On June 20, Instagram introduced their new video feature. This allows Instagram’s 100+ million users to capture 15-second videos. Users have the ability to record videos and apply one of the 13 filters, specially designed for video.
As users began to explore the video application, celebrities also caught onto the trend. Instagram users including Justin Bieber, Madonna, LeBron James, Jimmy Fallon, and Ryan Seacrest, all began to explore the new video feature! Justin Bieber’s first Instagram video was the first video with 1 million likes.
Companies like the American Licorice Co (creator of Red Vines) also began to explore the video feature Instagram now offers. The company’s consumer communications manager, Michael Kelly, heard about the new feature and immediately worked up a series of clips showing how Red Vines “makes the day sweet no matter where it takes you”. He originally got the company involved on social media platforms to even the playing field with the Big Four confectioners (Hershey, Mars, Nestle, and Craft). This proves that this new video feature may be just the thing marketers are looking for to recharge revenue growth.
So, what does this mean for Twitter’s Vine application? After reaching a peak of almost 2.9 million shares to Twitter, on June 15, Vine shares on Twitter dropped a sharp 50%, to 1.35 million shares, just a day after Instagram introduced its video feature.
And while some people are not thrilled with the fact that videos will now appear on their Instagram feed, perhaps, it is just because they, in general, are resistant to change. While they argue that viewers are much less willing to invest the time needed to find the part of the video that’s interesting, most users have been bitten by the Insta-vid bug. In the first day alone, Instagram users recorded an incredible 5 million videos!
Move over Vine, Instragram Video is here to stay!