Instagram announced that its new video services is now embeddable on websites. Instagram’s protocols are similar to YouTube’s, as you can click share below the video that gives you an HTML code that you can copy and paste into your website. The embedded photo or video appears with your Instagram username, and clicking on that username takes the user to the Instagram webpage. The update should help the spread of Instagram’s video app, that is keeping pace with Twitter’s Vine.
Tag: instagram
Instagram Video: Is It Better For Brands?
The answer, at least at first, seems to be yes. Although Vine is currently more popular than Instagram for media sharing on Twitter, Instagram is quickly making up for lost time. Over 5 million videos were uploaded onto the social network within 24 hours of its release, in addition to the one billion Likes logged per day, and its total user base of over 130 million. What’s more, 67% of brands are already familiar with the platform for marketing purposes, and the extra 9 seconds of video is crucial for advertisers looking to make a pitch. The fact that Instagram is already used widely by social media marketers means that it’s easier for their brands to jump into the video game very quickly. And according to Mashable, videos shared on Instagram have twice as much engagement as photos – and significantly higher engagement than videos on Vine. Ultimately, this means that it’s easier for brands to transition to video production on an app they’re already familiar with, and by breaking down the time limit and adding professional editing features, Instagram video provides a much friendlier, broader marketing platform – with all of Facebook’s users to boot.
Instagram Video And Facebook Hashtags Borrow Twitter’s Model
Yesterday saw the big announcement that Facebook has been hinting at for weeks: video for Instagram, in the form of short 15-second clips. The basic intention of playing catchup to Vine is obvious, but in combination with Facebook’s support for hashtags, the shift in direction indicates an even larger shift towards branding and marketers. Hashtags are a convenient way to organize real-time conversation and create an anchor for people to connect to trending topics – and that’s precisely what marketers want, to be a part of these big discussions. Facebook’s prior ad model, in essence, makes the consumer a pitch-man for a product that they might or might not genuinely enjoy. But the new video and hashtag functions, in combination with the elimination of promoted stories, signals an about face. And it’s no accident that Instagram videos are 15 seconds long, the same exact length as the average TV commercial. Facebook and Twitter are now facing off in a veritable battle for real-time broadcast advertising.
Instagram To Launch Videos June 20
Beginning June 20, Instagram will be launching video service, allowing users create and share 5-10 second videos. The announcement comes on the heels of recent news that Vine has surpassed Instagram for Twitter sharing. While Vine has taken off, Facebook’s Instagram does have the advantage of their existing 100 million user base who will not have to install a new app to begin creating videos. Twitter and Facebook have not played nice with integration of their subsidiaries so do not expect inline views of these videos on Twitter.
Vine Surpasses Instagram For Media Sharing On Twitter
Just five days after launching for Android, Vine is now more popular in its total daily shares on Twitter than Instagram. Likely a result of opening Vine up to the Android market, links to vine.co were shared over 2.5 million times, with instagram.com links at just below 2.2 million. This also likely has to do with Instagram’s web profile launch, which cut off the easy expansion of shared photos within Twitter streams. Instagram remains ahead of Vine on Google’s list of top free Android apps, however, and it is difficult to know just how many active users and daily creations there are within the app network.
Instagram Introduces Photo Tagging
In a nod to earlier Facebook days, Instagram today introduced photo tagging. The new iOS and Android upgrade allows you to tag anybody in your photos – but with this update you can also tag brands and companies in photos. You, or the brand, can get notified if a tag happens, and can also require approvals before photos appear on your profile. You also have the option to detag yourself. This update replaces the often-hectic @mention function on the network that has functioned until this point. This wasn’t a truly effective method for keeping track of other users, and these new features are designed to help you more vividly capture moments and to build a collection of photos. Likely, when users get tag notifications they will head to the app, which will increase broad-base user interaction with the social network, which in turn will present many new opportunities for tagging brands and including products in a network that looks as if it’s programmed itself for interface expansion.
Brands Make Own Instagram Ads
Facebook isn’t putting any advertising into Instagram, so brands and advertisers have been making their own. Marketers, from Pepsi to Nike, are creating sponsored posts on the platform, but Facebook isn’t earning any revenue from the practice. Following the infamous Terms of Service debacle, Instagram had to make it clear that it wouldn’t take users’ photos and use them for advertising without permission. Instead, brands are experimenting with the platform with celebrity and sponsored posts; for instance, Nicole Richie this week posted a photo while using a hair product made by Unilever’s Suave. She also included a link to a microsite by Suave introducing users to their products. LeBron James similarly posted a picture of his Nike’s, and Beyonce posted a pop-art collage with Pepsi. Whether these posts actually translate into revenue is to be determined, but this is a trend that will need to be addressed by Instagram and Facebook – and marketers as well – before it becomes much bigger.
Expedia Creates Travel Albums With Facebook And Instagram Images
Expedia has figured out a clever way to engage their community around the photos they take when travelling the globe. As part of the “Find Yours” campaign, Expedia has developed a Facebook app that leverages Facebook and Instagram images in addition to Google Maps, music and other filters to tell the story of their travels. These travel albums are easily shareable via Twitter and Facebook and engage people around the moments they create.
Vine Steps Out At Fashion Week
Vine is making a big impact at New York Fashion Week. Reporters, attendees, and socialites are all taking to the app and exploring new ways to share and report back on their experiences at the events. Though Instagram was universally embraced last year, Vine is currently far and away the in-vogue app of choice this season. The functionality of the app makes it very well suited to reporting on the proceedings: several media editors have been using the app to take and edit videos of multiple looks over the looped segment, giving viewers a unique perspective on the clothes in moving, living color. It provides viewers with a better conception of the clothes than Instagram, which obviously doesn’t capture movement. At the same time, using Instagram would require more time to edit multiple photographs of different models and looks, as opposed to Vine which can point and shoot a loop of many models simultaneously.
Beyond reporters, designers and retailers are utilizing the app to provide viewers with privileged views into the backstage. Some examples include designers showing video of modeling auditions to allow viewers to help pick the models, or showing the stages and rehearsals in progress. In all, it will be interesting to see how the fallout from this new-found use of the app shapes its future as a journalistic and social medium.
GazeMetrix Image Analytics
If you’re wondering who’s posting pictures of your brand on Instagram, check out Gazemetrix. The startup from UberLabs uses image recognition technology to track your brand presence and provide extensive analytics. You can compare your performance with competitors over time and across geographies and see your most popular photos. According to the company’s initial research, Starbucks leads all brands in volume of logos displayed, with Coca Cola and BMW also leading the charge.
