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5 tips to get creative with Vine for Twitter

Author's avatar By Expert commentator 14 Mar, 2013
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An introduction to creating campaigns with Vine

By now you might well have heard of Vine, the latest feature available on Twitter that lets you capture just 6 seconds of footage. There in lies the creative element to Vine… how do you make 6 seconds of engaging and exciting video?

Vine is a great marketing tool for getting your message out there in an interesting and attention grabbing way. The main advantage of Vine is that this can be achieved relatively quickly. However, the temptation can then be to make something fast, without a well thought out plan of action. Any marketing output, no matter how light-hearted or small, has a direct reflection on yourself /company, so it pays to have a clear and concise message.

You can download Vine for free.

Getting started with Vine

 Tenovus

Source: Becky Howard

  •  1. Have a narrative

All videos have a beginning, middle and end. Just because you are time restricted, doesn't mean you can't tell a story. Why not start with simple storyboards, that way you can trace your way through the video and make iterations where needed.

Storyboard

Source: Khoa

  • 2. Look to be creative

The stop start nature of Vine means you can create some really interesting effects as well as surprise the viewer. For instance there's no reason why two screens can't be interlinked together to create some kind of visual contrast.

visualcontrast catwalk

Source:  Elizabeth Holmes 

  • 3. Aim for visual excellence

The DIY element means it's easy to create something, how shall we say, rough around the edges. Strive for better. Treat your 6 seconds as a window into your / your companies professional excellence. Your video will be a direct representation of you; hence you want it to reflect you in the best possible light.

visualexperience

Source: The Glitch Mob

  • 4. Utilise the audio

Audio can add so much more to video. Treat it as an essential piece of the puzzle. Make it just as engaging as your visuals. Try comparing a rough edit of your Vine video with a video without audio and you'll notice the difference instantly.

audio

Source: Mark Weaver

  • 5. Don't try to say too much

Don't try to fit too much in. Once you start to try cramming things in, you loose the essence of the story and the video becomes confusing. Be concise. If you have more to say, why not create a series of videos to communicate the entire message? Release them in parts to build suspense.

Don't forget that your Vines have the capability to be viewed in many different contexts, not just on twitter. There are a number of sites harvesting Vine videos such as:

So if you're Vine grabs attention when sat next to others, you're likely to get more views.

These are just loose guidelines. Sometimes the best way to find out what works and what doesn’t is to experiment. Go out and give it a go. Just remember, the most important ingredient to Vine videos is the idea. Focus on the idea and the rest will follow.

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By Expert commentator

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