7 Successful Selfie Strategies You Should Replicate

7 Successful Selfie Strategies You Should Replicate

As seen in The Huffington Post

Is it a case of narcissism or is it just plain ol’ identity formation? However you define it, selfies have now become a part of our lives. Whether you or someone/some celebrity you know is engaging in it, at the very least you have heard the term before. Selfies are so omnipresent that they’ve found their way into the English Oxford Dictionary in 2013. Nary does a day go by when you won’t find your Instagram or even Facebook feeds filled with the homage to oneself: the Vogue-esk body angle, the dramatic head tilt, and well-rehearsed smile or smize are all the usual elements of the selfie.

When it initially gained steam a few years ago, I thought the selfie would become a quickly passing fad that would die hard. We would all look back the year after and tsk tsk our participation in the madness ala the word “bling,” but I was wrong! The selfie has taken on a life of its own, and as time goes on, it’s becoming normalized. There are now ways to incorporate successful selfie strategies into your marketing campaigns. What makes this style of photography so darn appealing? According to Psychology Today, selfies allow us to engage in the storytelling experience as both the subject and photographer. We get to become both the lead actor and director.

Self-ish v. Personal Branding

Millennials, aka what I like to deem as “Generation Me,” are often credited with giving birth to the selfie. They may actually have more pictures of themselves now than their parents even took of them as babies! But what’s the obsession?? For many of these young adults, teens, and even tweens it’s about self empowerment and/or esteem building. These self portraits also serve as a tool for chronicling a moment in time. Remember Ellen’s Oscar selfie in 2014? That moment in time reigned as the most re-Tweeted image, with more than 3.3 million shares, until 2016.

Regardless of the personal goal, the act of creating a selfie reinforces your personal brand. Selfies communicate your brand experience. They are a peek into who you are and what you stand for. It represents (or should represent) your authentic self, whether that is the intent or not. It gives social proof through the image itself and its popularity. The more likes, the better evidence you’ll have that your brand is working to build trust and credibility. Remember, people gravitate towards products and services that they trust, and pictures are found to increase trust, according to new research on increasing “truthiness.” Once you establish this relationship, you can reap the rewards found through sales.

Salesworthy Selfies

Companies have caught on to the selfie trend and have been incorporating them into clever, low-budget, marketing campaigns. Most are based on having followers and/or customers post real photos of themselves with a product or embody a brand’s essence. Take notes, as these seven successful selfie strategies may also work for your marketing campaigns.

  1. GoPro – Selfies are ideal for the photography industry. This seemed like a no brainer for GoPro, which created a viral marketing campaign by embracing the entertaining videos produced by its customers. While the effort began with the company’s partnership with extreme athletes, the company is now showcasing the works of its fans, which includes death-defying sky dives and bungee jumps. It’s user-generated content has yielded more than 3 million views and 3 million subscribers!
    Strategy: Spotlight fans who embody your brand essence.

    7 Successful Selfie Strategies You Should Replicate

    Dove’s campaign challenges traditional beauty standards.

  2. Dove – The company continues to be consistently conscious. Sticking with its brand, Dove created the documentary #Selfie (2014) to showcase the unrealistic beauty standards young ladies face in a social media driven world. The 7-minute short encourages women to redefine these traditional beauty standards by becoming content creators.
    Strategy: Use selfies to showcase your authenticity.
  3. WIRED – Their February 2014 issue debuted with a unique spin. WIRED offered readers the opportunity to use an app that places them on the cover of its magazine. They also asked readers to them use the app to share the cover pic on social media, using #WiredGoesViral. Yes, you too could have been a cover girl/boy.
    Strategy: Place your supporters front and center.
  4. Marc, by Marc Jacobs – similar to WIRED, Marc literally sought out real people as models. Although the concept isn’t new (hello Banana Republic!) the designer’s execution was. His company created a casting call by asking fans to post selfies on Instagram and Twitter and tag them using #CastMeMarc. The campaign drew more than 70,000 applicants.
    Strategy: Give back by showcasing your fans and their story.CastMeMarc
  5. Samsung – To promote its Samsung Galaxy S5’s water resistance feature, guess what the company did. Yep, you guessed it. The folks at Samsung embraced the underwater selfie, using divers in Lake Zurich to approach passersby with the S5 and entice them to join them in the lake for a chance at winning the phone. Strategy: Think outside the box to capture winning moments.
  6. Beats – When debuting its Solo2 headphones, Beats used celebrities to take selfies of themselves going from one side of the headphone to the other. The images and videos were shared via Twitter and Instagram with hashtag #SoloSelfie, resulting in more than 9,000 posts.
    Strategy: Use celebrities to ignite your audience’s support when possible.
  7.  Nokia Lumia 735 – The smartphone company launched “The Selfie Collection” as a means of using a “selfish” act to support an unselfish cause. The campaign featured self-taken images of famous Scandinavian fashion bloggers using the Lumia 735. The bloggers also donated a fashion item for an auction to support the fight against online bullying.
    Strategy: As an alternative to celebrities, partner with digital superstars who can vouch for you.

The New Normal

Do I now have you convinced that there’s a method to all this madness?

If not, here’s one more attempt that showcases pop culture at its finest. Grab your selfie stick and enjoy the #Selfie song. Never gets old!

7 Reputation Management Tips For Your Brand

7 Reputation Management Tips For Your Brand

I always say, “If you’re not branding yourself, others will brand you for you.” This is especially essential when attempting to control your reputation. In this article, I outline 7 reputation management tips to help you steer your brand’s image and also cite two cases of unfortunate, bad reputation management.  It’s crisis communications at its best!

There are tons of websites and social media platforms dedicated to celebrating, assessing, and rating brands. While you can’t please everyone, what’s a brand (personal or biz related) to do if people start trashing you? The negative comments can come in the form of a disgruntled employee, unsatisfied customer, or just about anyone. It may be your inkling to ignore them, but guess what? You can’t and definitely shouldn’t, or you may face a situation that will grow in epic proportions. Your best bet is to be proactive, if feasible. Relax. Read. Relate. Release! Here’s whatcha do:

1. Do a search (Google Smoogle or Ding Bing) and look up your name.

Take note of what you find and the rankings of this information. You should be aware of what people are saying about you in the cyber world. While I often believe that other people’s opinions of you is none of your business, you still need to know whether people are overtly trashing you and actively shaping other people’s perception of your image. Heaven forbids if this information ranks higher than your website and social media spaces! Don’t let this negativity become people’s first impression of you.

2. Take control of the message.

If you can start a blog, please do so. It’s not only a way to establish yourself as a thought-leader, but it also serves as a platform to iron out the faulty details and share your side of the story in the event that push comes to shove (watch how I creatively butcher this phrase in my video!). Use your blog as an instrument to inform people if something has been recalled or needs clarification, but also make sure to spread this news on your social networks in case your blog isn’t frequented as often as desired.

3. Take control of all social media spaces.

Secure your brand’s name on platforms that you plan on using or anticipate growing. It is best practices to secure your name on all platforms, but I realize that this may not be realistic for most people. At the very least, lock it down where your audience will flock for information. This will enable you to avoid the fictitious version of you Tweeting, Instagramming, Scoping, Blabbing, etc. information that conflicts with your brand’s image. Hurry, no, run to your social media platform (after reading this article and subscribing 🙂 ) and secure your brand’s profile name!

4. Leverage YouTube to setup your online presence.

Remember that YouTube is currently the #2 biggest search engine that’s out there. If people are searching for a topic that you cover, you want your information (via video) to pop up in the search results thanks to YouTube. Do at least one introductory video, so you set the tone and make your official introduction to your audience. If there is a crisis, you can use YouTube to shape and control the messaging.

5. If and when the situation escalates, get yourself a PR rep.

Get an expert who can speak on your behalf and craft the message on your blog, YouTube/social media platforms, live stream, press releases, etc. Your expert should be able to dry your tears and hold your hand as you navigate through these muddy waters.

6. If the temperature rises further, hire yourself a crisis communications team.

It may take a village to control the damage. Your team should help you to shape your messaging in ways that will address your audience’s, particularly your disgruntled audience’s, needs. It’s perfectly okay if you need the pros to handle your damage control.

7. Be transparent.

This one should really be first and foremost, since you should use it throughout your reputation management efforts. Don’t lie about a situation or deny your audience’s feelings about you, your services, or your product. People will discover the truth and will look at you differently. You may even lose your fans. If you messed up, this is the perfect time to fess up. It’s easier said than done, but it’ll save you heartaches and pain in the long run. Plus people really appreciate and are forgiving of those who sincerely (keyword sincerely) apologize for their faults. Be RAW BRANDED® and authentic in your apology.

Once again, in my video, I note two examples of unfortunately handled PR crises. Please listen and learn from these stories. Once again, no one is perfect. The best we can do is be preventive and learn from others. Most importantly, be authentic in who we are and in our relations with others. Be RAW BRANDED®!

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