Why Sharing is Actually Caring: Lessons Learned from Pacific Place’s Shared Snapshot

Ah, the warm joy of the holiday spirit! Imagine people gathering and children laughing as snow falls gently from the ceiling of Seattle’s Pacific Place shopping center. This jovial environment was perfectly captured on Instagram and posted on Pacific Place’s Facebook page. What was the result? Over a thousand likes and 176 shares – significantly more than the amount of Pacific Place page fans.

Thousands of filtered photos are circulating in the mobile world every day. Instagramming has become a daily ritual for many, as they endlessly snap and share their lives with the rest of the social sphere. Many companies and organizations have also embraced this trend because they recognize the potential of this sharing phenomenon. They are adopting Instagram as their core social media marketing strategy and as a result, are reaping the benefits of this wildly popular, picture-sharing mobile app.

So, why was this specific Pacific Place snapshot so widely loved by fans? Not only because it was a festive, holiday image, but also because it was relatable and familiar. People respond to what they can relate to – they think, “I was just there yesterday!” or “I miss snow in Seattle.” In some cases, other large organizations might share a photo if they feel this kind of special connection. This is exactly what happened when Visit Seattle shared Pacific Place’s photo on their page. The snowfall shot received an additional 860 likes and 119 comments from Visit Seattle’s 440,000+ fans. In other words: a single share succeeded in reaching thousands of untapped Facebook users who would otherwise not have seen the picture!

Instagram, a relatively newer member of the social-sharing empire, boasts over 30 million users, of which 7.3 million are devout, active users.

The app conveniently allows users to share #Instagram photos on Facebook as well. Pacific Place’s photo hype actually began when the sharing frenzy was transferred to Facebook and fans were able to engage, discuss, and share (some more)!

So, what? Why does this sharing phenomenon matter in the first place? Because it is the easiest way to expose your brand to old and new audiences. Just by sharing this photo, Pacific Place was able to reach thousands of new people without the large monetary investment. This is great for Pacific Place (and all companies who have a Facebook page) because it has left an impression – an impression that Pacific Place is a fan-friendly space where everyone is welcome to join, just like the location itself!