The Internet is often captivated by a craze and one such craze that’s taken off in recent years is that of the ‘selfie’. Named as Oxford Dictionary’s word of the year in 2013, many people thought that the selfie was a passing trend, but it seems to be here to stay.

Over the past two years, a growing number of companies have been leveraging the power of the selfie to benefit their marketing efforts. In January 2013, 13 brands used selfies in their Facebook campaigns and by December, that number had increased to 207. On Twitter, the number started at 252 and grew to more than 780.

Successful Selfie Campaigns

Some brands have seen great success with selfie campaigns, reporting increases in user engagement and sales.

Go Pro Selfies

The company behind the world’s most versatile camera (Go Pro) incorporates selfies into its social media strategy, as the concept aligns perfectly with the company’s mission, to “make it easy to self-document and share life’s experiences.” This strategy offers users a compelling way to engage with the brand.

The approach seems to work, as GoPro has 1.07 million followers on Twitter and many of the user-created video and photo selfies garner several hundred favorites and re-tweets.

Baublebar Selfies

Another company to successfully integrate selfies into its marketing strategy is online jewelery retailer, Baublebar.

The company uses customers’ selfies to display merchandise on its homepage and they celebrate the selfie via a monthly online competition; ‘Turn that selfie into Sparkle’. Baublebar invites its customers to Instagram selfies of themselves wearing Baublebar products (using hashtag #baublebar) and each month, the company chooses three favorites, who receive $100 credit to spend on the site. This initiative is clever, as it rewards customers for interacting with the brand, while boosting its social media presence and generating sales.

The success of campaigns such as these indicates that today’s consumer is moving closer and closer towards imagery as a primary form of self-expression. People consume and share visual content on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, all of which have become embedded in our digital culture. By looking at the extreme popularity of selfies and photo-sharing as a preferred communication method, marketers can connect with consumers on a deeper, more emotional level.