1. 2013
A Picture Speaks a
Thousand Words
A Deeper Look at the Growing Trend of Photo Sharing
Madeline Benson & AllisonGeelan
University of Wisconsin - Stout

2. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
1
Photo Sharing-As a Trend
With all of the technological advancements in mobile devices, businesses have found a visually
appealing way to market their business through photo sharing. Photo sharing is the transfer of a
digital photo that is posted online publicly or privately. With various photo sharing applications,
you are able to classify your photos as well as add captions explaining the meaning of the photo.
Photo sharing first started as personal use in the 1900’s and then advanced to a marketing level
for businesses in the 2000’s. As mobile devices and Smartphones become more prevalent, photo
sharing becomes more accessible with any social network or photo sharing website.
With Instagram, mobility is important so the user can create compelling experiences on their
mobile devices. Release of the IPhone 4 gave Instagram a higher performance camera that could
produce higher-resolution images, which resulted in more users. With Pinterest, it is all about
sharing visually appealing photos of the product you are trying to sell. Whether its food items off
your menu or a hotel suite, you want to make your product marketable.
Operating Impacts:
With hospitality and tourism, most of the target market is emotion based which results in a
potential customer viewing a picture and making an emotion driven decision. If the Hospitality
business has a decent camera and a good photographer, the company can showcase the business
and location in an attractive way. This impacts a business in many positive ways if utilized
correctly. Organizations use Instagram to post images that tell a story about their business while
making sure to not “blast their brand”. Engaging images have been proven to have more of a
positive impact with selling a product, rather than a slogan or statement about the product. With
Pinterest, it allows a unique opportunity for restaurants to engage their customers that has
interaction with an appealing image.
Finance:
Financially, photo sharing sites are either free and have advertising-supported media or you are
charged a fee directly for the use of that site. Instagram is one example of a free photo-sharing
website. When being originated, Instagram was not worried about making money, their team
focused on creating a marketable application. Their focus is mainly on building a community
with its user base by not chasing the dollar. In 2012, Instagram was sold to the CEO of
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, for roughly $750 million. From a marketing stand point, The CEO
of Instagram, Kevin Systrom, knew Facebook would help Instagram expand and also be
financially supported with ads that are advertised on Facebook(1). From another standpoint,
Zuckerberg made a wise decision of buying out what could possibly be one of his main
competitors and taking Facebook to a more mobile platform.
Operating Processes:
Pinterest is a pin board style photo-sharing application that allows users to sort pictures into
certain categories or interest. You can search anything from your favorite restaurant or hotel to a
popular recipe. You are basically bookmarking interests, foods and hobbies onto a pin board.
From a business stand point, a company can create an account of their organization and simply
pin the photos that best represent their establishment. There is also a text description of the pin
where the company can describe and explain the product being displayed. Instagram is an online
photo-sharing service where you are able to take pictures and share them on numerous social
networking websites. Promotional hash tags are used as a tool to help users discover specific

3. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
2
photographs, others users, and organizations. Businesses also use Instagram to post discounts or
incentives below the picture to encourage customers to be more engaged. (2)
Impacting the World
Case Number One: Double Tree Hilton Using Instagram-
This hotel uses Instagram to grow engagement and community with its general customer
base. It also builds a strong relationship between the guests and the hotel and they feel more
connected. Instagram is effective and shapes marketing because it’s all about “word of mouth”.
Customers love to share photos while traveling so the DoubleTree thought it would be a perfect
platform to grow their presence. The more talk and conversation about the hotel and its
amenities, the more clientele it will bring. With the double tree, they found it most effective to
use the hashtag application on Instagram to help users search for their specific hotel and
promotions.
This graph illustrates that conversation spiked on days when the sweepstakes were promoted
through other social networks using the dedicated hashtag. The doubletree approached Instagram
by generating more awareness and excitement for their old and new customers. By featuring
destinations, new property openings, and fun promotional activities, the double tree expanded
their cliental by visually showing them what they have to offer. The only improvement would be
more pictures of their property and amenities, rather than submitted photos from customers.
Although, customer interaction is important, they should not stray from the fact of what they are
actually trying to market. Otherwise, the Doubletree by Hilton’s Instagram account has been
very successful and marketed very well.

4. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
3
The blue line on this graph is displaying the follower count growth for the Double Tree Hilton’s
Instagram account. It has a total of 1, 126 users. Photo sharing impacts the hospitality market
because travel and tourism depends heavily on the use of word-of-mouth to spread opinions and
recommendations. Accounts= Double Tree by Hilton
Case Number 2: Is Pinterest Right for Hotels?
Pinterest is an ever growing part of the industry. Anything your heart desires could be
found on the webpage. The industry is slowly but surely warming up to the idea and how to work
with it. This article studies 4 different hotels all within a niche market over five weeks and how
consumers react to it. The findings were interesting and ranging as shown.
(Mitchell, C.)
There are a variety of answers here but throughout their study the have found some fairly
conclusive information. The main impact of Pinterest is imagery and beauty which are both huge
drivers in the aspect of followers. Pinterest is great for brand awareness but not for driving
revenue. As time consuming as it may be it still creates a flow of interest, as seen in the figure
above.
This was a very interesting case study to look at and think about. Just because you use
something every day does not make you knowledgeable about it. It was interesting to look at the
locations they chose and how the results came out. If I was to do it differently I would pick

5. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
4
locations that are similar niche markets rather than different. This would give the information of
what the viewers are actually looking at to a specific idea rather than a bunch of different ones.
The key to success may be to use this as a follow up strategy on either the highest rating or the
lowest rating hotel. Another step to the case would be to look more into why the research was the
way it is. What drove some sites up and some down? Some of the information just does not make
sense. How is the hotel with the highest following having the second lowest website visits?
Overall this study was intriguing and brought up a lot of good points but could easily create a
more in-depth case too.
Photo Sharing in Other Industries:
National Geographic uses Instagram to post pictures with the photographer tag,
promotional hashtags, and a caption explaining the post. This is another example that generates
conversation and “buzz” about National Geographic.
Pinterest can be found everywhere in the world. Pretty much any field could relate to
Pinterest. Any company could create a board or share a pin. Outside of the hospitality industry it
has a very practical place in fashion. There are hundreds of boards of various types of fashions.
It is easy for a company or business to create a look or outfit and post it on Pinterest. They can
learn and see if it is popular and being repined. It is a great tool for the fashion world, being that
it is such a visual industry.
The Future of Photo Sharing
Interview Results:
Hannah Broomfield a Food and Beverage Manager at the Terrace Hotel in Lismore
Australia is very aware of photo Sharing and what it does, has done, and will be doing to the
hospitality industry. She uses it both personally and so does her place of employment. She said,
“That old saying a picture does tell a thousand words is absolutely relevant and true in photo
sharing.” This is such a great way to look at photo sharing and what it is doing to our industry.
Outside of her personal use she comments on how her business shares all of their current
advertisements via photo sharing. She calls it, “an extension of our in-house advertising.” Any
brochure or poster could be just as easily found in the restaurant as online. This creates a
presence for the company in the virtual community. Photo sharing has become so important in
the industry that not using it is almost worse; this is at least the point of view Hannah makes. “It
has to be done well, or will make a business appear out-of-date or out of touch.” Obviously this
requires more time and attention, but it easily worth it for any business.
When asked if photo sharing is a positive asset to the hospitality industry she responds;
“It is a useful tool in that big tool kit of social media that businesses from all industries are still
working on how to use properly.” Once again she nailed it on just what is happening with social
media and photo sharing. We know social media has happened it is part of our lives, but photo
sharing is still new and gaining our respect as a trend. She then comments, “Hospitality is
ultimately about product and service, and photo sharing can be a big part of creating an identity
for your business, illustrating how good you are at providing service, and the quality of your
product.” This is exactly the point and process of photo sharing, but there are still negatives to be
found. “Everything is open to interpretation,” she says. Anyone can say anything on social media

6. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
5
and these sites can be very “democratic.” Users can post and say whatever they want: the good,
the bad, and the ugly.
Business Landscape:
The impacts of Photo Sharing are numerous and hard to speculate in some aspects. What
we know of now is that the trend is growing and changing with its users. “The landscape is
evolving quickly as content marketing replaces advertising campaigns and mobile merges even
more with social networks.” (Herbert, B.) We know that in the upcoming year “social media and
mobile will be inseparable.” Social media and photo sharing are becoming one in the same as
sites combine the social aspect with the photo aspect. Facebook has pictures and Instagram has
comments. They are becoming synonyms also in the sense that as you post a picture on
Instagram you have the option to post it on Twitter or Facebook as well. Photo Sharing is not
affecting just the mobile world it has a strong impact on the industry as well.
There are a variety of negatives and positives when it comes to what photo sharing has
done to the industry. The one large negative is the fact that all that information is just out there,
floating around. Anyone can post something on the internet and anyone can find a way to see it.
Applebee’s had a recent scandal involving a waitress taking a picture of a tip she received.
(Tishgart, S.) This picture and instance becoming so viral brought a negative light to Applebee’s.
Without the photo sharing sights this most likely would not have become so popular.
There are still many positives to Photo Sharing. This form of social media is becoming a
tool for multiple different kinds of businesses. Restaurants have the chance to post theirs
special,hotels can show a fabulous room, and event planners can post a picture of gorgeous event
setting. Having this access to the people is positive because it is another way to entice people to
use their product. Most people like to see what they are buying in this is a great way to do this. In
addition to companies posting pictures the consumers or customers can too. A couple goes out to
eat and has a fantastic meal at a brand new restaurant. Before eating they snap a picture of the
meal and send it out onto Instagram for all their friends to see. This is a positive marketing tool
for this restaurant; of course it could always go the other way too creating another negative.
Pinterest is such a positive tool for the hospitality industry. Hundreds of people go on Pinterest
every day and look at what other people, all over the world are looking at. According to
replinly.com Food and Drink are the most Popular Pins and also an extremely popular board, as
well as Weddings and Events being high up there on the graph as well.
Course Content vs. Photo Sharing:
1) The main relation between the course materials and photo sharing is the trends concept.
From what we have learned is that photo sharing is on the path we used in Trend
Assignment 2, Status Differentiation. At one point Instagram was just an idea, then it
moved on and caught on as a fad. Now as we have seen photo sharing is much more than
that and has become a trend and is quickly making its way to reality it seems.
2) Another relation between photo sharing and course content would be the changes and
transformations of technology and social media. Just in class we have experienced
several different types of teaching from the class room to online. Although this might not
technically be course content it definitely taught us about different types of technology

7. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
6
and how sometimes it just does not work out. The video websites were not yet trends and
still had kinks to work out just photo sharing once was.
3) As we have talked about a lot in class technology is a huge part of our world. We have
learned the variations and usages of technology throughout the industry and what it is
doing with the industry. This growing technology is a huge part of marketing and photo
sharing will ultimately impact it. We have studied how online business is a benefit to
buyers and employers and hopefully photo sharing will soon join the online world as an
essential businesses and marketing tool.
4) We have learned a lot about marketing and segmentation. It appears that anyone and
everyone is beginning to use photo sharing. There does not seem to be a true target
market. As social media has turned into hundreds of different targets there is not really a
way for photo sharing to be just one either. People use photo sharing for different reasons
weather it is purely social or to edit pictures. The people having these reasons are
everyone from teenagers to grandparents. Overall it looks as though there is not a true
target market for photo sharing.
5) The biggest difference between the course content and photo sharing is the lack of actual
marketing involved for the websites. There are no commercials, very few advertisements,
and just no sound marketing; yet these sights are growing tremendously and quickly. The
only true marketing campaign these sights have is their link to other social media sights
like Facebook and Twitter. Most of these sights allow you to post on both and tie them
together. Basically these photo sharing sights are growing and changing without much
marketing attention.
Keeping a Competitive Advantage:
Staying ahead of competitors and keeping a competitive advantage is a struggle many
businesses have and will continue to come across. The main condition of staying ahead is to
actually use the product. Businesses need someone who is focused and aware of what is
constantly going on within the businesses websites, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. Knowing how to
use these tools as what is actually going to make them tools. The best and most efficient way to
do this is to have someone who is in charge of social media outlets like this. It could be a new
position or worked into an old one depending on the businesses financial standings. This person
would be in charge of uploading pictures and responding to posts about the pictures. Their job is
to figure out what people like and to make sure that they are showing the company in a positive
light through these photo sharing options. All sorts of companies are introducing this position to
their work force. Just typing, “social media hospitality jobs” a plethora of links to job
applications and listings show up. As social media is a broad spectrum and not the focus of this
paper, by looking at these links it can still be seen that Photo Sharing sights are quickly
becoming a part of the term. The person in charge of this job has to know, and understand how
the social media world works and what it entails. This is not a position for someone to do on
their spare time or when business is slow. This person should be constant and persistent in their
use of the chosen photo sharing application or website.

8. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
7
Photo Sharing has constantly been growing and changing with the users. It has moved
from a fun application or website to a successful marketing tool. It is becoming a more and more
useful trend and someday soon maybe a complete reality for our world. It is hard to imagine life
without it anymore from websites like Pinterest, sharing what is beautiful and funny, to
Instagram applications where people can share their personal side. It will be important for photo
sharing to keep up with its growing popularity as technology is constantly taking over.

9. A Picture Speaks a Thousand Words
8
References:
Broomfield, H. (2013, April 17). Email Interview
Hannah Broomfield is a Food and Beverage Manager for The Terrace Hotel in Lismore
Australia. Although she is young in the industry she has a full grasp of hospitality and photo
sharing. I picked Hannah because she has a true passion for what she does and an exceptional
way with words.
Herbert, B. (n.d.). Top 10 Hospitality Industry Trends for 2013. HOTEL BUSINESS REVIEW:
Articles for Hotel Executives. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from
http://hotelexecutive.com/newswire/43113/top-10-hospitality-industry-trends-for-2013
Michtell, C. (2012, May 25). Case Study - Pinterest for Hotels. Milestone Internet Marketing -
Leader in Online Hotel Marketing & Promotion.. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from
http://blog.milestoneinternet.com/web-2/case-study-pinterest-for-hotels/
Pinterest Statistics, Trends, and Insights.(n.d.). Pinterest Directory and Stats. Find Top Pinners,
Boards, and Pins. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from http://www.repinly.com/stats.aspx
Rowe, M. (n.d.).How restaurants can leverage Instagram for marketing | Social Media content
from Restaurant Hospitality. Restaurant Hospitality Home Page. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from
http://restaurant-hospitality.com/social-media/how-get-most-impact-instagram
The Double Tree Instagram.BrandPowerpoint. 2013.
http://www.thedigitalroyalty.com/DoubleTree-Instagram-Brand.pdf
Tishgart, S. (n.d.). Applebee’s Scandal Inspires Good Tipping -- Grub Street New York. Grub
Street: New York Magazine's Food and Restaurant Blog. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from
http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2013/02/applebees-scandal-good-tip.html
(2)Ways to Use Pinterest for your Business. Tight Line Productions Inc.
2013.http://www.tightlineproductions.com/creative-ways-to-use-pinterest-your-business/
(1)ZuckerbergOn Instagram by Kim-Mai Cutler. Tech Crunch. Disrupt San Francisco, CA. 2012
http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/11/zuckerberg-instagram/