Outpace your competition with content
Selfies are also a way to involve your target group in the design and/or production of your campaign. By posting selfies, the consumer can provide user-generated content . This includes all kinds of media content that was not provided by the brand itself. This form of co-creation creates interaction between brand and target group. It gives consumers the opportunity to become part of your brand. Think of the selfie campaign of Victoria's Secret from 2015, in which they called on their visitors to take a photo at the special #VSTEASE mirror. By showing this photo, the consumer could pick up a surprise in one of the stores. It was certainly successful, because within one week there were more than six thousand selfies on Instagram.
A more recent example of user generated content is from Pets Place. This pet store created an special lead effective campaign during the lockdown in March 2020. They asked Dutch pet owners to share their best photos with the hashtag #thuisdieren. This ranged from photos of them exercising together to pets helping out with working from home. On their website, they created a special hall of fame for the best photos.
Instagram post for Pets Place's user generated content campaign
Persuasiveness
There is also a second advantage to be gained. According to Bright Answers , selfies increase brand credibility and trust. A perfect, professional photo in a studio is less convincing than an unedited consumer photo. Social proof also plays a role. “Because 95 percent of people imitate others and only 5 percent act on their own initiative, people are more likely to be persuaded by the actions of others than by any other evidence,” says sales and motivation consultant Cavett Robert in response to the book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert B. Cialdini.