There have been a lot of recent changes to both Instagram and Vine.  What was once a head to head battle for short-format video supremacy has turned into something different.  And, that battle was very short-lived as well.   Vine launched their much desired app on Android and then about 10 seconds later Instagram was all like, “Oh yeah, did we mention we are launching video?  And, our videos are over twice as long and are on that app you guys already all love for photos of the sky, your feet, and your food.  And, Facebook owns us.”  End quote.   Or, something like that….

When this Vine Android push and Instragram video launch all happened, the social media and digital video world stood by and tried to figure out which one to use for what purposes, how can brands take advantage, etc, etc.   These were some big changes all at once.  The short-format video medium was even trying to figure out what it was.

Apples to apples comparisons were commonplace.  We thought we had a war on our hands.

False.

Over the last several weeks and months the two video platforms have distanced themselves, and the uses for each have become much more clear.

Instagram now allows pre-recorded videos to be uploaded and posted, much like they already allowed with photos.  So, this changes the game a lot.  Brands can create beautiful commercial-like productions off Instagram and just load them to the platform for all their fans to see, much like a YouTube or Vimeo, just much shorter.  So, Instagram video for brands is becoming more of a pure content distribution channel.  They have a lot of users already there so it makes sense to get certain messages out there for all to see, as long as the type of content within 15 seconds makes sense for that specific audience.   It all goes back to knowing your community vs content creation and strategy.  And they can absolutely still shoot raw videos within Instagram for that “real” feel, but these changes will definitely welcome more produced videos.

On the other hand, Vine is pure entertainment.  That’s not to say there aren’t brands on there pushing marketing messages, however, those brands need to be very creative to break through the clutter.  6 seconds is very quick, and, everything has to be captured within the Vine platform on your mobile device.  There is no editing done outside of Vine, no touch-ups, no 3rd or 4th takes.  Making awesome vines is a true skill.  Just check out this amazing compilation of the best vines of 2013.  If you didn’t realize how much talent and creativity can go into vines, just check these out.  But, also please notice these are people.  Real.  Creative.  People.  And that’s awesome.

There are of course similarities – they are both short-format video platforms so there will always be comparisons.  What I’m trying to point out is the differences in the type of content, the method with which that content is created, and what these platforms are good for when brands are considered.

Brands can still rock it with Vine OR Instagram.  But they need to know their audience, their method, and their content plan of attack.

It’s not apples to apples when talking about Vine and Instragram.  At least not anymore.