Sharing Photos and Images

Chapter 9

WHAT IS A PHOTO SHARING SITE?

•Photo sharing sites let users upload photos and other images for public or private consumption, allowing them to comment, rate and tag the pictures.

History or Photo SharingPhoto

Sharing SiteAlexa GlobalTraffic Rank*

GooglePage Rank**

Date Started Description

Flickr 37 9 February 2004 Free upload 300MB of photos per month (Pro account available at $24.94 per year)

Photobucket 143 7 June 2003 Free, Unlimited Photo Storage (pro account available for $2.99/month or $24.95/year)

SmugMug 1,834 7 November 2002 Free trial, then packages from $5/month to $150/year.

Shutterfly 1,106 6 December 1999 Picture storage is free and unlimited.

SnapFish 2,792 7 April 2000 Free photo storage is unlimited, but to maintain your account, you must make one purchase per year.

Webshots 3,065 6 September 1995 Free (pro account available for $19.95/year)

Kodak Gallery 5,822 6 December 2001 You must spend $4.99 per year for 2GB. For accountsover 2GB, the fee is $19.99 per year to maintain your account.

PBase 3,889 6 August 1999 $23 yearly for 1,000MG of photo storage, $43 for 2,000MB, $60 for 3,000MB

Popular Photo Sharing sites, as of Dec 2011

Benefits of Marketing with Online Photos and Other Images

1. Showcase a product

2. Document offers

3. Influence buyer mood

Showcasing a product is most effective when the presentation is highly detailed.

Documenting Offers

Influence Buyer Mood

Additional Benefits

• Images can demonstrate a company’s values and beliefs which can persuade potential buyers without showcasing a product.

• Drive web traffic towards a product website.

• Photo market campaigns are low cost and low effort.

Disadvantage(s) of Marketing with Online Photos and Other Images?

Some companies shy away from distributing product images and specifications, fearing that their trade secrets will be uncovered.

ExampleBeauty of Nyn one of a kind custom earrings and accessories.

Marketing with Photo Sharing Sites• Determine the target market for images; Different photo sharing sites cater to

different clientele.

Demographic examples could include:

• College-age viewers

• Women

• Professional photographers and artists

Additionally…

• Nature of images should be appropriate for the platform used.

• Use of multiple photo sharing sites is a good idea to expand reach to different audiences

Stock Photos

• Stock photos are professional and staged photographs produced by picture agencies or photo libraries.

These photos are less likely to be shared on photo sharing sites than more unplanned and spontaneous images.

Photos can also be used to demonstrate knowledge about a business or industry. Direct advertising is banned on many image sharing sites. Therefore,

indirect promotion is normally an effective way to avoid overt “sales talk”.

Tags are a great tool to help distribute online images.

Tags help to organize images and group them by subject. They also help more people find photos in a search. Format of tags may be different across platforms.

Instagram Tags

Flickr Tags

Legal Permissions• Not every photo must be original content. However, when sharing unoriginal

images, it’s important to keep legal issues in mind regarding permissions and attributions.

• Permission is not just limited to commercial image sharing, but to personal image sharing as well. Personal permission is especially needed if the picture could cause harm, embarrassment or hurt feelings later on.

Not the boyfriend…

Commercial PermissionPersonal Permission

Future of Photo Sharing

• Facebook has increased convenience of sharing photos with friends.

• Offers free unlimited storage.

• Boosts photographic services by letting users share larger high-res images, tags, and keywords.