The first-ever selfie was taken in 1839 on a daguerreotype camera by Robert Cornelius. But Mr. Cornelius took that selfie out of curiosity as he just wanted to see what he looked like in an old-fashioned portrait centuries ago. Unlike today, selfies are mostly for fun and critics believed that others do it for attention and self-validation.
However, as technology continues to improve, taking selfies is also becoming popular not only to humans but also to the marketing world where the advent of selfie-driven hashtags paved the way for e-commerce. These selfies offered an alternative for brands and marketers who wanted to connect with their target audience.
So let us take a look at how we can maximize our selfies.
Selfie As A Promotion
In a world where attention seems difficult to gain, a selfie provides the perfect method for people, and brands to be seen and recognized. Digital marketing relies on this strategy to engage more people and encourage them to get the product or service. What companies usually do is create a contest through any social media platform then ask people to take a selfie with the product. The winners will then be announced via the company’s page or website. This is a good strategy because people will be obliged to visit the page or website regularly for updates.
“Social media is inherently self-promotional, so these types of campaigns capitalize on the instinct to self-brand and share,” says Sue Reynolds, a social media expert.
Selfie For Campaigns
Selfie campaigns are already widespread among big organizations. The ‘Selfie Shootout’ launched by Turkish Airlines gained widespread acclaim on Youtube. Another brand encouraged customers to participate through its ‘Donate a Photo’ campaign, which gives $1 to good causes for every photo people upload to its site. This technique hits two birds with one stone: you promote the brand, and at the same time, contribute to a certain organization of your choice.
“It was incredibly simple and completely cost-free and we gained many new clients,” a businessman said after he was asked about the effectiveness of selfies as a marketing strategy. That’s true. Taking a selfie has no cost: you just need your cellphone or your camera to do it so it’s easy for people to join every activity that a certain company is holding. Fortunately, contests or promos like that on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram do not ask for payment unless you opt for its paid services. So companies can use the platform anytime, and anywhere they want.
Selfie For Real
Another advantage you can get out of selfies is their natural sense of realness. Companies need to go for a friendly angle and having an ambassador with a friendly face and a product in hand could be one of the best endorsements you could have. Others hire social media influencers to have selfies with their products. But these people require talent fees or an exchange deal so if you are on a strict budget, you can ask your customers to be your ambassadors. All they need is to submit a photo as proof along with their positive review or testimony.
Selfie is A Trend
Selfie use in marketing keeps your brand relevant to what’s trending. People always have a lot of fun things to do on social media. There are some selfies with hashtags that gain more attention than other posts. So when that happens, join the trend and allow that opportunity to promote your product and at the same time use photography for effective visual marketing.
Selfie Humanize Brands
Faces or better yet, people interacting in an intimate and emotion-driven scenario make your marketing strategy more personal. To reach a younger audience and connect with them more while giving your brand a more human touch, selfies are a great tool. Also, this strategy gives importance to your clients through your product.
One brand that successfully used this technique is Lays Chips: #SmileWithLays Campaign. Lays Chips says: “We believe that smiles are powerful. So we’re on a mission to spread smiles and make a difference along the way.”
This mission was to spread smiles in 2018 with their catchy hashtag #SmileWithLays. The brand released customized bags featuring infectious smiles to create a ripple effect of smiles throughout the world in a life-changing cause. Selfie marketing for a cause doesn’t have to be a fundraising event—it can exist simply to raise awareness for a certain issue or topic that talks about its consumers.
Conclusion
As you can see with our world today, people want to be a part of some positive social cause, so sharing personal stories and photos can be a powerful tool for your customer to promote your products. Authenticity is something everyone craves these days, along with body image causes. If you want more people to connect with your brand, then consider using selfies as a marketing tool.
This strategy attracts attention for a cause and brings socially-obsessed Millennials to e-commerce brands. The most successful cause-marketing selfie campaigns are those that have a creative hashtag, a connection of the brand to your campaign/cause, and clear instructions for Selfie Contests.
In 2018, some selfies didn’t come along with Social Medias’ rules and regulations. Many photos that contain unnecessary and obscene selfies were found as a result of too much freedom we get on our end. Despite its negative side, it’s evident that a selfie can be a great tool for change especially for business owners and companies. If we do it the right way, it can be a method for engaging and connecting people to your brand, while also building a more sophisticated experience into your social media channels. Plus, it will significantly help with brand awareness and traffic to sites. Take advantage of this social phenomenon and you can get a lot of people interested in your business.
Want to know more marketing strategies to boost your brand? Get in touch with Tulumi.