Who Is Your Favorite Vine Star?

These days, there are individuals who focus their time and talents on creating content specifically for the Vine platform. But more importantly, brands are now using Vine (and other tools) to create branded content interesting enough to engage their consumers.

Content is king and the number of platforms for distributing and viewing that content continues to grow. You have YouTube, Vine, Instagram, Tumbler, Buzzfeed, Medium, Tapestry and countless others. Some are for long-form video, others for very short-form video. Some cater to the written word in article format and others to short stories that can be read one tap at a time. We have gotten to the point that there is now so much content that we are getting overwhelmed.

That said, smart marketers know that great content can attract and retain a valuable audience. Just look at Yahoo! The portal/brand created the original Burning Love video series (IMHO, fabulous!) and is said to be in talks with Katie Couric to host a web interview show on the site. Ford and Live Nation partnered to create a web series that engaged consumers in a scavenger hunt involving some of your favorite musical acts.

Some publishers are now asking their edit staffers and editorial partners to write stories for their advertisers to make them more interesting and engaging. And brands, like Taco Bell and Airbnb, are even tapping their consumer base to generate branded content for them for free! Platform Buzzfeed is working directly with advertising agencies to create and measure the effectiveness of content marketing on their site. And finally, the New York Times is now streaming content in a sponsored ad unit on their website.

So, what of all of this content? Is it worth the effort? I would argue that it definitely is. First, it creates a feel-good halo around the brand as they are providing either valuable information or entertainment. Second, it sticks with the consumer long after the content has been consumed. Third, it is “shareable” across social media; the ideal for marketers.

Have you seen the latest Chipotle spot, The Scarecrow? Even if you haven’t, upwards of 6.5MM people have and that’s just on YouTube. Yes, there have been some arguments that it isn’t acceptable to confuse consumers with what is true editorial and what is advertorial but I would posit that, if well-labeled, this issue can be overcome.