Pictures are like the tractor beams of sci-fi films circa 1978. They grab our attention, draw us in, and (hopefully) cause us to click and explore. I think it’s all a part of our increasing desire for instant gratification – why read a poignant paragraph when you can be instantly blown away by a photo? Whatever the cause, high-graphic content is on the rise and is probably a big reason that the little photo app Instagram’s price tag featured NINE zeroes when it recently sold to Facebook.

If you aren’t familiar with Instagram, here it is in a nutshell:

Fast, beautiful and fun – marketers couldn’t ask for more from their visual content. And this app can be utilized for populating websites, social media and even printed pieces with gorgeous photos. Even better, diving in and creating a presence for your company on Instagram is another effective SEO booster.

And much like the support apps that social giants Facebook and Twitter are spawning (think HootSuite and Wildfire), Instagram, too, is now being showered with bells and whistles by app developers. One example that we LOVE is Instaframe, a photo-enhancer deluxe that allows you to crop, “custom frame”, and add text, effects & graphic elements to your Instagram images. Check out this example below (please note, we do not encourage the exploitation of children, though it can be funny):

We at DMA and The Core are certainly going to take advantage of these two Insta-apps in our blogging and social endeavors. How do you see them working for businesses?

Posted by The Health Nut (Brock Nemecek)

Tags: Brock Nemecek, HootSuite, Instaframe, Instagram, photo apps, visual content, Wildfire App

Posted Friday, July 6th, 2012 at 12:01 pm and is filed under All, Blogging, Marketing Tools & Trends, Social & Mobile Media.