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Dip a Toe in the Social Media Waters

By Chelsea Junget

Flickr, boasting 36 million members, is a photo hosting and sharing site that allows users to create groups, tag a staggering 3.5 billion photos and video and share content across the world. It can be a great place to start dipping a toe in the waters of social media – as well as increasing your organization’s online real estate – Flickr will often come up in the top 10 of a Google search for a product name!

Here are a few examples of what other small and large businesses are doing on Flickr. Tom Bihn, a small laptop and travel bag manufacturer based in Seattle, has a rabid following. Customers upload photos of their bags to a pool. Bags are both showcased in far off-lands and unpacked to show how much gear they can haul. By encouraging brand evangelists to connect with one another and share solutions, Tom Bihn’s customers help share the brand story.

Active on Flickr since 2006, GM leverages their presence to showcase concept cars from the lab, share shots of industry events and maintain individual sets (groups) for their brands. GM encourages contacts to share photos of products on their “Photo of the Day” feature on the FYI blog by tagging them “gmfyi”, engaging owners and fans to share their GM experience.

Graco, the child-products company, not only uses Flickr to share product shots, but also to offer a slice-of-life from corporate headquarters. Because the key element of social media that makes it so powerful is authenticity, Graco shares photos from their family-friendly corporate Halloween and summer events, reinforcing the child and parent-centered brand image.

Related content:

1. Social Media and the Military – A Success Story
2. Social Media Marketing
3. 5 Rules for the Social Media Playground

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