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First, Barack Obama’s selfie at Nelson Mandela’s memorial service went viral. Next, it was Narendra Modi’s turn to take the picture of his inked finger, while the credit for the most re-tweeted selfie goes to Oscar awards host Ellen DeGeneres.
Perhaps taking the cue from celebrities, companies are now using selfies – internet’s biggest trend - to promote their brands.
The Oxford Dictionary, which recognised selfie as the word of the year (2013), defines it as: “a photograph one has taken of oneself, typically with a smartphone or a webcam and uploaded to a social media website”.
“Brands have begun using selfies to create a buzz. A number of campaigns have already been launched, with companies utilising it to create brand awareness, brand loyalty and brand recall,” said Zafar Rais, Chief Executive Officer at MindShift Interactive, a digital marketing firm. The campaigns with a #hashtag are conducted on Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Instagram and other microblogging sites and lifestyle blogs.
For instance, Max Bupa Health Insurance recently conducted a campaign about health insurances by asking people to take family selfies and upload them on Twitter. The campaign - #FamilySelfie – touched 2.4 lakh online users.
“Selfies are emerging as an important platform and every brand needs to capitalise early on to this trend. Brands are earmarking about 10-20 per cent of their total advertising spend on digital marketing, of which selfie campaigns are becoming a major part,” said Max Bupa Health Insurance’s Director Sevantika Bhandari.
Another instance was that of Lancome India. The luxury perfumes and cosmetics company’s #GoNoFilter campaign urged Instagrammers to post pictures taken without using filters. The seven-day photo challenge was also the largest Instagram outreach campaign in India.
Dove’s #DoveSelfie campaign also found its mark among social media users. The beauty brand invited women to take self pictures of their best hairstyle, as per a theme of the day.
On Monday, GSM operator Vodafone India launched a group selfie contest – #vodafonefanarmy – under its consumer engagement programme. Skybags (#BackisTheNewFront) and McDowell’s Signature (#SignatureSelfies) were other brands to have successfully tested a selfie as a marketing tool.
As of October 2013, there are about 35 million selfies on Instagram globally, according to a MindShift study.
As for sharing of selfies, Facebook leads with 48 per cent, followed by WhatsApp and text messages (27 per cent), Twitter (9 per cent), Instagram (8 per cent), Snapchat (5 per cent) and Pinterest (2 per cent).
However, will selfies rake in some moolah for corporates? “That seems a little far-fetched,” added MindShift Interactive’s Rais.
Now, a force to reckon with, Indian brands have begun humming lines from US-based The Chainsmokers’ hit song: ‘But first, let me take a selfie.’
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