More and more companies are taking advantage of the advertising opportunities offered by online video platforms. Vine and Instagram are two of the most popular and each has its pros and cons, which we will examine in the following short guide.
Vine vs Instagram
1. Longevity
Whilst this is admittedly a minor issue as far as Internet technology is concerned and is less important than user numbers, it does have some relevance to potential advertisers. Vine, launched on January 24th 2013 has the edge here. Although Instagram has been around since October 2010, it has only been possible to post videos on the platform since June 20th 2013. This means that Vine users are more familiar with the format and may therefore be more receptive to short creative marketing videos.
2. User numbers
Instagram is the clear winner in this category, with over 150 million active users although most of these users were acquired before video was introduced and owe more to its origins as a photo sharing platform. Vine has 40 million users.
3. Activity
Things begin to look a little worse for Vine in this category. Whilst you would naturally expect more active users to translate into more activity, it is not a linear function as far as tweets are concerned. Instagram has a 6 to 1 lead over Vine in terms of tweets, compared to a user number ratio of roughly 3.75. However, these figures do not tell the whole story as outlined in the next section.
4. Functionality
Vine videos are more visible in the Twitter community owing to the fact that they are previewed in the iPhone and Android Twitter apps. This means that all users need to do to view the content is to tap on the Vine video preview in Twitter. Whilst Instagram content can be tweeted, the lack of a visual preview means that it has less immediate impact.
5. Format
Vine videos are limited to 6 seconds whereas Instagram ones can be up to 15 seconds in length. There is no clear winner in this category but the different lengths mean that one platform may be more suitable than the other for different marketing techniques. If, for example, you wish to create a more conventional advertisement for distribution online, Instagram’s longer format will probably be the best choice. On the other hand, the 6-second format that Vine employs has encouraged advertisers to be more creative and there are many excellent examples of how it can be used to great effect.
6. Making a choice
Now you know a little more about what each platform has to offer, you should be in a better position to make an informed decision when planning new online video marketing campaigns. It is important to remember that whichever platform you choose, you need to have a team in place to answer the consumer enquiries that your promotional clip generates.
The following summary may be of some help if you need a quick reference when making a final decision.
Winners
• Longevity – Vine
• User numbers – Instagram
• Activity – Instagram
• Functionality – Vine
• Format – a draw
Whilst I have attempted to remain objective throughout this review, please bear in mind that personal preferences always influence one’s opinions and your experiences with these platforms are unlikely to be identical to mine. In closing, I firmly believe that both are useful weapons to keep in your marketing arsenal.
This guest post was written by Juliet Martin who is an Instagram user by preference. She also writes on behalf of Regus, a global provider of flexible office spaces and business solutions.
Do you want to incorporate Vine or Instagram into your Content Marketing strategy? Give us a call on +44 845 2264 247 or email us via mail@marketingfundamentals.com to start the conversation.
We hope you have found this information useful. You may also like this, Is it time to Vine? and Which Brands are Winning on Vine? – 5 Brands that ‘Do it For The Vine’
Best regards,
Marketing Fundamentals Team
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