests using Vines as "mini ads" to market your company. It is a cost-effective and lucrative way to reach an online audience. According to Intuit's blog post, "when it comes to digital advertising, people tend to prefer brevity." Highlight your workplace culture, various products and services or encourage video participation from customers.

A great way to include followers in your videos is to interact with your audience via your account.

This Vine from Diabetes UK acknowledges a follower who donated to its cause. Videos like these are a good way to go above and beyond a simple thank you email because it give public recognition to donors.

The idea behind Vine is just like any other social network — to engage an audience — but here you have the opportunity to show instead of tell. Vine is another example of a place for advertisers to reach consumers digitally. If you're looking for tips on local digital advertising, check out our eBook titled 'The Smart Marketer's Guide to Local Digital Advertising.'

Download  The Smart Marketer's Guide to Local Digital Advertising

 

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