How to Use the Boomerang App for Social Media Marketing Campaigns
The traditional boomerang is a curved throwing stick, created sometime between 25,000 and 50,000 years ago. A popular version you might have heard of is the “returning boomerang.” This stick is curved, flattened, and designed to return to the thrower.
The Boomerang app, on the other hand, creates fun mini-videos you can share online.
What are the similarities?
We’ll get to that in a sec, but since this is the Neil Patel blog, there’s no surprise which Boomerang this post will focus on!
Many brands are using Boomerang to connect, engage, and drive brand awareness.
So, how can you get started using this tool? More importantly, how do you create content that will give you an edge over your competitors? Before we answer those questions, let’s first go over what the Boomerang app is.
What Is the Boomerang App?
Boomerang is Instagram’s standalone app, created in 2015.
You can use it to create a video loop that plays forward and in reverse, again and again. In this way, the video continuously returns to the start (just like a traditional boomerang returns to the thrower).
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How long is the video loop?
Just. One. Second.
Some marketers might easily dismiss the app or shy away from using it. How can you get your message across in one second? Below, you’ll see how easy it can be to create content that’s only a second long but leaves a lasting impression.
Before we get there, it’s important to mention that Boomerang content is meant to be fun! This is not a platform for communicating complicated or profound messages. Remember, you only have one second.
So when it comes to creating videos on the Boomerang app, think light, fun, and exciting content your audience will love to see and share.
How Does the Boomerang App Work?
According to the Apple App Store, “the app takes ten photos and stitches them together, speeds up the video and smooths out any bumps, then loops it back and forth.”
To continue making the app exciting to use, the creators introduced a few additional features, including SlowMo, Echo, Duo, and Trimming:
- SlowMo: With this option, videos play for two seconds forward and two seconds backward. As the name suggests, it slows down your video clip to help capture every detail.
- Echo: This feature creates a double vision effect on your Boomerang video clips.
- Duo: This option quickly rewinds to the start of the video clip (by speeding up and slowing down), which adds a glitchy feel and texturized effect.
- Trimming: This feature allows you to edit the video clip length and decide when it should start and end.
How to Get the Standalone Boomerang App
Because this is a separate app from Instagram, you don’t have to worry about having a personal or business Instagram account to download it. You can simply download the app and install it directly on your iOS or Android device.
How to Create a Boomerang Using the App
Once you’ve downloaded the app to your phone, simply tap the white button on the bottom center of the screen.
This allows the app to take a burst of photos and create a Boomerang video clip for you.
To make some technical adjustments, you can tap the screen four times, using four fingers. This lets you alter the resolution of the video, frame rate, frame count, and how the video replays.
When you’re happy with your new Boomerang clip, you can press the “Save” button in the top right corner.
As shown in the picture below, you have the option to share your clip on Instagram, Facebook, or other platforms.
Why Use Boomerang?
What makes the Boomerang app special, and why should you use it over other platforms?
1. Shareability
In this social media age, creating shareable content is essential. This helps grow your brand and get your content in front of the right people.
The Boomerang app is great because short videos are inherently easier to share.
It’s also easier to get someone to commit to watching a one-second clip, rather than a longer, more detailed video.
2. Video Content Is King
No matter how you feel about video, you can’t dispute how effective it is.
Studies show 92% of marketers who use video marketing say it’s an essential part of their marketing strategy, and 83% of marketers say video marketing has helped them generate more leads.
In addition, 74% of consumers who’ve watched an explainer video about a product ended up buying it.
These numbers all point to one fact: visual content works.
With Boomerang, you can continue to create videos and give your market the visual content they enjoy.
3. Simplicity
As a busy marketer, you don’t have the time to try to figure out another complicated new app.
You want something easy to use. You want to worry about creating the right content, not the technical aspects of the app.
Boomerang ticks this box because it’s simple to use and user-friendly.
In just a few seconds, you can have a viral video your market loves.
If you haven’t created Boomerangs for your social media marketing campaigns, it’s never too late to start. It can be a fun and effective way to increase brand awareness and help you achieve your overall marketing goals.
Boomerang Marketing Uses
We’ve already highlighted how simple it is to use the Boomerang app. Now comes the fun part.
The following ideas can give you some inspiration on how to get started with creating fun Boomerang content that’s relevant to your audience.
Showcase Yourself Completing Work
All you need to do to create a Boomerang is tap a button, but pressing the record button is only a little piece of the puzzle.
The real job is finding something interesting to capture, something that can immediately get your audience’s attention, something novel.
Where do you start?
Continuously being creative about a product or service can be challenging, especially if you’ve been working on it for a while.
To get started, put yourself in your consumers’ shoes and ask yourself, “What would I find interesting about this product or service?”
Completing an interesting element of your work can do the trick. Here are some examples:
- Marketing for a restaurant? How about capturing the chef adding seasoning to the dishes?
- If you’re marketing for a clothing designer, you can show the models walking down the runway or capture the designer sketching.
- Marketing for an artist? Record that final brushstroke across a painting.
There is no right or wrong here, but it’s important to understand that simplicity can help get your message across.
A great example of this is how Benefit Cosmetics used the Boomerang app for Instagram.
First, they clearly got the “keep it simple” memo.
They decided to capture a model putting on mascara, choosing to focus on the results of their product because that’s important to their consumers.
When putting together content ideas, think about your consumers and what would nudge them into buying or at least getting excited about your product.
Show Off Your Work Culture
When thinking about content ideas, don’t limit it to only your product or service. Sometimes your audience wants to know more about what’s happening behind-the-scenes.
The Boomerang app allows you to showcase the workplace culture of your brand. Are your employees having fun in the office? Does your brand have a light and fun energy that you want to share with your audience?
Capture these moments because they can help you create real connections with your market.
An example of a great behind-the-scenes moment is this fun and charming Boomerang from Cosmopolitan.
There isn’t a magazine in sight, and Cosmopolitan doesn’t sell bubblegum (last time we checked), but this clip still got thousands of likes. What’s the appeal?
First, it’s about the motion. We can’t help but focus on the bubble as it grows to the point of almost popping, and then gets smaller again. It instantly grabs anyone’s attention.
More importantly, this playful and fun moment endears and connects the brand to its audience.
Demonstrate Your Company’s Altruism
It’s easy to assume that you need a lot of money to make a difference, but that’s not always the case. Even if you own a small company with considerably less turnover than your competitors, you can still make an impact.
Do you feel strongly about making a difference in your community? Does your team sometimes get involved in volunteer work over the weekends? Is there a particular cause you’ve been passionate about for some time?
Whatever the case, you can create a Boomerang and show your company’s compassion.
Consider the following ideas:
- Your team arriving outside your local charity organization
- Giving food or apparel to the needy
- Any other special moment that shows your commitment to making a difference
Show Users How to Do a Task
If you recently added new features to your product, or if you have a complicated software system, why not show your users how to use it?
They’ll appreciate seeing this, and it might be the final push to encourage people on the fence to make the purchase.
A great example of this can be seen in the Boomerang below.
Verge decided to use Boomerang to show off Microsoft’s Surface Book laptop.
In just a quick second, consumers can see how the product looks and how to assemble the screen and keyboard.
If you bought the product and were struggling with this, that’s good for you.
If you’re a fan of the brand or are looking to purchase a new laptop, you might also start wondering about the interesting new features the product has. This video shows you can find a Boomerang moment in any situation.
Show Off Your Product’s Beauty
When it came to showing off their product, jewelry brand Diamond Mansion kept things simple.
They knew placing their cushion-cut, double halo ring under the right lighting would grab their followers’ attention.
Check out the Boomerang below.
This clip works because the brand understands its market and what they want to see: a beautiful, sparkly diamond ring.
You don’t have to complicate things by trying to convey too many messages at once. Boomerang clips are too short for that. Just keep it to one, simple idea that’s relevant to your market.
Conclusion
As you already know, when it comes to social media marketing, a lot goes into creating the right content on any platform.
In addition to planning and creating content, there’s also the element of engaging with your audience, building trust, and keeping them engaged, not to mention competing with thousands of other brands that want your market’s attention.
It’s important, therefore, to use trends to diversify your content.
Creating mini one-second videos can be a fun and exciting addition to your feed. It can also give your audience something to remember you by.
When creating Boomerang video clips, remember to always think about one idea or message you want to convey.
Keep things simple, be creative, and have fun while creating new content for your audience to consume.
How have you used the Boomerang app for your marketing?
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