The Power of Selfie Marketing – Part Two

Be sure to read Part One of this series.

The best marketers are coming up with ideas to encourage customers to market their brand to their friends in fun and entertaining ways.  According to Nielsen, impressions are 3x the value of paid media as there are few things more valuable than referrals coming from people we know.

Ninety-two percent of people believe in recommendations coming from friends and only 47 percent and 33 percent believe in TV ads and banners, respectively (Nielsen Global Advertising Trust Study).

The easiest way to measure Selfie media vs. Paid media is through Cost Per Engagement.  At Socialtyze, we have seen our Selfie and influencer campaigns report CPE rates in the 20 to 30 cent range which is approximately one half to one third of what we see in paid media, not to mention Nielsen’s 3x in value of earned vs. paid.

As for impressions, it’s a little harder to measure, but one way to look at the analysis for Instagram is to tally the average number of friends (843) and use an estimated reach of friends.  Tap Influence estimates this number at 35%.

What are Best Practices for Selfie Marketing?

The Idea. Center the selfie around an activity or theme that is simple, fun, shareable and promotes your brand.  CPK’s What We Do for Love andDear Mom (pictured at right) campaigns above are good examples.

The Incentive. Provide an incentive to post and #xyzSweeps to encourage people to participate.   The best incentives are ones that money can’t buy, such as the Marc Jacobs Modeling Contest (see image at top).

Feed App.  Use a feed app that collects all the submissions in one destination (via a #), creating a community that allows you to display and promote all the submissions in a tab or microsite.

Content License. Set up the terms and conditions of your program so that you have the licensing rights to the posted content.   The more unique the URL, the easier it will be to claim the rights.

Content Approval Process.  Use a feed app that allows you to approve or reject the content.  While you can’t prevent what people post to their own pages, you can be selective in what you include in your own page through a content management system.

Photos vs. Videos.  While we are fans of video submission for the right campaign, it is a higher bar to clear than submitting a photo. More often than not, photos will generate more participation, more shares and more reach.

The Right Social Networks.  Encourage consumers to use Instagram.   Unlike Facebook, whose algorithm limits views to approximately 10-15% of a friend base, Instagram posts reach a much higher percentage of friends, estimated at 25% - 35%.  Vine is also very powerful if you are focusing on video and a younger demographic.

Promote your Campaigns.  Use paid media and influencer marketing to promote the campaigns.   Influencers lend tremendous credibility to campaigns and encourage others to participate. Remember that every user engagement will be amplified so that your paid media dollars can go even further.

My last point is that Selfie Marketing is hot right now and it is still relatively young which means it’s the best time to jump in.   Getting users to participate is easier than you think and there is nothing better than watching your own customers endorse your brand to their friends, while having a ton of fun doing so.

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