During the first days of being a local guide, I was just randomly sharing photos and comments about a place, a business entity, a historic site et al. When I started traveling around Europe and finally lived in Brussels, Belgium, I realized how important it is to be one of the local guides and check other local guides reviews because it helped me decide where to go or where to eat especially when you live in an area where hospitality is not at its best.
I love doing photography for my social media accounts but more than that, I made sure that I share them together with my reviews of the place in google maps and most of the time, I try my best writing a detailed review because I thought that it makes it more credible than just giving the stars.
Being a newcomer in Belgium, it was hard to find interesting places to go BUT thanks to fellow local guides, I was able to find ways how to immerse myself faster in the local community. I remember I found this salon in my area, and there was no decent picture of it on the map. I took some and uploaded it and then gave a good review. Now, the owner and I became close friends and you have to book one month in advance because he has so many clients. I told him that I posted photos on google for his business, he was not aware about what local guides are as he said he is not techie, but I showed him the photos and explained how it works. He was thankful to me about it and that’s a fulfillment.
I posted a photo of a drink for a bar in Luxembourg (attached), after a few minutes, the owner used my photo as one of the main picture of their business. That for me is such an achievement because in one way or another, it makes the business attract more customers and make them curious what the place has to offer.
It might be funny, but whenever I visit a new place, part of the routine is take a photo of the area or a place or a food before exploring or eating it because being a local guide, I took it as a responsibility. Because of that, I was able to make friends with the staff and their managers and owners of different places. One review with a good photo can change the decision of someone who wants to visit a place, eat in a restaurant, attend an event and so many other things.