How many people do you know that take pictures of their food and post it? I see this all the time with anything from new clothing someone bought or is wearing for the first time, to someone getting ice cream with their children. Often times there is a hashtag or a reference to where those things came from. Thinking about it?……I don’t often take pictures of my food but if it looks amazing and it makes me happy, I might. If I am out for someone’s birthday, I might take pictures and post them and post where I was and who I was with. I may not use social media a lot and I do not post every little thing I do or place I go but on the occasion that I really think something is special, I might post about it. And that’s just me.. one person. How many people do this? It’s like free advertising and companies have encouraged people to do these things. Companies like the ones in this blogpost http://bit.ly/2tKk69k by Sophia Bernazzi. I can honestly say I have gone to a restaurant because someone posted a photo of their food or experience there and wanted to try it for myself. This is the definition of user generated content. A few companies in the article discussed prompted this Instagram interaction by offering incentives. The one that I enjoyed the most and had the most meaning to me was the campaign to get women to post the real them. Aerie had women post pictures unfiltered of them in their swimsuits using the hashtag #aerieReal and Aerie donates $1 to National Eating Disorders Association for every photo. This idea promotes their business, makes women feel better about who they are unfiltered, and the money donated goes to a great cause. What more could we ask for? Is there a specific place you promote just by posting your photos on Instagram? I am going to try more in the future to give the places I enjoy some love on Instagram.
Kacey White 