Before instagram and snap chat were introduced, the platform that wanted the world to keep a blog of moments captured on their cameras and show off their best pictures and videos to the whole world without paying a dime was none other than FLICKR.

Even if they wanted to privately share photos of their friends, family and kids across the country it was all possible with this photo booth.

Many people however thought that FLICKR was restricted to just social purposes and it could not be utilized in a better fashion- for a start they need a revision of thoughts!

What is FLICKR?

Created by a small Canadian development team in 2002 it was just after a year that FLICKR was acquired by Yahoo. Unlike many other photos sharing sites this one offered exciting features to its users and the cohesive community kept the enthusiasts engaged inviting users from across the world in flocks. This service is really easy to use as it allows you to get photos from your camera into account via little uploader app, that can conveniently be installed on your PC or Mac. Once it is installed, photo sharing becomes a swift process. This uploader can also be used to create albums for your pictures.

Some basic terms for new users:

Why FLICKR is so convenient to use is its self-organization method. Once you upload your photos there is no need to invest time and efforts on titles and folders to sort them, instead tags can be used. These are short identifiers which can later be used to categorize and search pictures. FLICKR users shall also know that apart from tags, uploaders can also add short descriptions called “notes” that describe the feelings or circumstances linked to those shots. The great thing about notes is they don’t really get in the way of viewers who don’t want them. Different notes on the same picture can be used and also other users can add notes to the pictures. Notes however shall not be overlapped and shall be easy to see.

Geotagging is another special way of tagging photos along with their location. To geotag any photo all you need to do is just click “Place this photo on a map”. This pulls up immediately a new line that opens up on a large map. Location can also be easily added by typing it into the search bar situated in the top right-hand corner. Once you are able to locate your spot, just drag your photo from the bottom of the screen and place it to where the map pointer is. After doing this you can always have a clear and better visual representation of all your photos from around the world using Mappr.

Sets in simple words are albums where you can upload multiple photos and pictures. As a free member you are allowed to have up-to just three sets. For pro members unlimited sets are available. Sharing is the only motive of this photo booth. This is the only reason it is embedded with tagging features so that other people can find and enjoy your photo library. Though Flickr does not provide much sharing options, it however gives the opportunity to embed, which allows users to upload and share thumbnail previews in blogs, and social networking platforms like MYspace. The best part about FLICKR lies in its community. The themed groups allow users to contribute to the pictures as each group is open to any feedback from its members. Themes are not necessary; it is totally the choice of users. Each group has an individual forum that allows its members to chat about trends, topics and pictures.

How to market business using FLICKR?

Now,FLICKR is a brilliant way of advertising your services and products, but there are few things that shall be kept in mind – Some community guidelines in particular. For a start it is completely against the terms of use, to use FLICKR/yahoo services for any commercial purpose.

There are few ways to market your business in a smart manner. Let’s see to each of them separately:

Use your profile to promote:

It is not allowed to use pictures and photos for commercial purposes but no restrictions exist with reference to your profile. FLICKR asks users to describe themselves allowing them to provide links for their website too. You can play really smart here , instead of focusing too much on the sales pitch one can provide maximum information about the product or business that has to be marketed. If the need of buyers is considered more than personal benefits, it will add up to the credibility of your business. Using your company logo to make the FLICKR icon is also a strategic way of free of cost advertisement.

Upload quality content:

By content here means pictures which you share with your viewers that directly relate to what your business is all about. Take for example a cosmetic company. The company would always upload pictures and photos of beauty product and they can really make use of these images. For example A great way of marketing could be their customers posting pictures that show how great the results of the cosmetics on their skin and hair were. A general contractor for example would post pictures of their construction (homes,buildings, sites). A food processing company would post pictures of the back end process, how the food is processed, how it crosses various stages and how the company takes ultimate care of the hygienic conditions. This could also be a direct way of increasing credibility of their products and brands.

Incase you don’t know :FLICKR too has passed several advancement stages since its creation. The recent Activity Feed collects your friends’ and familys’ most recent uploads with activity on your own photos; all in an exquisite design and allows you to share and interact right at the moment on the page. The new slideshow mode that elegantly portrays and showcases your best photos lets you simply lean back and enjoy your precious moments without using your finger.

FLICKR makes use of perfect facial detection technology that ensures that the key elements in every photo are enhanced. As everything was going on the smart phone and apps were just another way of making money, FLICKR decided to take a huge step too. They introduced their apps in iphone and android. That was again a huge success factor that let their users play more with the photo sharing site-anywhere anytime.

Descriptions matter:

As discussed before you get to write something for each post. This could be used in an effective manner if you really plan to promote your business products. Take for example a bottle of perfume for women you just introduced in the market. Now you could be informative about it, and explain to your viewers what the new scent is all about. Pease note that the hard sell shall never be the aim; things will never work out in that manner. For example,

• A sales pitch description could be: Available in an affordable price on all stores you will love our new fragrance. This is the best floral mist we have introduced for our customers; it is a must-have. We offer exciting discounts on all bottle sizes.
• A good and informative description could be: This new scent has to be your favorite. This light floral mist will keep your spirits uplifted for the entire day. If you really can’t carry the big size bottle a small 30 ml shall be a perfect accessory for your hand bag. Grab it before the promo offer finishes, you will not regret buying it.

This is how you can grab your target market on FLICKR; it just has to be a game of words. Also you can very easily show off your customer reviews by sharing their feedbacks on your profile. Remember to make splendid use of tagging in your pictures, where you can use company name, and web address to drive traffic to your company website. Keep in mind that if you really are after the local traffic you can add in city names where you are doing business.

Joining the right groups will make it worthwhile:

For a business to succeed it is important that you follow the right track. FLICKR has like a mountain of groups that relate to almost everything. You have to find your niche and stick to it.Running a bakery shop? You can find multiple bakery related groups. Looking for classic cars? Search for antique cars and see how many results will appear. Are you into home made products category? Search for it and you will see how many options pop up. There is almost everything on FLICKR, beautiful and mind blowing ideas, suggestions and pictures that let you have some new and fresh insights. Also if you have some uncertainties about your products or services you can always seek advices and suggestions from your community members. And if you only want the local audience to respond, searching and tagging for cities and nearby places will make this possible for you.

From FLICKR to website and vice versa:

All this while I have been saying, link your photos to your website and let users reach to your company web address. Now I ask you to do the vice versa, just link from your website to your FLICKR photostream as you don’t want to miss out any prospective buyer. One of the major reasons for doing this is the ability to keep your visitors intrigued. Those who visit your website will definitely want to see more from gallery so FLICKR can be an impressive catch. Another major reason is that search engine crawlers will follow a prominent link from your website to your FLICKR photo stream, once this successfully happens, you will have more matches for direct Search engine users.

Be active:

Just like it is important you stay updated on face book and twitter to know what’s really happening around, you will have to interact on FLICKR too. You have to be an active member of the community. You can comment on other photos, add them to you list of favorites and reply to posts and comments from your group members.

Some don’ts that you have to avoid:

Firstly refrain from Spamming! Don’t stuff linked keywords into photo descriptions and your comments. Avoid pasting your URL on every snap on your profile. You don’t have to turn-off the community instead you have to stand in like a successful diva and form your own league.

Synopsis:

There are a million apps and tools out there that can really help you out in your marketing campaigns. But to this day the most successful platforms are without doubts the social networking forums and sites. Consumer dynamics are shifting and so is their method of evaluating a firm and its brands. Long gone are the times when price was the only driving sales factor. People are now giving more priority to quality and credibility of the brand. Credibility is very clearly related to social media presence, one can always negate rumors and keep their customers engaged using these forums. Plus pictures can speak a thousand words; all your customers need is a visual representation of the products they will be spending money on. With tools like camera roll and uploader, FLICKR has enabled its users to revolutionize the way users upload, organize and share every photo. 100 GB of storage capacity for every FLICKR account is just another FLICKR benefit not many people know of.

The team has been working hard to satisfy its users with continuous upgrades and attractive and exciting features. May be who still isn’t on FLICKR should at least give it a try and explore photo buckets while relishing free of cost advertisement and traffic on company website!