Social Saturday: Newfangled Instagram menu reflects new trends

The other day on Hotel Check-In, we talked about a new concept - the Instagram menu created with customers' photographs of their meals. New York restaurant Comodo's in the early stages of trying out this newfangled, new-media menu.

Well, I found the idea so refreshingly different and relevant to today's social media savvy diners/travelers, that I asked loyal Hotel Check-In reader and social media researcher William "Lin" Humphrey, Jr., to share his thoughts with us.

Humphrey's a Ph.D. student in marketing specializing in business strategies related to social media and mobile marketing at Texas Tech University - and someone who I talk to regularly via Twitter mostly about social media/mobile news and trends. He gets it.

You can call this piece the first in an occasional look at social media in hospitality that I'll run on Saturdays every now and then. Let's call it "Social Saturday."

Here's Lin in his own words:

'Food porn' a social media staple

"Comodo's concept is interesting because it takes a growing trend of user-generated content and leverages it as part of the transaction process (decision making).

There's actually a LOT going on with this trend. Since the early days of social media, particularly Instagram, "food porn" has been a popular photo subject.

Social networks have emerged around the consumption experience, including Foodspotting (a Foursquare-like app that shares images of food with a "Nom" for preferred options).

Interestingly, Zagat's app shows the convergence of user-generated content (Foodspotting photos) with expert reviews.

Food photos can reduce risk

When I visited London in January, I compared Yelp and Zagat, but found that Foodspotting was the tool I used at the point of purchase. Seeing the food reduces the risk of an experience I won't enjoy, and it's just fun to share the experience.

Comodo is the first restaurant I've heard of that's actively embraced user generated photos on a specific social network.

Research shows we trust our network more than advertisements or celebrity spokespeople, so it makes sense for a business to encourage photography and social endorsements. Expect to see more integration like this.

Now that Yelp is embedded in iOS iPhone maps and Google Places (now Google + brand pages) are in Google maps, it will be easier than ever to get recommendations and see user-generated food images.

Foursquare compelling tool

The final competitor here is Foursquare, which has moved to a "recommendation engine" showing places you might like based on past behavior and where your network has visited.

Where Yelp is the "War and Peace" review (LONG!), Foursquare is like the Twitter of reviews, short and sweet. Plus, now Foursquare is adding OpenTable integration.

I have a lecture that I've given to students that's just focused on location check-ins and the sharing of consumption. Other apps include GetGlue (TV/movies), Goodreads (books), Spotify (music), Fab.com (shopping). With timeline's launch, social is less about status updates, and more about sharing the experience of living.

Instagram, Foodspotting, and Foursquare facilitate this in Facebook's friction-less sharing concept.

Go out to dinner with your network

I tell classes that we no longer just go out to dinner with friends, we take our whole network with us.

As we share experiences, whether it's a restaurant or hotel, we're constantly giving and receiving feedback on our consumption experiences.

It's a fun area to research

Why hotels need to pay attention

Hotels need to be on top of this trend--it's the way of the future. Why?

1. By encouraging user generated photos, hotels have the opportunity to leverage their loyal guests as their social ambassadors. it's a very authentic way to market, and social media contacts don't question if it's a good camera angle or good lighting (like you might on a hotel website)

2. By encouraging the sharing of restaurant/bar photos, they can stimulate business from locals (which we know never hurts). As hotels go toward unique restaurant concepts, encouraging sharing can make or break whether the tables fill or not.

There's a cool case study of a company called BetaBrand that has mastered this. They give a $20 discount for people who send in photos of themselves wearing Betabrand clothes.

They send a link back to the person with a shot of them on the homepage. This email and link gets shared 20 times on average, and the CEO told me Friday they have insane redemption rate of the promo.

It results in acquisition and repeat sales - the Holy Grail of strategies.

If hotels embrace user-generated images, it becomes a very authentic way of marketing to a group that trusts their friends and their photos more than professional images with fashion models.

Now the next step is finding a way to reward the social share and crowdsourcing of images.

Readers: Comments?