1. One page Summary
Marlena Schmitt and Jerry He
What is Photo Sharing
Photo sharing is when a user shares his/her photos with others by publishing or transferring
digital photos online. It started in the 1980s and developed based on the Internet and technology
development. Now, Photo sharing is the way people show their life preferences online. The hospitality
industry likes using photo sharing because they can display a product or destination without having to use
words. Two popular websites for Photo sharing are Pinterest and Instagram. On both of these Photo
Sharing sites, customers can view photos from businesses and also share their own photos for businesses.
This helps businesses learn what customers want and what they are already doing. Businesses can then
supply customers with what they want based on the demand Photo sharing sites like these supply.
Examples of Photo Sharing
The W Hotel chain is a luxury brand that takes pride in keeping an “Independent feel” while still
maintaining the reliability of a chain. The W Times Square created a Photo Sharing contest, urging
Instagram users to take photos and submit them via hash-tag #WDESIGN. They are doing an excellent
job embracing the trend so that consumers would actually use it and they were able to give to their
community by providing a place for photographers to showcase their work. The W Times Square hotel
now has a permanent connection to Instagram and many of its users.
The Neemrana Hotel is an Indian organization which restores ruins and turns them into heritage hotels
which are called non-hotels. They introduce their non-hotels to the consumers by using their Pinterest
page. What is great about using the Neemrana Hotels Pinterest page is, not only do customers get a
photographic introduction to what these hotels are, but they get an extensive customer review at the same
time. They do have lots of problems in using Pinterest. The company cannot gather too much follower
and hard to become famous.
Businesses outside of the hospitality industry, Burberry and Drake University are both using Photo
Sharing websites to post information and communicate with their customers as well.
Photo Sharing Analysis
We interviewed Manager Kristin, of Log Jam Bar and Eatery. She said they do not use much social media
to deal with their marketing, but it is useful when they want to get their employees involved and
communicate with their customers.
Businesses that use Photo Sharing websites can reach potential target markets that they would not be able
to reach without Photo Sharing. Businesses can also use visual images to persuade customers to buy a
product or go to a certain destination, and usually having an image available makes customers more
comfortable in making a decision. Lastly Photo Sharing helps open another line of communication
between businesses and their customers.
Photo sharing is related positively to Customer Satisfaction, Marketing Research, Consumer Buying
Behavior, Marketing Segmentation, and Internal Marketing.
Photo sharing will rise even more than it already has when new social media sites are developed. They
will help businesses learn about the demands customers have and help meet those demands. They will
help create new target markets, and help businesses understand those target markets better. When a
business can successfully manage a Photo Sharing site, they will become extremely successful.