Flickr:

Web 2.0 is about socializing on the web world, which includes sharing various news, articles, jokes and pictures. Among all these, pictures are considered as one of the best medium to convey the message to the audience and are used in great deal in marketing. Flickr is one of the best places to share pictures and manage them. It is one of the easiest photo management and sharing application on web today. Flickr has more than 775,000 registered users, has 30 percent monthly growth rate, 19.5 billion+ photos and is the 5th most popular photo sharing site overall. The reason behind its popularity is its easy-to-use interface and social computing tools.

Opening a Flickr account is really easy, you need to sign in with your yahoo account, register for a Flickr account which is free and you can upload the pictures and manage them. You can also download the Flickr Uploadr tool to upload your pictures easily and of course faster. According to Rohit Bhargava, “Flickr is not just a community of photos, it is a community where high quality photography is appreciated.” So before you start off with anything, make sure you have good pictures with you. You can then join various Flickr groups and add photos there following their posting rules. Flickr group where like minded people join and share their creativity related to the group theme for example people who are interested in shoes, can join groups: Men’s shoes or shoes.com and many more.

How to market on Flickr:

You can use Flickr to spread the word about your company. The tool here is your pictures which need to be good enough to attract people’s attention. Here’s how you can make use of your Flickr account to advertise your product or service.

1. Flickr Screen Name: The Flickr screen name is the one that represents your account. It is the name that will be used with every photo you upload, attached with your comments, any message you post on the group discussion and everywhere else on Flickr. Since this name is so important you use your company’s URL as your screen name. By doing you are advertising your URL without much effort.
2. Flickr “Pro” account: You can get a Pro account to enjoy more benefits of Flickr. You can start off with the free account which limits your upload to 200 photos. The advantage of a Pro account is unlimited photo uploads, video uploads and a Pro icon next to your screen name and not to forget other benefits provided for the paid users.
3. Flickr Profile: The next step on Flickr is to provide more information about your company on your profile. You can do this by writing about your company in “Describe Yourself” box and uploading your company’s logo as the Buddy Icon. You can also give your website name and address making other members to easily reach your page.
4. Quality Photos related to your company: As I’ve mentioned earlier, quality photos are a must for Flickr account. You need to upload pictures related to your business for example if your company is about shoes, you need to upload pictures of various designs. People who are interested will hence visit your site to know more.
5. Tagging: Flickr has the facility to tag your pictures. It is important that you tag your photos properly. You can use various keywords related to your product for tagging. Make sure those are searched key phrases and are relevant to your images. It is likely that your image views will come from the people searching for these tags.
6. Groups: You need to join groups that are related to your product or service. There are many groups to choose from hence selecting the relevant one might not be that hard. You can also join groups related to your location. You can join discussions and upload photos to reach your targeted audience.
7. Flickr Community: Socializing on Flickr means joining group discussions and commenting on other people’s photos. Every time you do this, your name and the buddy icon will appear alongside, giving you more Flickr exposure.
8. Link Flickr from your site: At last but not the least you need to link to your Flickr account from your website. The visitors on your website might be interested on your photos as well. The other benefit of linking to Flickr account is that your website visitors might be Flickr account holders who might add you to their friends list and help you socialize more.

Flickr marketing might not work for all type of businesses but giving it a try will not harm anyone. It is important that you do not “spam” on Flickr or try to use hard sell method here. According to Flickr Terms: you cannot upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, “junk mail,” “spam,” “chain letters,” “pyramid schemes,” or any other form of solicitation, except in those areas (such as shopping) that are designated for such purpose. It is always better to know about their terms and start being creative on Flickr.