Selfie Day is coming up on June 21. Collective sighs. We hear you. Selfie culture is huge with social media users around the world posing, pouting and filtering their photos. But can this obsession put to good use? As a content marketing agency, we’re looking at how brands can use the selfie phenomenon to their advantage. Happy Selfie Day – A Look At Selfie Culture in Marketing.
And… Pose: The Selfie Stats You Need to Know
We’ve all seen selfies on our social media feeds. We’ve probably even posted more than one ourselves…. Charlotte.. Kelly…we’re looking at you! But just how selfie crazy has the world got? Here are the stats:
- Google reported in mid-2019 that its Android devices take 93 million selfies per day.
- Smartphone brand HONOR found that Europeans are taking more selfies than ever before with the average European taking 597 selfies per year.
- People in Spain take the most selfies with an average of 728 per year (that’s more than 2 per day), while Italy comes in second with people taking 718 selfies per year.
- Men in the UK and Netherlands are more selfie-obsessed than women. Shocked? Well don’t be as males outpace females by 11 selfies per week to 9.
- Authentic content is preferred over anything too staged. Indeed, 63% of the 5,750 Europeans surveyed by HONOR said they’ve turned to posting more natural photos with 74% of Spanish selfie lovers embracing the #NoFilter trend.
A World Of Selfie Trends
While the very first smartphone to have a front-facing camera was Sony Ericsson Z1010 in 2003, it wasn’t until Apple’s iPhone 4 and the HTC Evo 4G introduced selfie cameras in 2010 that the selfie craze started to gain traction. And since then, selfie trends have taken the world by storm. There was the #nomakeupselfie trend which raised £8 million for Cancer Research in just 6 days back in 2014 and now selfie videos are proving popular. If you’ve been on Instagram recently, you’ve probably seen your best mate, favourite celeb or Aunty Betty using specific filters such as Which Disney Character Are You?
It seems we’ve some kind of incessant need to generate content. It’s like we’re all looking for additional forms of entertainment (rolls eyes). Every day is selfie day because selfie love is real. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at brands rocking the selfie craze.
Sukie Hairdressing
Spreading brand awareness is an important part of marketing. The more people hear about you, the more biz you’re likely to receive. UK-based Suki Hairdressing embraced the selfie trend asking people to upload a salon selfie to Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #SukieSelfie. The incentive? A free haircut.
Why we like this:
- Online instructions are clear and to-the-point
- There’s a prize incentive
- Salon-based pics help to promote the business
- All winners are celebrated, encouraging people to join in the following month
Evolving Physiques
Fitness brand Evolving Physiques might be a small business with just short of 2,000 followers on Instagram. But their social media efforts are admirable. While addressing the ‘crazy’ state of the world, Evolving Physiques lifts spirits with a fun Selfie Challenge.
Why we like this:
- It creates a sense of unity, bringing people together during times of uncertainty.
- The prize incentives are worth fighting for and are business-relevant which will encourage people to come back to the Evolving Physiques gym.
- All entries must tag Evolving Physiques and use specific hashtags to be in with a chance of winning. This spreads brand awareness and gains traction for the competition.
- There’s a very specific deadline encouraging FOMO
On a similar note, we’re also giving a shoutout to ASOS who have also been proactive with their online efforts during Corona times, uplifting the spirits of those in quarantine. While asking people to snap their ASOS-inspired, at-home looks, they in turn received a whole bunch of selfie loveliness.
Kylie Jenner – Stormi Filter
Selfie culture is huge on Instagram with many brands now using branded filters to create a buzz around product releases. This is exactly what Kylie Jenner did to promote her latest beauty collection inspired by daughter Stormi. Via the @kyliecosmetics Instagram page, fans can play around with the various butterfly effects designed by Dubai blogger Sophie Katirai.
Why we like this:
- It’s creative and encourages a selfie-loving generation to experiment with different filters, which in turn promotes the Kylie Jenner brand and Stormi Collection.
- To access filters, you have to follow the brand’s Instagram page. So, having a selfie-related filter can up your follower numbers.
- Pictures taken using filters can be easily shared on social media, again boosting brand awareness.
Kylie Cosmetics is not the only brand to be utilising such features. To promote their new buildable mascara, @guccibeauty has released a brand-new Eyes-O-Matic Instagram feature promoted by Dani Miller. Miller is renowned for producing a Gucci lipstick range despite having a less than perfect smile. With this filter, a headpiece applies the mascara for you – and you can take an awesome selfie once done.
Lush Cosmetics – #NationalFaceMaskDay
Another way to embrace selfie culture while marketing your brand, is to take note of special calendar dates, particularly national events as there’s a whole lot of them. National Facemask Day, for instance, inspired Lush Cosmetics to get creative with a campaign that essentially said – use our facemasks, post a pic, win a prize. The brand even handed out facemask freebies, with the point of this campaign being to spread awareness rather than to go in for the hard sell. Of course, the ultimate hope is that people will fall in love with your products and come back for more. Nice Lush, nice.
The campaign also resulted in a bunch of organic marketing across social sites like Twitter.
Why we like this:
- It’s fun and not overly promotional. By taking a more humanistic approach to marketing, you can build a closer bond with your followers.
- The campaign inspired organic, user-generated content which promoted Lush Cosmetics in a more authentic way.
- In-store sales techniques including a ‘free facial’ were in line with the rest of the campaign, promoting consistency and creating a positive on and offline experience.
Top tip for marketers: When people reply to your selfie initiatives, don’t forget to respond. Increased engagement draws consumers in and helps them think positively about your brand.
Opus Agency – #DollyPartonChallenge
One thing to remember is that selifes aren’t just for your consumers. You can also give your brand a boost by getting in on the action yourselves. And that’s exactly what the CEO of Opus Agency did with the #DollyPartonChallenge. By keeping up with social media trends you can generate timely content and become more relatable to your followers.
Why we like this:
- It’s current, fun and very much on trend
- It adds character to the brand as well as authenticity by featuring the CEO
- It shows your brand is up on the latest fun challenges – important for agencies
Need help with your marketing? Get Socially Sorted and contact the Contentworks team today. We offer everything from social media management to articles, videos, whitepapers, e-books, PR, website text and more. Enjoyed reading Happy Selfie Day – A Look At Selfie Culture in Marketing? Hit Share. Really enjoyed it? Hit share with a selfie!