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It does not take a lot of vision to see that directories are going to be the next ones to jump ships and integrate more and more pictures for their listings.
Instagram pictures feel real
As opposed to pictures taken by professionals, Instagram pictures tell the genuine story of a place.
How is it this bar on a Saturday night? How crowded is it? What kind of people go there? Are they having a good time? What kind of drinks? Of lightning?
Instagram pictures tend to depict the place as it is in a live situation, not edited, raw.
Users will be able to project themselves in the environment depicted and make better decision for themselves because they will grasp the reality of the place.
On the other hand, professional shots are to restaurants what photoshop is to models: the plates might look beautiful but they seem still, life less, atone.
You will bring much more value to your users providing them with user-generated pictures that will help them in their decision-making process.
Let me illustrate my point with a quick example. Here are two pictures of the New York-based taqueteria Toloache.
Tacos from Toloache - Time Out - Photograph: Jakob N. Layman
Tacos from Toloache - @kwestenhiser - Instagram
These two pictures look amazing, right? But which one brings more information about the actual food you can expect to find at Toloache?
The user-generated picture from Instagram, of course. That's the kind of information your users will be looking for.
Of course, there are many ways to integrate pictures to your directory website. With WayWay, you can start integrating Instagram pictures easily.
What about you? After reading our article, would you go for professional or user-generated pictures?
Answer our micro-poll on Voice here and comment on this article!
How to Instantly Enrich Your Content With Beautiful User-generated Pictures
Deliver high user experience with quality pictures from Social Media
Remember when you were a kid and read picture books but only cared about the pictures? We're naturally attracted to pictures over text. Pictures tell stories that speak to our heart.
Did you know that pictures get 94% more clicks than text links on Social Media? They almost double traffic and engagement.
Yet, most directory websites lack pictures - both in quality and quantity. Here is where you can find them.
1. Ask venues to upload pictures
Asking the venues featured in your directory to upload their own pictures sounds like a good place to start.
However, experience shows this method doesn’t meet its full potential.
- First off, small businesses are constantly solicited to integrate new online offerings (coupons, sponsored ads, etc.) so their patience and time is very limited. That makes the hit rate to get pictures from them extremely low.
- Secondly, they might try and portray their business in an unrealistic way when they send over pictures.
Meet the “Empty-Restaurant Effect”
2. Ask customers to upload pictures
You can ask your users to generate content directly on your website; but if you are not already doing so successfully, it is going to be a long shot before you have enough quality content.
But creating a community of engaged users takes time and numerous efforts. Even Google is struggling to source content from its users!
3. Use Location APIs
Many APIs give you access to databases you can use to integrate pictures on your platform. To name only a few:
- Google Places API
- Yelp API
- Foursquare API
- Instagram API
Connecting to those APIs is not an easy task. You first need to have the required engineering resources to be able to connect to them. Also, matching databases of places that can have different names and location is a real challenge.
4. Use WayWay to easily integrate millions of user-generated pictures
Every day, 60 million pictures are uploaded to Instagram. And a large amount of them were geotagged in venues - restaurants, bars, clubs, salons, etc.
Instagram has all the pictures you need to pump up your website with beautiful user-generated pictures.
And they are right at your fingertips!
With WayWay, we've worked really hard to give you direct access to a live feed of Instagram pictures with a module that lets you match your entries with our database of venues.
Our API optimizes your visual content and organizes the feed in a structured way (showing your users pictures of food, people or ambiance) so it creates a smooth user experience for your users to consume the amazing wealth of content you'll be providing.
And you, where do you get the pictures you need for your platform?
Looking for a good deal, great times and a drink? We used WayWay to search for "#happyhour" in San Francisco and found these bars. Give them a try and let us know what you think on Twitter or Facebook!
Download the app to find other bars and restaurants near you.
If you're in New York, looking for somewhere to get some vegetarian cuisine, we have the list for you! Even if you're not participating in the meatless way of life, these restaurants have great food that you're sure to enjoy!
Shanti Shack ( 85 N 3rd St, Brooklyn)
Top hashtags:
#vegetarian
#vegan
#health
Beyond Sushi (229 E 14th St, Manhattan)
Top hashtags:
#vegan
#sushi
#whatveganseat
Pure Food and Wine (54 Irving Pl, Manhattan)
Top hashtags:
#vegan
#raw
#healthy
Champs (176 Ainslie St, Brooklyn)
Top hashtags:
#vegan
#whatveganseat
#vegansofig
Psst: these are great places to check out on other days of the week too!
Happy Wine Wednesday! We can't think of a better way to celebrate getting over hump day than with a glass of wine. We have your guide to the New York wine scene right here. You can also hop on WayWay to find other bars near you.
UPTOWN
The Tangled Vine Wine Bar & Kitchen (434 Amsterdam Ave, Upper West Side)
Barawine (200 Malcolm X Blvd, Harlem)
Osteria Cotta (513 Columbus Ave, Upper West Side)
UVA Wine Bar & Restaurant (1486 2nd Ave, Upper East Side)
The Best Places for Matzah Ball Soup in New York City
After waking up this morning to another bout of snow and frigid temperatures, nothing sounded better than a bowl of matzah ball soup.
If you know New York City at all, you know it's not in short supply of great diners and great matzah ball, so the question became, where do we satisfy this craving? Using WayWay we found the best places in Manhattan to check out.
So! Put on your coat and galoshes and treat yourself to some delicious soup!
1. Katz's Deli (205 E Houston St, Lower East Side)
Also great for:
#pastrami
#reubens
#pickles
2. 2nd Ave Deli (162 E 33rd St, Kips Bay)
Popular hashtags:
#pastrami
#kosher
#cornedbeef
3. Jack's Wife Freda (224 Lafayette St, SoHo)
Good for:
#brunch
#coffee
#eggs
4. Carnegie Deli (W 56th St, Midtown East)
Top hashtags:
#pastrami
#cheesecake
#cornedbeef
5. Kutsher's Tribeca (186 Franklin St, TriBeCa)
Known for:
#latkes
#dinner
#dessert
Not near any of these places? Download WayWay to find other great options near you.
Somedays nothing tastes better than some good ole mac and cheese! Ditch the boxed stuff and head to one of these restaurants that are known for their great, cheesy goodness! YUM!
