Vine, the quirky short-form video sharing platform, has rolled out a series of highly-anticipated platform updates which – among other things – includes the ability to upload previously recorded video. This is especially welcome news for brands that wish to utilize Vine for more premium content.
Prior to the update, Viners (including marketers) were forced to shoot content live. This made it challenging to pull off advanced editing tricks, but it also helped Vine earn its reputation as a more real-time, unfiltered format. It is worth noting, however, that some users sidestepped the restriction (e.g. by filming video content off a screen).
With this update, Vine is doing more than letting users upload pre-shot videos from their camera rolls – it’s expanding the creative opportunities for the community. In addition to the upload feature, Vine has introduced a full suite of elaborate video capture and editing tools, including a grid view, focus lock, mute functionality and more.
This update opens the door to Vines with higher production quality, which means a potential shift in the visual ID of Vine content overall. That said, brands should be mindful of what the community is already familiar with and not use this feature to post videos that are irrelevant to the platform.
Vine continues to be a place where creativity should be front and center – and marketers could face backlash by using it as a dumping ground for repurposed spots. Brands will be wise to acknowledge the history of the community and stay true to what the platform is stands for to maximize the value of this new video uploading feature.
In summary, here’s what the new Vine update means for marketers:
- Higher quality of the content: With the new upload feature, videos can be produced using more sophisticated equipment before being added to Vine. This will expand the creative potential of six-second video.
- More control over content planning: The upload feature allows marketers to plan content production in advance and removes frivolous worries, such as the app crashing mid-shoot.
- Easier process for collaborating with influencers and other partners: The upload feature makes the collaborative creative process easier for all parties involved, both in terms of production and reviews.
In the world of social media, platform updates occur nearly daily – few, though, have such large implications regarding a platform’s future. As Vine continues to grow in popularity, brands should use these new features to create content that is in-line with the platform’s past and is consistent with the unique style users enjoy on the platform.
Considering how unique Vine has been in both the creative process and visual identity, it will be interesting to see how it evolves following this fundamental update to the platform.
Post by Katya Kotlyar and Fitz Maro
Cover photo via Vine
