The Psychology of Vine

The element of surprise in shortform storytelling will allow Vine to triumph 

Did you know that:

● Five Vine videos are shared on Twitter every second?

● Vines are shared four times as often as branded internet videos?

● 4% of the top 100 shared Vines were made by brands?

● Vines are tweeted more on weekends than all of the weekdays combined? Peak activity occurs between 10am and 11am EST.

● Vine videos get shared four times more than online video?

Vine Enables Visually Rich, Social Content Creation

In the last six months, a simple six-second concept has riveted the marketing world and captivated millions. Even Instagram’s release of video features can’t trump Twitter’s media service, Vine.

Vine allows you to record six seconds of video straight from your smartphone. There is no editing, filtering, or remixing involved; Vine simply involves raw video capture.

Videos posted from Vine run on an infinite loop — a feature that’s not present in Instagram, whose 15-second video only reinforces outdated advertising production models found in slowly dying television commercials.

Overall, Vine is the perfect platform for creating videos that elicit a wide array of positive emotions among customers. In this case, surprise is key.

“Vine is a big idea, yet it is a simple one — the two basic ingredients for a successful emerging technology recipe. It is no wonder that some brands are quick to jump in and experiment with it. However, success for Vine does not hinge on early adoption by brands; rather, it depends on whether it can make the transition from emerging technology to an emerging cultural practice like Instagram and Pinterest.” - Raman Kia, Executive Director of Digital Strategy, Conde Nast.

Creative storytelling tools like Vine that work in real time have a great chance of leveraging the element of surprise to incite audience action.

The element of surprise is one of the most powerful marketing tools available today. Surprise is addictive and inexpensive; it changes behavior, boosts emotions, and stimulates passionate relationships. The science of surprise can be used to deliver a message in a deeply compelling way.

Vine is Growing Because We Love to Share Experiences

“As humans, we are designed to share,” says Krista Peck, M.S. “Sharing activities and experiences via social platforms satisfies three basic human needs: love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization.” In a survey of 2,500 people conducted by the New York Times Customer Insight Group on the psychology of sharing, the results revealed:

● 48% share to inform others of products they care about.

● 68% share to give people a better sense of who they are.

● 69% share because it helps them feel more connected to the world.

● 73% share to connect with others with similar interests.

● 78% share because it allows them to connect with people that they might not have the opportunity to otherwise.

● 84% share because it is a way to support issues they care about.

“It is evident that social sharing has both psychological and sociological benefits,” Peck continues. “We engage in online sharing not only to express ourselves and feel good, but also to feel like part of a larger group of like-minded people.”

Best Practices for Vine

In order to be successful with any social media platform, it is important to understand the context in which you are using it and why. Vine forces its users to create short-form narrative with extreme time constraints, so the way in which stories or messages are constructed must be concise. The use of any new social tool requires best practices.

The 7 Do’s for Vine Videos

1. Do develop a strong, emotional narrative to communicate a focused message.
2. Do use Vine to provide a teaser for something you are working on.
3. Do use Vine to provide a quick tutorial for a new feature.
4. Do use Vine to deliver fast facts.
5. Do use Vine to ask an open-ended or closed-ended question.
6. Do consider unique ways of introducing members of your team to your Vine audience.
7. Do remember to use up to three relevant hashtags for your Vine entries so they can easily be found by other Vine users.

The 3 Don’ts for Vine Videos

1. Don’t try to pack too many messages into one clip. Leave complex storytelling for other media.
2. Don’t be fake. While you want to put your best foot forward, remember that your audience will know when you are not being authentic.
3. Don’t forget that by using Vine, it becomes one of your brand’s properties. Be sure that it properly reflects your tone of voice and brand ethos.

“The best Vines take time. Stop-motion Vines, which are by far the most successful in my experience, are no simple task. That’s slightly discouraging because the nature of the platform is quick, but you have to give the people what they want. Some individuals and a few brands have created small masterpieces doing this. All in all, it’s worth it.” - John Jannuzzi, Contributing Digital Editor, Lucky Magazine

7 Great Brand Uses of Vine

There are thousands of examples of how people, brands, and marketers are using Vine, but the following nine are particularly noteworthy:

1. Bacardi UK created a six-second video on how to successfully make a killer rum and Coke.
2. BuzzFeed took followers inside its New York headquarters to show how its staff “gets down.”
3. GE illustrated the way in which innovation starts at the drawing board — or in this case, a blank sketch pad.
4. Jimmy Fallon created a video of comedic genius called “The Beginning” that successfully ends the six-second loop with its beginning.
5. The Wolverine by 20th Century Fox had a six-second trailer for the July 26 release of this latest installment of the X-Men spinoff.
6. Fast Company experimented with Vine at its Innovation Conference, where it challenged attendees and speakers to complete the sentence, “Innovation is…” on Vine, and then embedded it on its website in a social micro portal.
7. Urban Outfitters and Converse launched the “Where Do Your Chucks Go?” Vine contest.

“Don’t miss opportunities to leverage Vine for advertising, PR, or awareness purposes. As hashtags track trending topics and conversations growing rapidly in real-time, you may find opportunities that allow you to earn your way into a conversation organically instead of with paid initiatives.” - Jon Fahrner, CEO, BumeBox

Making Vine Work For You and Your Brand

As marketers using Vine as a connective tool, we must remember to:

1. Play To Emotion: Marketers should ensure that they are publishing Vines that capture emotions that lead to value alignment with the target audience. Vine is designed to capture the mood or tone of a moment. The more emotion, the better the response. If a Vine is funny, sad, inspiring, contemplative, or provoking, then you have succeeded.
2. Use Hashtags Well: With the introduction of trending hashtags, tagging a Vine well is important, as it allows for easy discovery, like on Twitter. Make sure you’re using hashtags correctly.
3. Keep Storytelling Simple: Vine can be leveraged as a simple but powerful storytelling tool. Since Vine is mobile, it is the perfect application for grabbing a variety of content.

Leveraging Visual and Interactive Platforms

Technology is empowering today’s consumers with smarter devices, internet availability nearly everywhere, crisper screens, and networks that push an overwhelming stream of content to them around the clock.

“As social networks like Vine achieve scale, content producers need to reach occupied audiences across them. This visual culture calls for a new level of expertise in content design, storytelling, and influence where art and science must meet to capture consumer attention and put it to work.” - Brian Solis, author of What’s the Future of Business (WTF) and principal analyst at Altimeter Group.

In our highly visual culture with mobile as the new default, Vine unites message and medium to create immersive, addictive new experiences — perfect for brands seeking simple, concise storytelling solutions.