Vine is the newest kid on the social media block, and with branded Vines being 4 times more likely to be shared than branded videos, it’s definitely time for your business to consider incorporating it into its digital marketing strategy. A Vine video can show off your brand’s personality and voice, all within a nice six second looping video that is perfect for the short attention span of today’s public. Although we at Spark Growth are excited to share another fun marketing tool with you, we also want to make sure you’re not wasting your time with the new app. Here’s what you should aim for when using Vine to market your brand:

1. Make sure it will actually be useful for your company

Despite Vine’s 17+ age rating on the App Store, it is perfectly suited for a younger demographic. When thinking about posting a Vine video, make sure it is something your interactive base will find interesting and that you have the visual content to make it worthwhile.

General Electric has been killing the Vine competition, especially with their #sixsecondscience series that is the perfect amount of exciting visuals and fun to keep any audience following:

2. Send a clear, easily comprehensible message

Six seconds is a short amount of time, so make sure you focus on one point. If you want to highlight your product, make sure it’s obvious. If you want to tell a story, visualizing the final product in your head before you begin will make it easier to piece together a message that will resonate with your customers.

Gap uses Vine almost exclusively to highlight denim, and combines them with a good, concise use of the copy really gets the point across:

3. Give your followers something to be excited about

A great way to engage your followers is by holding competitions or offering promotions through Vine. It gets your customers involved and interactive by having them showcase your brand with their own creative ideas. Even just a sneak peak of an upcoming event will get people interested.

Urban Outfitters teamed up with Converse to hold one of the first major Vine competitions, asking followers to make their own videos showcasing their products:

4. Show off your brand’s personality

Vine is a way to give a human face to your brand. Making Vine videos of your team or casual moments behind the scenes at the office shows a relatable side. Also, don’t forget to take advantage of audio as well!

Here’s some BuzzFeed staff members having fun in their office:

5. Some basic filming tips couldn’t hurt…

Ever heard of the rule of thirds? It’s a simple little trick where you imagine dividing your composition up into three lines horizontally and vertically, and then aim to center your composition at any of the intersections, as opposed to the center (see diagram below). Attention to details like this, as well as keeping your camera steady and creating the right lighting has the give your Vines a professional feel while removing any distracting elements.

6. If you’re not having fun, then you’re not doing it right

Vine allows you to be creative, so experimenting can give you some great videos (and then more shares!). Try playing around with making a video that loops infinitely, pretending to do a magic trick or using basic stop animation to tell a story.

Inspiration is really important, so make sure you’re checking out other popular Vines. Here’s a few of our favorite examples of brand Vines: