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Vertical video is gaining popularity as more users become creators using their smartphones. Because holding your smartphone upright is natural, vertical video has become the natural format for many users. It offers you creative freedom to make some of the best social media content for marketers.Some popular apps that have picked up on the increase of vertical video include TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram. Brands have also switched to using vertical video to keep up with the latest trends.Explore some brands crushing it with vertical videos on the various social media apps.
TikTok has over a billion active monthly users creating short videos on this popular vertical video app. Each video goes alongside an audio clip for fun and creative entertainment.Here are four brands that also use this vertical video format to reach their audience on the platform through engaging social media posts.
Balenciaga is one of the most well-known luxury fashion brands. They use TikTok to show their latest products and styles creatively.Their short videos go beyond just filming models walking toward the camera. Instead, they fully embrace the style of the platform, including filters, video editing, and music. As a result, each video is unique, with a touch of eccentricity that keeps viewers coming back because it’s unlike any other fashion brand’s videos.Because of their innovative videos, their brand is more memorable. They also increase customer engagement because viewers are more likely to comment on a video that intrigues the viewer.
Image from TikTok
Olaplex sells hair products that help strengthen hair by repairing broken bonds. They showcase their product in multiple settings, from the club to walking down the street.Many of their videos are traditional marketing ads demonstrating the products and providing tips. They use the vertical video format of TikTok to show the steps of using their product and the final results while keeping the video fast paced and interesting.However, marketing videos aren’t the only content they share. They will also often mix up their feed with fun videos or the latest trends.What works well for Olaplex is that most of their videos look like an average customer could have shot them instead of overly edited to look like an ad. This makes them more personal and authentic.
Car ads are typically horizontal shots of vehicles driving down scenic roads. However, Mercedes Benz shows that vertical video is just as powerful in showcasing cars and their features as horizontal video.One of their greatest strengths is the unique angles they use. When working with the limited space of vertical video, you have to get a little creative to ensure you fully capture the shot. They don’t stick to upright shows but also tilt the camera at an angle, move it about, and even turn it on its side so that the viewer gets a full panoramic view of the car, all within the limits of vertical video. One of their favorite shots is an aerial view looking directly down on the vehicle.Vertical video gives them more freedom to highlight the details of their vehicle. In addition, they shoot multiple close-up shots of the interior, engine, and logos to give viewers a complete look at the car.
Image from TikTok
Spikeball is a mix between volleyball and foursquare. Since it’s a new sport, most of the brand’s marketing focuses on showing people this new game in the most fun way possible.Their video content is a collection of the best consumer videos where actual customers play Spikeball. This makes the content more genuine. What makes it stand out is the unique settings customers play in. The brand seems to gravitate to the most unusual or memorable situations, like a bridal party at their reception, a group of friends in the middle of a city, or siblings on a pontoon boat and surfboard.Their videos show that it’s a game for everyone, regardless of age or interests. They also offer their customers a challenge to come up with even more creative ways to play this new game.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turn your inspiration into actionable strategies with these other helpful tips on social media marketing:
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Instagram made several changes while finding the best format for incorporating vertical video in their app. IGTV had a good run with several brands using that long-form video app to share their brand stories. Today, all of Instagram’s video capabilities are within the same app, with Instagram Reels being the primary place for vertical video.Here are three social media post ideas from brands that use Instagram Reels very well for marketing purposes.
National Geographic uses Instagram Reels to let its followers experience the world up close and personal. For example, their 3D Stonehenge model sweeps through the famous location, weaving in and out of the giant stones set against a crystal blue sky.Not only do they take you on adventures, but they also introduce you to different animals. Because vertical video takes up your entire screen, you can meet exotic and exciting animals as they nearly jump off the screen. For instance, their video of the Texas Indigo snake is set against a black screen, making the snack’s blue gaze and hissing tongue the entire focus.Their page is dedicated to experiencing the world from the perspective of their photographers. This makes the videos more personal and exciting to watch since they are taken from around the world of actual events instead of the typical scripted and overly edited content that fills social media.
Liquid death is a canned water company that uses water from deep underground mountain sources. They built a following with a metal marketing technique that combines phrases like “murder your thirst” and imagery such as their iconic dripping skull.Their posts make canned water look as trendy as drinking beer, energy drinks, or other expensive iconic canned drinks. Each video is a unique look at their product and the lifestyle of those that use it. They use comics, user-created content, trends, and original videos to fill their followers’ feeds with Liquid Death.
Image from Instagram
Louis Vuitton is a French luxury fashion brand with an eye for details. When they create vertical video content, they use every inch of space. Most of their videos use close-up shots of products and movements that stretch from one corner to the other.For example, their silk scarf series uses swooping shots of vibrant products as they fly across the screen. Then they slowly pan across the smooth patterns for a close shot of each item. As a result, the viewer’s entire screen is filled with information, immersing their audience.
Snapchat is one of the first apps to fully embrace vertical video. Their platform started the trend of capturing moments in vertical rather than horizontal formats. Because of Snapchat, brands have changed how they perform video marketing.Here are a few of the most notable examples of brands that knew what they were doing with their platform.
Taco Bell was one of the first brands to use Snapchat, and they continue using it occasionally to introduce products.One of the most notable aspects of their Snapchat branding is their use of lenses and AR on Snapchat. Viewers can turn into tacos, place their face on a Taco Bell store, or find out what menu item they are. Even when Taco Bell isn’t creating new content, their audience continues creating content for them by spreading their filters and stickers across the app.Through this strategy, they aren’t just advertising to their followers. Instead, they are fully immersing themselves in the experience.
Amazon is already a marketing genius, which they further demonstrate with their creative and entertaining Snapchat. Additionally, on Amazon Prime Video, you can view trailers of upcoming or popular movies available on their streaming service.Their creative use of lenses is unique to their channel. Lenses and filters are becoming a staple on most vertical video apps. Amazon doesn’t just use filters. They create their own. Each filter is designed around a show or character from their channel, tying back into their service.One of their more creative and fun filters is a game where the user films themselves finding items in a setting from one of their movies. They actively engage their viewers by turning their videos and filters into interactive content.
Under Armour is a leading sports apparel brand. It’s also leading in marketing with its innovative usage of Snapchat.Through Under Armour’s lenses, you can virtually try on their products, such as sneakers. This lens is creative and strategic as you can display your products to consumers and spread awareness while creating a fun vertical video on the platform.
Image from Snapchat
Use these social media content ideas from these leaders in video marketing to create your campaign on a vertical video platform.Contact us for expert advice on how to use video marketing to grow your business.
As Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) @ Kubbco, I lead the global strategic efforts and oversee the research and planning, community, content strategy and paid social teams.
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