The Social Gooze

I recently had the chance to hang out with my cousin Steven in Old Town Pasadena. We started out at Starbucks- and then we got hungry. That’s when we hit up Brothers’ Pies n’ Fries. They’re a fairly new pizza joint in the area with tasty pizza slices and coupled with various kinds of seasoned fries. Good place. Very much recommended.

Aside from the good food, something my cousin said really struck me. When noticing the restaurant’s logo on their wall, he said that he’s seen it some place previously. Being the social media kind of person that I am-taking pictures of good food places that I eat at for one thing- I remembered that I uploaded a picture of the Brothers’ logo to my Instagram profile 32 weeks ago (according to Instagram that is).

[By the way, my username is “therealchrisguzman” if you want to follow me.]

Brothers’ Pies n’ Fries has a catchy logo. Instagram is a mobile application. Put the two together, that means that my cousin initially became aware of Brothers Pies n’ Fries on his mobile iPhone through Instagram. It’s just one concrete example of how mobile photo apps are playing an important role in generating brand awareness of various businesses.

There are some people who are not the biggest fans of Instagram, but there’s one thing that’s for certain.There are others who want to see photos of their friends’ life experiences. Facebook does a good job making those experiences enjoyable ones. With a rapidly growing user base, however, Instagram does a competitive job of amplifying those visual experiences in creative ways.

Why do you think Facebook bought Instagram for a nearly $1 billion?

People are going to snap pictures of things that catch their eye with apps like Instagram. It’s a popular practice now. And their friends will see such pictures.

In a world where people are becoming more visually aware and are documenting their experiences on social networks, the visual coupled with exceptional customer experience could go a long way in expanding the advocates of one’s brand.

I could say without a doubt Brothers’ Pies n’ Fries has made my dining experience a pleasant one. Every time I see their logo, I’m reminded of the care that they take to make their customers feel special.

I’m sure my cousin feels the same.