Over 2 billion photos are now being shared on social media every day. Through the power of images, people are telling richer stories and giving their followers a truer lens into their world in real time. There is a reason why Instagram and Snapchat are the fastest growing social networks today – Millennials are experts at telling stories through photos and many do so at every opportunity. Whether it’s a music festival, a hiking adventure or pictures of their pets, they reveal interests, passions and beliefs through photos or videos to the world every second of every day, and it shapes how they are perceived and understood by their friends and followers.

So how does this impact those marketers trying to make sense of it all? In short, it’s a massive, untapped opportunity as photos reveal unmatched insight that can help personalize and strengthen the relationship between their brand and these consumers. Although most brands today have implemented some type of filtering system to capture social media posts that have text relevant to the brand, most of them are still trying to figure out how to capture and translate the right photos into meaningful, real-time insight.

For many leading marketers, logo detection has become the first step in getting value from photos – discovering brand advocates, influencers, and capturing rich user generated content. This translation of logos into text gives marketers instant access to those consumers who are passionate enough to share something about the brand (both bad or good) and sets up invaluable moments to amplify or rectify depending on the circumstances. The impact of earned media is incomparable, so finding those people willing to carry the torch or being able to solve a problem in real time can be one of the most effective ways to use photos on social today. Logo detection is a powerful first step in the translation of imagery into actionable insight, and the tools available to do so are getting better and better to make this happen reliably.

The next evolution of image recognition for marketers is even more compelling and its applications are limitless – the ability to translate 3D objects, experiences, or other images through complex image tagging. Through the power of cognitive computing, everything from motorcycles to baseball games to airports can now be discovered in real-time through social media.

For example, a pet food company can now discover the millions of passionate pet owners who share photos of their pets every day but who otherwise go undetected in the absence of a key word in the post or a logo in their photo. The power of cognitive computing now allows a marketer to identify that it’s not only a photo of a dog, but also the specific breed of dog. Empowered with this insight, the same pet food company could now provide more helpful tips on what diet is best for a Husky, Labrador, Pug, etc., instead of just promoting their brand broadly. Ultimately, this insight enables a highly personalized, very relevant, incredibly targeted experience for the consumer where everyone wins. Imagine an airline getting instant access to all of the people taking photos of terminals, airplanes, or the VIP clubs to ensure they do not miss a beat while their most important travelers are in transit. Hundreds of thousands of people at airports are sharing photos every day and most are missed altogether. Yet, it’s a great example of “here and now” and the next step in sophisticated social marketing.

Social media not only brings humans closer together, but it also has the potential to bring brands closer to consumers and to humanize them in ways that breed loyalty and trust like never before. If done the right way, this linkage ultimately makes marketing more relevant. Progressive marketers will see this opportunity and work with next generation social media platforms that can effectively translate any photo into meaningful insight for the betterment of both consumers and their brands.

David Rush (@davidmrush) is the founder and CEO of Earshot, a precision-based social media marketing platform that is changing how brands can discover and acquire new customers through social media. Learn more about Earshot at earshotinc.com and follow us on Twitter @earshotinc.