With around 80 million regular users, the Instagram platform has become very popular with brands to communicate on their products. This new marketing tool allows companies to develop their popularity with the target and to increase their visibility on the web.
The social media is based on the photo-sharing process which can be linked to a destination, to the culture of an organization or directly to the products/services of the brand. It promotes the brand’s image and values by creating a link with the customers in a mobile and creative way.
This strategy is especially very trendy in the tourism industry which relies on visual communication to attract customers and create a desire.
More than just a marketing tool, this visual platform can highly contribute to the traffic and revenue of a brand, especially for hotels. Indeed, the hospitality industry catch up the trend to reach a broader audience. According to Digital IQ index, their presence on the social media increased by more than 4 to reach 82% in 2013.
The Starwood group is a good example of hotels which integrated the photo-sharing feature in their global strategy. The Starwood’s profile gathers more than 40 000 pictures of the hotels a month, captured by the guests staying in one of the 1,150 properties of the group. It does not only link the customers with the hotels but also creates a commun interest and connect the whole community around the world.
Moreover, as many social media that altered the way companies are communicating, Instagram reinforces the word of mouth and creates a low or no-cost marketing tool for the brand, easy and playful.
However, the importance is not only the presence on the platform but the real interaction that the brand will create with its target. Some as the Four Seasons group, encourages their guests to express themselves by downloading their own personal pictures. This enhances the customer’s experience by projecting themselves and being an actor of unique moments. This is a way also to reinforce their loyalty to the brand.
Following the trend, others took advantage of the popularity of the media to create their own product. In Sydney, an Instagram hotel just opened: the 1888 hotel which has been built around the photo-sharing process. The travelers are invited to capture some of their moments at the property and post it on its Instagram profile. Even more, if their picture has more than 10,000 followers, they will enjoy one free night! The hotel, which also provides an Ipad and free wifi in each room, did not hesitate to implement a visual communication strategy to promote its service.
Even giants as Disneyland has been seduced by its power of attraction.The company became active in the mid of 2013 and already gathers more than 80K followers. According to the Nitrogram's analytics for Instagram, the #disneyland hashtag totals 2.3M photos posted.
This article shows how Instagram is changing the tourism field and highlights the strategic vision in adopting this tool in its global communication. This social media is certainly the future technology for our industry but also will create many jobs related to the community management.
Sources:
May-Lisa Vézina (June 2013). «Instagram: un allié mobile pour l’industrie touristique». Réseau de veille en tourisme
May-Lisa Vézina (Septembre 2013). «7 astuces pour intégrer Instagram à ses activités marketing». Réseau de veille en tourisme
Johanna Cox (February 2013). «Hotels embrace Instagram». L2 The Daily
Unknown (December 2013). «How Instagram and Pinterest are changing the hotel industry». The San Jose Mercury news
Emilie Vignon (Octobre 2013). «Un hôtel Instagram ouvre ses portes à Sydney». L'Echo Touristique
Pictures retrieved from the FourSeasons Instagram profile and from GIZMODO Digital Lifestyle.
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