Instagram is a social networking app, lunched in October 2010, where you can share photos and videos online. This app was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and was then acquired by Facebook for $1 million. It is easy to use and can make any one a professional photographer. The app is free to download and use, simply take a photo, add a digital filter and a caption with hashtags, upload and reach out to over a 100 million users. Instagram in connected to other social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr making it a huge platform for marketing all over the world. Hotels can use Instagram to market their hotel by photos or short videos. When putting a hashtag to your photo or video with your hotel 's name it will show up when some one else is searching for the hotel name. Many hotels invite their guests to help with marketing by creating photo contests, where you first have to follow the hotel 's account and then upload your own photo with your unique experience from the hotel and post it with the hotel 's hashtag. This is an easy and affordable way of spreading your brand, make it exciting for your guest by offering a prize such as a free meal in your restaurant or a free night stay at the hotel. The Four Seasons is one of the hotels that are using Instagram for marketing purpose, they have a total of 70 Instagram accounts for different locations all over the world, and that gives them 62,272 followers. Felicia Yukich the worldwide Social Media Manager for the Four Seasons says “Travel is so experiential, and the beauty of social media for a luxury travel company is you have the ability to virtually transport people to where you are. Then they want to really be there.” Last year the Four Seasons partnered up with the city of Toronto to create awareness about the reopening of their Toronto property. They created an Instagram contest where people were asked to visually show what
Cited: "Four Seasons Hong Kong Enlives Young Travelers with Instagram Campaign” Joe McCarty http://www.luxurydaily.com/four-seasons-enlivens-hong-kong-with-instagram-contest/?utm_source=hotelmarketing.com "Four Seasons Pushes Reopening of Toronto Property via City Imagery Contest” Tricia Carr http://www.luxurydaily.com/four-seasons-pushes-reopening-of-toronto-property-via-city-imagery-contest/ "Four Ways Hotels Can Use Instagram” http://socialhospitality.com/2013/02/how-to-market-your-hotel-using-instagram/#sthash.9Pcr8tm8.dpbs "Instagram is a Gift That Keeps on Giving for Hotel Marketers” VFM Leonardo http://blog.vfmleonardo.com/instagram-is-a-gift-that-keeps-on-giving-for-hotel-marketers/ "Instagram as Your Guide to the World” Jo-Lynne Shane http://www.musingsofahousewife.com/2013/05/introducing-instagram-as-your-guide-to-the-world.html "Three Ways the Hospitality Industry is Using Instagram” Debbie Miller http://maximizesocialbusiness.com/hospitality-industry-using-instagram-7905/ "5 Hotels Using Istagram 's New Videos to Show Off Their Products” Eliza Ronalds-Hannon http://skift.com/2013/07/15/five-hotels-using-instagram-video/ http://www.instagram.com