Galveston.com Greatly Expands Its Social Media Presence & Site Interactivity with Instagram

[ September 7, 2012 ] - Galveston.com & Company, creator of the official website of Galveston Island Marketing and Tourism, is pleased to announce a new live source for Galveston Island photography for its flagship website, expanding its current social media presence.

The new feature utilizes Instagram, a "fun and quirky way to share your life with friends through a series of pictures." A free photography app available for both iPhone and Android devices, Instagram allows you to snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image into a memory to keep around forever. According to Instagram's website, the company imagines a world "more connected through photos."

How the feature works is fairly simple. Say a visitor to the Island takes a photo of Galveston's Seawall with Instagram. Using a keyword hashtag to label the photo - in this case, #GalvestonSeawall - the image is then automatically included in the Seawall Instagram section on both Galveston.com and Galveston.com mobile. Thru the use of RSS ("Really Simple Syndication") feeds, Galveston.com is easily able to include a number of continuously-updated photos based on a variety of tourism-related topics, including beaches, The Strand, annual events like Mardi Gras, attractions like the Pleasure Pier, and more.

According to Instagram, the app currently has over 80 million registered users, who have shared nearly 4 billion photos. It is distributed via the iTunes App Store and Google Play, and very recently was purchased by Facebook for approximately $1 billion in cash and stock.

Galveston.com & Company is one of the first tourism websites in the United States to utilize the service to promote tourism for both web and mobile.

Along with social media channels on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Foursquare, and YouTube, the new Galveston.com Instagram Photo Album will allow the company to engage with visitors and tourists by showcasing instantaneous photos as they're uploaded to the web.

"Without question, the Digital Age is dramatically changing the way would-be visitors to the Island get their tourism information," said Jim Cordell, Galveston.com & Company's Vice-President, said. "Any time we can enhance our visitors' interactive experiences, it's another venue for us to extend Galveston Island's - and Galveston.com's - presence on the web."

"Since photographs are proven to inspire and evoke emotion, Instagram is a perfect complement for people visiting the Island," Galveston.com & Company President Lee Roane says. "That's why we're already utilizing Instagram for our Photo Contest already underway for January's Galveston Restaurant Week, another Galveston.com production we're very proud of."

Millions of people use social media across Texas and the world, and its use is growing exponentially each year. Galveston.com's social media hubs continue to open the door for visitors and residents to easily follow Island event and tourism information.

Instagram
Galveston.com's Instagram Photo Album allows visitors to showcase their mobile photos on both galveston.com and galveston.com mobile by simply labeling their Instagrams with designated hashtags. The section may be found at galveston.com/photoalbum/.

Pinterest
Galveston.com's Pinterest Hub allows visitors to view Galveston Island scenery while reading brief descriptions of island businesses, attractions, events, and more. Visitors can then share these "pins" on their own boards, via Facebook, Twitter, and more. The page may be found at pinterest.com/galvestoncom/.

@GalvestonCom on Twitter
@GalvestonCom highlights Island events, with tweets about those things visitors to the Island want to know when planning their vacations. Tweets also feature oficial City news and alerts. As an added convenience to Galveston.com visitors, the website also offers a "Twisitors" Center, which features tweets from local attractions, businesses, and restaurants.

Facebook
Galveston.com & Company's Facebook page enables visitors and residents to get all the information they need in one place and share it with friends. Galveston.com's Facebook page features photography by Vadim Troshkin, videos produced by Galveston.com and The Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, an interactive forum, and more. Visit the page by visiting facebook.com/galveston. Galveston.com & Company fully integrated Facebook throughout its website in 2011, allowing site visitors to comment on and "like" literally thousands of topics, businesses, and attractions.

Tumblr
Galveston.com & Company's Tumblr site is a blog that publishes a broad collection topics that are important to visitors to Coastal Texas, like things to do, lodging opportunities, living on the Island, planning conventions & meetings, and more. The site features surf reports, exclusive photos and videos - and site visitors can easily share them by reblogging. Users can submit questions, read recent Tweets, view Galveston.com's Flickr photostream, and much more. Visit Galveston.com Tumblr at galvestoncom.tumblr.com

Foursquare
Galveston.com & Company's foursquare site features lists and tips for a wide range of Galveston Island attractions, restaurants, and entertainment venues. Whether visiting The Strand or cooling off at Schlitterbahn, we make it easy to find out more to do across the Island. Visit foursquare.com/galvestoncom.

YouTube
Galveston.com & Company's You Tube channel features literally hundreds of videos in a variety of categories, including general Galveston tourism, attractions, events, lodging, outdoor recreation, arts & entertainment, and more. The channel is also used to host high-definition b-roll clips for use by local and national media outlets to promote Island tourism. The channel is located at youtube.com/galvestoncom.

About Galveston.com & Company...

Galveston.com & Company, Inc.is a destination marketing corporation based in Galveston, Texas. The company specializes in destination portals, as well as online lodging, cruise, parking, and transportation reservations; and event ticketing via its proprietary DestinationNext™ software. For more information, contact Galveston.com & Company at via phone (409)763-8676 or email at websites@galveston.com.

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