Instagram Launches Video Component

In the ongoing battle between social networks Facebook and Twitter, this week video sharing was added to Facebook-owned Instagram. In addition to taking and editing photos, users of the mobile app will now be able to take 15-second video clips.

This video sharing service competes directly with Vine, Twitter’s video offering that allows you to make 6-second video clips and share them to Twitter. Like Vine, Instagram videos lets you to film, pause, then film again, giving you freedom to piece together clips to tell a short story.

Vine has been widely used by brands to further market themselves, and became invaluable during the Boston Marathon bombings, when a Vine someone took of the explosions became the first video of the tragedy that many saw.

While Vine is video only, Instagram users can toggle between photos and videos. The videos appear just as photos do in an Instagram stream, with a small icon in the top right corner, signifying that you can play it, which happens with a tap of your finger. At this point (they just launched this week) Instagram videos seem slow and cumbersome, where Vines never were.

 We believe a combination of text, photos and video is important for a content strategy. Will you take advantage of Instagram videos in your marketing efforts? Or will you stick with Vine?