Some media pundits believe Instagram, Facebook’s video service, has dried up the robust growth of Vine.
Instagram now boasts 200 million monthly active users compared to Vine’s 40 million. According to Socialbakers, four times as many brands prefer Instagram than Vine.
After strong initial interest, marketers’ use of Vine shriveled. That could be a natural, expected pattern. Marketers typically grab a shiny new object, test it to see if it meets their needs, and just as quickly drop it if it doesn’t. Some brands learned how to use Vine successfully; others didn’t and moved on to the next new platform.
When Facebook released Instagram in 2013, some experts predicted the two services would survive in their separate niches. While superficially similar, the services were said to be like apples and oranges. They served different needs and markets, much like Facebook and LinkedIn. Vine would become a news-oriented platform and Instagram would take over “the cute-kitten market.”
However, many observers are now blaming Instagram for Vines’s tightly trimmed growth prospects.
Short Time Limit Blamed
Christopher Ratcliff, the deputy editor at Econsultancy, believes Vine’s restrictive format is to blame, specifically its six-second limit. The lack of integration with Facebook and other non-Twitter networks might have also worked against Vine.
The best “Vines” are superb short videos. But while innovative brands initially used Vine’s short format to their advantage, they created formats that are now routinely copied by other brands, he says. What once had pizazz now feels repetitive and seems to lack creativity.
“If you search for ‘best Vines’ you will basically see a cavalcade of cleavage and people hurting themselves in playgrounds,” he writes. “It’s not a terribly mature or responsible place to hang out. There are very few ideas floating around in the non-branded world.”
Vine’s six-second videos supposedly meet the public’s short attention span. But perhaps people can pay attention for more than a few seconds after all.
Why Marketers Prefer Instagram
Dane Atkinson, CEO of SumAll.com, explains why he thinks Instagram is better than Vine for marketers, in a post for MarketingProfs. Vine’s six-second limit is constraining. Instagram’s 15-second timeframe, similar to the length of some TV commercials, permits more visually compelling and content-rich videos. It allows more time for short how-to clips and brand narratives. It enables succinct storytelling.
Instagram’s larger user base provides a robust community for sharing content. Facebook, which owns Instagram, has about five times as many users as Twitter, which owns Vine. Instagram users can share content within Facebook’s large user base, driving further engagement.
Instagram has filters and better tools such as editing, integration, and cover image selection. With those tools, it’s easy to see why more marketers prefer Instagram.
Instagram users are savvy in social media. Brands that post videos that are too dry or obviously promotional will find they are ignored.
One more thing: The sequoia of video sharing is YouTube with over 1 billion users and billions of video views each day. Unlike Instagram and Vine, YouTube videos are predominantly long-form ranging from 30 seconds (standard TV advertisement) to an hour for some “how to” videos.
Bottom Line: Instagram now dominates Vine in the short-form video-sharing market. Its longer time limit, editing tools, and Facebook ownership offers significant advantages to marketers.
William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.
