But First… Let Me Take A Selfie

Have you taken 57 photos of yourself today? No? Either you’re lying, or you have yet to discover the magical land that is Instagram.

So outside of the 14 filter enhanced photos your best gff posted, or the 5 never acceptable bathroom mirror selfies the guy you work with just uploaded, what else does Instagram really have to offer? Well I’m so glad you asked!

A picture truly is worth a thousand words. No matter how much time you may spend on creating the “perfect copy” a photo will always have a larger impact. Perhaps it’s because we are visual people, perhaps it’s because we are lazy people… either way, why fight it?

Did you know there are over 1million selfies posted a day. Yes that is the sound of baby seals crying that you hear. For a long time business have been skeptical of platforms like Instagram, because they don’t really feel like their brand fits the mold. Maybe you you don’t have tons of images to share, so you feel like you can’t play in the game. WRONG!

I know the thought of creating image content for daily uploads can seem overwhelming which brings me to today’s topic, user generated content.

We’ve already talked about how much we love taking photos of ourselves all day every day, can you imagine if we had an incentive to do it? Some of the strongest brands out there rely on their fans to create the content for them, and in turn they share that content back with their fans, creating a happy circle of Instagram love.

So how do you go about getting your fans to participate? First create a brand specific hashtag. Something that fits your campaign and is unique to your brand. PS- I would suggest reading your hashtag out loud before you send it into the digital world. Our fine friends at Research In Motion decided to put together a campaign to help acquire to new employees for BlackBerry. This was their hashtag… #RIMJobs

I’ll let you Urban Dictionary that on your own time, but needless to say, their campaign spun in a drastically new direction. #Yikes #Oops #NOOOOO

Once you’ve secured your hashtag, ask your fans to participate. If you’re promoting a product, simply ask your fan base to share images of that product using your hashtag, and offer them a chance at a reward for doing so. Do you see where I’m going with this? A chance to take another selfie, with the excuse of doing it for a prize…AMAZING!

What you will find is a world of content you didn’t even know existed. By including your fans in your Instagram page, you will bring your campaign and your branding full circle. Not only will your current customers feel more loyal to you when they are the physical face of your brand, but new fans will feel the pull to want to be a part too.

Happy #Selfie taking!