​Vine offers marketers a glimpse into their prospects' lives, providing raw footage instead of text-only updates.

​Since Twitter’s acquisition and launch of Vine in January 2013, many brands have looked for ways to leverage its viral potential for lead generation and sales. Of course, the social media newcomer still has a long way to go before it earns the respect of every marketer, but it certainly is a media hub worth checking out.

According to an infographic from CareWorks, mobile video will represent 66 percent of global mobile data traffic by 2017. Because of this surge of visual media engagement, the concept of “video content” will also change. No longer will brands look at YouTube as the only option for posting user-created content – Vine will inevitably play a role in social media and video marketing moving forward. But how?

Major businesses are already using Vine to support their branding initiatives. Gap uses the app to hype products, NBC to offer backstage passes and the Brooklyn Nets to highlight warm up shoot-arounds before games. These corporations aren’t trying to sell via the application yet, but they are building an experience that compels fans to connect and check out what’s being broadcast via Twitter and the program itself.

However, marketers should also be careful when analyzing Vine data. Brafton reported that Simply Measured introduced specific analytics reporting options for Vine, offering a glimpse into reach and impressions.

Potentially, social media marketing experts could compile this information and learn a lot about their broader audiences. Instead of looking at Vine solely as another broadcast channel, brands should consider the value of viewing their followers’ posts. What are they publishing and do these clips reveal patterns that can inform future internet marketing strategies? More than anything, Vine offers marketers the chance to look directly into their prospects’ lives and understand their core values and interests.

Ted Karczewski is an Executive Communications Associate at Brafton. He works to develop his own voice and apply his passions to the evolving world of SEO and content marketing, but he doesn't shy away from writing for fun. After graduating from Suffolk University, Ted used his Communications degree to test out Sports Journalism before Marketing at Brafton.