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There is an episode of Mad Men where the creative team is brainstorming about ideas for a Popsicle campaign. The group has warm feelings for the cold treats. Sentiments such as, “I love popsicles!” and “My mom would always break them in half, so my sister and I could share.” float around the room. A couple of scenes later, we witness Peggy Olson, the ad agency’s rising star copywriter, do what she does best. She reaches the audience on an emotional level by unveiling a picture that perfectly captures the brand’s story. Facebook introduced an enhanced photo app this week, providing a refined tool for brands who want to strengthen their stories using images.

According to the Facebook Blog, the photo sharing tool has been upgraded with an accelerated uploading capability and larger images (720 pixels to 960 pixels), giving users quicker access to more refined pictures. The viewer has also been redesigned to make images pop. This is wonderful news for users and marketers alike. To say photo sharing has skyrocketed in the past few years would be an understatement. The chart below gives us a visual of just how big Facebook’s photo library is.

Sites such as Flickr, Snapfish and Shutterfly have emerged, as well as photo sharing apps, like Instagram. Smart phone usage continues to spread like wildfire; the devices have been instrumental for Instagram’s rise to fame. Mobile photo sharing apps have increased the popularity of sharing images in real time.

The possibilities for taking classic storytelling to the next level become abundant with photo sharing. For brands, it’s the difference between telling a story and being part of a story as its written. It’s an interactive experience. Social Media allows us to listen and create conversations with consumers, getting to know them on a more intimate level than has ever been possible. Photo sharing is an opportunity for your customers to pass your story on to their friends through tagging and sharing, expanding your convertible audience.

A prime example of integrating photo sharing into a campaign is the return of the Pepsi vs. Coke cola wars. Pepsi recently launched an integrated campaign with The X Factor. Part of the campaign was a packaging promotion that tied Pepsi packaging with the show The X Factor through a digital photo contest promoted on Pepsi’s packaging. Consumers were challenged to take a digital snapshot of the Pepsi and X Factor logos together, and send it in for a chance to win a trip to Los Angeles to watch a taping of the show. The contest was in real time and provided an interactive experience for the consumer. It was also an attempt to gain traction ahead of their rival, Coca-cola, who sponsor Americal Idol.

There are many clever ways to use photo sharing in your storytelling and integrated communications plans. Facebook is ahead of the game in realizing the importance as we move forward in the digital era.

Post written by Tia Marie Kemp aka @TiaMarieKemp. To learn more from fbadz.com, become a fan!

On September 22, Facebook developers, entrepreneurs and innovators will gather at the San Francisco Design Center for possibly the most anticipated conference of the year: f8. This is where everything that has been “in the works” makes a big splash. This is where the fun starts.

Perhaps you’re one of the lucky invitees. At the very least, I know you’ve seen a few of your friends “like” f8. In fact, you’ve probably developed some serious “liking” skills yourself this past year. One of the biggest announcements in the history of the web happened at f8 2010 when Facebook made their vision of the “Open Graph” public. The Open Graph has changed the way we socialize and do business on the web. Because of this, we can now build a website with plug-ins that allow us to link to our Facebook connections. We can “like” a song on Spotify, and instantly share our favorite new jam with our Facebook friends. The list keeps growing as the Open Graph continues to revolutionize our online experiences. For in-depth information about f8 2010 click here.

So what is everyone whispering about leading up to f8 2011?

I mentioned how much easier sharing music has become with streaming services, such as Spotify, being connected via the Open Graph. Facebook has been aching to integrate music for ages; therefore we are expecting some of the excitement at f8 2011 to be around a big music announcement. There are rumors that Facebook may partner with some well-known music streaming services. Some other pieces that come with incorporating music and Facebook could be a possibility of buying songs with Music Credits, a virtual currency, as well as adding a music dashboard to the interface. These additions would have the potential to generate ad exposure.

An announcement regarding the iPad app will likely be released at this time as well. Instagram’s ride in popularity seems to have folks thinking that a new photo app will be introduced at f8. The app would feature filters, similar to Instagram. Read more about Facebook’s mobile photo app here.

Finally, there is that Spartan project we keep hearing about. Spartan is a platform that is aligned with all of the mobile growth that is happening these days, and is being considered a “Mobile Safari” completely based on HTML-5. This will give Facebook a great amount of control in the mobile space.

We look forward to whispers turning into shouts as f8 2011 unfolds.

More information related to this article can be found here:

http://fbadz.com/2010/04/what-f8s-announcements-mean-for-you-page-admins/

Post written by Tia Marie Kemp aka @TiaMarieKemp. To learn more from fbadz.com, become a fan!