Presented by Cheetah
Over two billion images are shared every day across every corner of the web. Photos are uploaded in the millions to Instagram, images are pinned like hotcakes on Pinterest and snapshots are traded like stock that’s going out of style on Snapchat.
PhotoGrid, the most popular photo editing app on the market with over 300 million downloads around the world and 15 million daily photo edits, is taking advantage of the photomania. Sophisticated users and image-savvy marketers know that the quality of those social media images matters — particularly when it comes to maintaining that all-important overarching image across all your channels. Posting a poor quality pic, or spamming users with a series of them, will damage your standing, socially or at your bottom line.
However, the “enhance” button on the iPhone isn’t going to cut it any more for social media users, from grandmas to brands, teens to influencers, who are always on the prowl for ways to stand out from the crowd. They’re increasingly hungry for more ways to make their pictures pop.
PhotoGrid’s basic features are aimed at helping users go beyond the set of Instagram filters that even your mom probably uses. The app offers ways for users to stitch their photos into collages, as well as filters, stickers, and text options, and effects.
Now the company has released an update that they’re calling a “major upgrade,” powered by a combination of artificial intelligence, face recognition and machine learning technologies, and adding new stickers and filters. There are also expanded options to interact with other users within the app’s built-in social platform, designed to give it “a more customized and interactive vibe.”
These include:
- Rolling comments. These appear at the corner in every image shared within the app, and are intended to make the photo sharing experience more alive and interactive, creating an opportunity for real-time connection and storytelling.
- Personalized feed. The personalized content stream offers customized user and content recommendations.
- Intelligent photo-editing features. More trendy stickers and special effects will roll out including the Twinkle effect, which uses machine learning technology.
Users flock to the app because quality images dramatically boost engagement on social media. Tweets with images receive 150 percent more retweets than tweets without images, and on Facebook, a post with an image will get 2.3X more engagement. The age-old question, “How can I capture an audience with the attention span of a goldfish?” has been answered with the explosion of photo-first social media.
But the company behind PhotoGrid, leading mobile utility and lifestyle app developer Cheetah Mobile, has recognized the power of image-driven communication to create communities. With the release of the 6.0 update, the company is shifting PhotoGrid from just a photo collage maker to a major social-driven image community, now that image makers can share their creations, comment and converse with their peers.
“Many of our existing users edit photos on PhotoGrid then post on social platforms like Facebook and Twitter,” says Jill Shih, VP of product and user experience at Cheetah Mobile. “Now PhotoGrid offers global experience for people to express themselves, discover common passions, and stay connected through visual storytelling.”
But is it an Instagram killer?
Probably not. But it doesn’t have to be — and that’s not what they’re aiming for. Offering powerful social features to create communities is a tremendously successful marketing strategy leveraged by developers of games, and lifestyle and productivity apps across the board. With an already impressive download track record, slick site, and growing global popularity — not to mention the 1.2 trillion photos projected to be taken in 2017 — PhotoGrid is positioned for the long haul.
Sponsored posts are content produced by a company that is either paying for the post or has a business relationship with VentureBeat, and they’re always clearly marked. Content produced by our editorial team is never influenced by advertisers or sponsors in any way. For more information, contact sales@venturebeat.com.