Fascinating!
Marketing is such an interesting world and I’m always interested in understanding how people see advertising and understand the impact good, compliant marketing can have.
So I’m keen to read any research on the subject, especially when its looks into what works and what doesn’t, and the whys of that.
I saw the results of research into the impact of customer selfies has on 3 areas:
- Increasing sales of a product
- Increasing customer engagement, and
- Increasing brand reach.
Encouraging your customers to do your marketing for you is a great part of your marketing mix, but which images you use will depend on the goal of your campaign.
- If you want more sales, you need to encourage your customers to post images of them holding your product, with nothing else.
When we see a hand holding a product, we can imagine ourselves holding it, and this increases our desire for it.
However
- If you want your customers to be more engaged with your brand or you want to increase your brand’s reach, selfies with your customer’s face and the product are the way to go.
When we see a person’s face and the product, we perceive it belongs to them. We don’t see it as ours, but if it is something we desire, we will feel more social and want to engage with the image and the brand behind it.
It will depend on what you are selling (there are always caveats in research ?) but this shows the interaction between marketing and psychology.
Marketing is all about knowing your customers and clients and understanding what they want, which you can deliver.
It is also about knowing the rules you need to follow when providing your customers with their desires.
So if you need help with the psychological side of marketing, don’t ask me. I have some understanding of this, as I find it so amazing, but I don’t have the expertise.
But if you want help with understanding the rules, you are in exactly the right place.