Take your #ThrowbackThursdays marketing strategies to a whole new level and make your throwback posts rise above the others with Google’s latest PhotoScan App.
A week ago, Google launched and announced a new app called PhotoScan designed especially for digitizing old photographs. This new photo tool which is free for download for both Android and iOS transforms any camera phone or tablet into a portable and instant photo scanner. With this free app, you can now share glare-free throwback photos even without the real scanner.
How Google’s PhotoScan app works
Usually, we take photos of our old printed photos to try to digitize them for cloud backup, social media sharing, etc. However, taking photos of our photos using our cameras or mobile phones cause unwanted glares. But with PhotoScan’s use of computational photography, you can now have glare-free digital copies of your old photographs.
According to Jingyu Cui of Google Photos, PhotoScan is an app where “photos from the past meet scanner from the future.” This great mobile photo scanning app produces crisp digital copies of your old prints in just seconds by detecting its edges, straightening the image, rotating it to the correct orientation, and removing the glares.
To get started in scanning your printed photos using the PhotoScan app, you just need to:
- Download the app for free from Google Play or, the App Store;
- Open the app upon installation and hold your phone over any printed photo;
- Hover over the four circles shown through your viewfinder,
And, you’re done! It’s that easy. A digital copy of a precious old printed photo is now ready for one of your best #ThrowbackThursday posts. More than that, you can now save copies of your old photos to your gallery, an external drive, or a cloud.
#ThrowbackThursday posting tips
Now that you have great digital copies of your old photos through Google’s PhotoScan app, it’s now time for strategizing on how to use them in your mobile marketing strategies. Do more than just riding the throwback trend, rise above the others.
If your brand has already been established for a long time and has a rich history, you have a great advantage. However, if you are a tad newer brand, you can still devise other creative ways to join the #ThrowbackThursday trend. See below suggestions.
For already established brands:
- Post old photos of your old office, first store location, founders, products, logos, print ads and posters, and other historical and significant places, people, and events related to your brand and business.
- Share throwback photos of the customers from your yesteryears. If you can, find old photos of old customers who are still loyal to your brand or business up to this day. Post these #TBT’s back-to-back with their present photos still using your product or service.
- Share throwback photos of the significant ‘firsts’ in your business history.
- Pair #ThrowbackThursday / #TBT images with fun yet relevant facts about your business.
For newer and starting brands:
- Share old or childhood photos of your business’s employees with a few interesting facts about them. This way, people can build a more personal relationship with your brand.
- Post behind-the-scene photos of when you were just starting your business. Even with just a short history, you can let people into your brand’s story.
- Post old inspirations or vintage versions of the products you’re selling now. If you’re a phone seller, for example, share #TBT photos of vintage phones. If you’re a swimsuit brand, share vintage beach fashion photos and locations. Be creative.
- Join the holiday trends online. Post throwback photos of that holiday while still being relevant to your business.
Whether you’re an established or new business, ‘now’ is always the perfect time to start collecting precious photos, ads, videos, or any related materials you can share in the future.
But, above all the tips and suggestions enumerated above, make sure always to include the #TBT and #ThrowbackThursday hashtags to be seen and discovered by your audience.
Partner Google’s PhotoScan app with the #ThrowbackThursday marketing tips enumerated above and lead the #TBT trend online!
