Why Micro-Video is Content Marketing Gold if You Don’t Own a Penguin

Marketing chiefs over at John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer will undoubtedly be wearing smugly satisfied looks on their faces after their brilliant Christmas adverts became the talk of the nation this week.

We’ve all stood and admired their work and everyone has a favourite but, let’s face it, how hard can it be with a seven figure marketing budget to make those marketing dreams reality?

Outside the rarefied world of the big boys, how do smaller brands achieve the same relative success without the substantial benefits of a multi-million-pound budget to propel them to nationwide fame?

Say hello to micro-video.

Micro-video, via Vine or Instagram’s new video service, means marketeers and public relations agencies no longer need enough marketing budget to restage a First World War battle, or pay for a cute CGI penguin, to make it work.

We all know that video is the future of content marketing. Recent estimates suggest 64% of marketers expect video to dominate their strategy in the near future. And when it comes to potential reach, video is without rival.

YouTube receives more than one billion unique visitors every month – that’s more than any other channel, apart from Facebook. One in three Brits watch at least one online video a week. No other form of content can boast the same impressive credentials.

But Vine, and now Instagram video, have moved the goalposts. It is no longer enough to simply think ‘video’, brands have to get creative and invest in this new revolution of six-second cinema (or 15-second if its via Instagram video).

For those that do, the potential rewards are significant.

New research has discovered that 70% of people view brands in a far more positive light after watching interesting video content from them.

And there’s never been a better time for smaller brands to capitalise on the trend – production costs have fallen significantly in recent years and you no longer need to be a technical whiz to work out how to use it. Apps such as Twitter’s Vine have dramatically increased the opportunity for businesses on a limited budget to jump on the bandwagon.

Vine celebrates its two-year anniversary in January 2015 and has rocketed to stardom since launch. It has been embraced by brands and the general public in overwhelming numbers.

Five tweets a second now contain a Vine link according to the latest figures. And studies show Vine is four times more likely to be seen than a branded video. It is the perfect social media tool, built for sharing.

Brands like Adidas, Samsung, Urban Outfitters, Burberry, Gap and Ritz Crackers are already becoming social media heroes via their creative use of Vine micro-videos.

Most use time-lapse photography to make the best creative use of their six-second video slot. And the brands that score content marketing victories via micro-video ensure the elements they include in their Vine or Instagram video, though brief, are visually appealing and engaging for viewers.

Adidas is a great example of what is achievable. A simple video of a football player, wearing Adidas kit, kicking a ball into a wheelie-bin positioned a tricky distance away became one of the most watched and shared of their videos.

Minimal cost, maximum impact.

You don’t always need a penguin to achieve social greatness.

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