When we think of Social Media, we think of the obvious like Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook...all digital sharing platforms where you can connect with your local friends or someone on the other side of the world. Try to look beyond the digital aspect of Social Media and imagine Social Media in a more tangible light (huh?!).
Not too long ago I was in a Denver salon and saw one of those marquee signs that hung from the wall and read ‘glow’. To a fault, I’m known to be attracted to pretty, shiny things, so naturally I snapped a photo. Not only did I take that picture, but I also put it on Instagram which included the geo-tag of the salon where that pretty, shiny sign hung. I immediately started thinking, what a wonderful world we would live in if every salon, grocery store, bowling alley, dentist office, etc. had the aesthetics to make it share-able.
My thoughts led me to do some research on the idea of creating aesthetically-pleasing spaces in a digital-sharing world and I found an article written by Holly Murphy about an Upper East Side ice cream shop called “Cool Mess.” The idea of Cool Mess was to not only create a fun, bright-colored space for it’s patrons, but to make it so immersive and interactive that people would have to really try to hold back from not snapping pictures. Holly writes, “In the height of hashtag culture, emojis and Snapchat communication, this space had to be more than just a nice picture. It had to be good—#instagood—a totally enveloping brand experience that is both cool and hot in equal measure. Of course the store should be beautiful offline, but how do you design a space that is carefully outfitted for shareable moments at every turn? And more, how can the space sell itself to the social media mavens whose social identity can best be summed up by the pictures on their feed?”
Social Media has already made a great impact on marketing across all industries, now that it’s flooded the digital marketing realm it’s starting to overflow into the real word. Social Media users everywhere are looking for their next great shot that they can throw up on their accounts with endless hashtags to show their unique perspective on a space that has most likely been captured by many others. Why not give them what they’re looking for? Once you provide something, they are bound to post it, hopefully including hashtags and geo-tagging to boost your business on digital and in turn, bring more people in. This is another classic example of turning your consumers into your promoters, creating free marketing.
Now, I realize that not everyone has that “Instagram” mindset. But with all digital marketing, if you’re not looking ahead, you’re already behind. Put yourself in the minds of your consumers and the trends they’re likely to follow in the future...and the futures of their children. We’re talking about children who know how to work iPhones at less than 24 months of age. Just sayin…
What is your position on creating a more social media-friendly environment, and more so, what’s your take on finding places that provide content for your next post as a consumer only? Would you rather go to the ice cream shop that is buzzing with flies with old and dusty framed photos hanging everywhere? Or would you rather go next door, to the ice cream shop that is filled with neon signs, interactive chalkboards and sticker masks on the bathroom mirrors? In my mind, the latter is not only prettier and shinier to look at, but it’s overall a better consumer experience.
Social Media users love to find unique spaces and share them
If you have a tangible space, make it aesthetically pleasing!
By expanding your digital marketing into the real world, you are creating free marketing from your consumers
As always, think like your consumer and potential consumer
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