Flickr is home to over five billion of the world’s photos and is, without doubt, the most effective way to store, sort, search and share your photos online.

For business, quite aside from eliminating the need for expensive photo management software, Flickr can also be a valuable branding tool and a great way to engage with staff, customers and business contacts.

Here are a few quick ideas to get you thinking …

Capturing customer endorsements. One of the most effective ways to secure a new customer is through an existing customer's recommendation. By encouraging your customers to upload snaps of your product in action, displayed in a home, being worn or of the customer proudly showing off what they’ve created with it, you can create a great library of customer endorsements. With permission, this can then be a valuable free resource to tap into for use in online and offline marketing collateral.
Telling a more inspiring story. Sharing behind the scenes pictures of your business processes, really adds colour and depth to your brand. Capture how creative your team are, the work that goes in to your product, what inspires you, show your attention to detail, your expertise. Or give a little insight into the people behind your product. All this helps you to build the picture that you want to build in the minds of your customers, whether that’s safety, originality, quality or even just demonstrate the fun that can be had with your product.
Sourcing free seasonal images. The effective use of good photography in your marketing can really lift your business onto a new level. Ensuring your images are fresh, high quality, seasonal and timely can be expensive. This is very often the case for visitor destinations, particularly around the holidays and when seasons change. By inviting visitors to share their snaps with you, whether that’s snaps taken on an autumn walk around a local activity centre or a pic of a delicious mince pie they’re enjoying in your café or restaurant, it is possible to very quickly build up a library of interesting, seasonal shots.
Sourcing good stock photography. Flickr is great for sourcing free stock photography which you can use online, offline, internally or externally. Just be sure to carefully check any copyright restrictions and always include a photo credit. We source all our comms2point0 photography through Flickr’s US national archives collection and, for us, it works a treat.
Engaging your staff. Flickr can provide a great opportunity to involve staff in your marketing activities – give them a camera and ask them to take shots of projects or meetings they’re involved in, hold a photo competition or create a 'day in the life' photo project of one of your key staff. Ask staff to capture moments which demonstrate your business values or moments from staff conferences. Set up a Flickr group and invite staff to join. This rich store of images can be used to add interest to online and offline internal communications activity – and possibly even external activity too.

Are you already using Flickr for your business? If so, open a thread on the chat page and let us know how it's working for you. And if you aren't? Take the Flickr tour and start building your latest, free business resource today.

photo credit

Flickr is home to over five billion of the world’s photos and is, without doubt, the most effective way to store, sort, search and share your photos online.

For business, quite aside from eliminating the need for expensive photo management software or suppliers, Flickr can also be a great business development tool and a great way to engage with your staff, customers and your business contacts.

Here are a few quick ideas to get your thinking …

1. Capturing customer endorsements. One of the most effective ways to secure a new customer is through an existing customers recommendation. By encouraging your customers to upload snaps of themselves enjoying your product, showing off what they’ve created with it, you can create a great library of customer endorsements. With permission, this can then be a valuable free resource to tap into for use in online and offline marketing collateral.

2. Telling your story. Sharing behind the scenes pictures of your business processes, really adds colour and depth to your brand. Capture how creative your team are, the work that goes in to your product, show your attention to detail, your expertise. Or give a little insight into the people behind your product. All this helps you to build the picture you want to build in the minds of your customers, whether that’s safety, originality, quality or even just the fun that can be had with your product.

3. Sourcing free seasonal images. The use of good photography within your marketing activity can really lift your business onto the new level. Ensuring your materials are fresh, high quality, seasonal, timely can be expensive. This is very often the case for visitor destinations, particularly around the holidays. By inviting visitors to share their snaps with you, whether that’s an autumn walk around a local activity centre or a pic of a delicious mince pie they’re enjoying to your café or restaurant, it is possible to very quickly build up a library of shots you can draw on in the future.

4. Sourcing good stock photography. Flickr is great for sourcing free stock photography which you can use online, offline, internally or externally. Just be sure to carefully check any copyright restrictions and always include a photo credit. We source all our comms2point0 photography through Flickr’s us national archives collection and we think it works a treat.

5. Involving staff. Flickr can provide a great opportunity to involve staff in your marketing activities – give them a camera and ask them to take shots of projects or meetings they’re involved in, hold a photo competition, create a day in the life photo project of one of your key staff. Ask staff to capture moments which demonstrate your business values or moments from staff conferences. Set up a Flickr group and invite staff to join. This rich store of images can be used to add interest to online and offline internal communications activity – and possibly even external activity too.

So, don’t delay, take the Flickr tour and start building your latest, free business resource today.