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This paper aims to define the conceptual boundary of the selfie and to discuss the role of the selfie in the social media marketplace.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to define the conceptual boundary of the selfie and to discuss the role of the selfie in the social media marketplace.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper extensively reviews and draws themes from the extant literature on consumer identities in the social media marketplace to explain the selfie phenomenon and to identify potentially fruitful directions for further research.
Findings
Current insights into the selfie phenomenon can be understood from socio-historical, technological, social media, marketing and ethical perspectives.
Research limitations/implications
Despite the limitations of a general review (e.g. absence of empirical data and analysis), this paper identifies multiple avenues to extend existing lines of inquiry on the selfie phenomenon. Thus, this paper should encourage further research on the topic in the academic and scientific community.
Practical implications
The selfie can be used as a marketing tool to improve marketing performance and accomplish marketing-related goals.
Originality/value
This paper sheds light on how marketing academics and practitioners can better understand the impact of the selfie in the social media marketplace.
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Keywords
Naziyet Uzunboylu, Yioula Melanthiou and Ioanna Papasolomou
It has been suggested that brands and products often assume a role in selfies (Ham, 2014) where the expression of brands and products provokes consumer emotions that bring about…
Abstract
Purpose
It has been suggested that brands and products often assume a role in selfies (Ham, 2014) where the expression of brands and products provokes consumer emotions that bring about greater engagement (Tsai and Men, 2013) and contributes to the interactivity with the brands. This study aims to understand how the selfie phenomenon could mobilize the interactivity between brands and target audiences, in a way that could be used as a marketing tool by companies.
Design/methodology/approach
A netnographic research methodology was used for the current study because it is a method specifically designed to study online communities (Kozinets, 2010). The experiences of brand selfie postings on Instagram were studied by analyzing users’ selfies to predict brand usage. A purposive sample of Instagram users was chosen, and from these, a total of 74 brand selfies were analyzed.
Findings
This study provided an understanding of consumer behavior and marketing practices in the social marketplace through a detailed exploration of the data using visual and textual analysis. The main finding of this study is that consumers both consume and produce brand meanings in digital platforms; hence, companies should view them not only as passive receivers of messages, but also potential generators and co-creators of brand messages.
Research limitations/implications
An important limitation of this study is that it only examines a small number of cases, and conclusions can only be limited to the specific sample chosen. A future research endeavor could of course be carried out to include a larger sample audience for investigating the effect of brand selfies and the potential purchase decisions of peers following exposure. Theoretically, this study provided further insight into the selfie phenomenon and specifically as a marketing tool and not just a new social trend.
Originality/value
The growing trend in the selfie phenomenon along with social networking sites (hereinafter SNSs) have attracted the attention of both users and marketing experts in terms of consumer–brand relationship (Zhu and Chen, 2015). In line with this current trend, many studies have attempted to understand the influential impact of the selfie phenomenon through SNSs. Studies on the motivation of selfie postings (Pounders et al., 2016) and selfie-posting behavior on SNSs (Kim et al., 2016) have been carried out; however, how brand selfies posted on SNSs appeal to non-users and how they interact with them remain unclear. Consequently, the intention of the current study is to provide some insight in this area.
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Caterina Presi, Natalia Maehle and Ingeborg Astrid Kleppe
The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand selfie phenomenon on two different levels. On the level of consumer brand experiences, the focus is on how brand selfie practices…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the brand selfie phenomenon on two different levels. On the level of consumer brand experiences, the focus is on how brand selfie practices add new features to brand experiences and consumer–brand relationships. On the level of marketplace brand image, the authors explore how consumers contribute to marketplace conversations by posting brand selfies in social media and how this practice shapes and changes brand image.
Design/methodology/approach
The researchers conducted an extensive search on different social media platforms to collect various types of brand selfies. The authors approach brand selfies as rich visual texts and their analysis comprises four key steps: descriptive analysis, response analysis, formal analysis and polytextual thematic analysis.
Findings
On the level of consumer brand experiences, the findings illuminate how different types of brand selfies extend the brand experience in space and time and transfer it into the hybrid space of the consumer-defined social networks. On the level of marketplace brand image, it is illustrated how brand selfies contribute to the process of co-creating brand meaning in the social media.
Originality/value
The study proposes a typology of brand selfie assemblages showing how consumers contribute to the visual production and consumption of brand meanings. The brand selfie is a unique material and expressive reality enabling us to theorise new perspectives on how consumers consume brands and how aggregates of brand selfie production and dissemination affect marketplace dynamics.
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Joonas Rokka and Robin Canniford
Digital technologies are changing the ways in which the meanings and identity of both consumers and brands are constructed. This research aims to extend knowledge of how…
Abstract
Purpose
Digital technologies are changing the ways in which the meanings and identity of both consumers and brands are constructed. This research aims to extend knowledge of how consumer-made “selfie” images shared in social media might contribute to the destabilization of brands as assemblages.
Design/methodology/approach
Insights are drawn from a critical visual content analysis of three popular champagne brand accounts and consumer-made selfies featuring these brands in Instagram.
Findings
This study shows how brands and branded selves intersect through “heterotopian selfie practices”. Accentuated by the rise of attention economy and “consumer microcelebrity”, the authors argue that these proliferating selfie images can destabilize spatial, temporal, symbolic and material properties of brand assemblages.
Practical implications
The implications include a consideration of how selfie practices engender new challenges for brand design and brand management.
Originality/value
This study illustrates how a brand assemblage approach can guide investigations of brands at multiple scales of analysis. In particular, this paper extends knowledge of visual brand-related user-generated content in terms of how consumers express, visualize and share selfies and how the heterotopian quality of this sharing consequently shapes brand assemblages.
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Mohsin Raza, Rimsha Khalid and Hassan Raza
This study investigates the brand selfies that have the capability to help brands thrive through crises. The brand selfies spark a self-inferential process that makes customers…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the brand selfies that have the capability to help brands thrive through crises. The brand selfies spark a self-inferential process that makes customers feel connected to the brand and makes them biased toward a specific brand during an uncertain situation.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 166 questionnaires were analyzed through structural equation modelling (Smart PLS) and a niche group of young millennials from Thailand was selected based on their luxury items usage, frequency of visits to leisure spas and hotels, expensive car showrooms, branded jewelry stores and luxury watch shops.
Findings
The study highlights the emergence of brand selfies during the crisis and the priority given by customers as compared to brand-generated content or promotional campaigns. The results indicated a positive influence of brand selfies on brand preferences directly and through the mediation of brand signature.
Research limitations/implications
It is fascinating for brands that customers voluntarily include their products in their carefully crafted and staged selfies that deliver their image and massages as social signifiers during a chaotic situation.
Originality/value
The research classifies the impacts of brand selfies in the luxury, leisure and tourism market of Thailand and its assistance in thriving through crises. The study is one of the rare studies that present brand selfies as a hassle-free promotional tool for brand signature and a game-changing strategy to deal with crises.
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Alexa K. Fox, Todd J. Bacile, Chinintorn Nakhata and Aleshia Weible
The present research aims to examine selfie-marketing from a consumer behavior perspective. Creating and sharing selfies are gaining popularity among millennials. The authors seek…
Abstract
Purpose
The present research aims to examine selfie-marketing from a consumer behavior perspective. Creating and sharing selfies are gaining popularity among millennials. The authors seek to understand how this popularity relates to classic research on narcissism and self-concept and to determine the effectiveness of selfie-marketing in visual user-generated content.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed methods approach is used across two studies. Study 1’s qualitative exploration uses the grounded theory method by analyzing semi-structured interviews with millennials. The findings produce three research propositions. These propositions are further developed into testable hypotheses in Study 2’s quantitative investigation, featuring analysis of the variance of online survey data collected from millennials.
Findings
The findings suggest that narcissism positively relates to millennials’ attitudes toward and intent to participate in selfie-marketing on visual content-sharing apps. Results also demonstrate that millennials seek to use selfies to present their self-concepts differently in various visual content-sharing environments.
Originality/value
The present research is among the first to focus on the importance of self-presentation and narcissism in regard to consumers’ attitudes and behavioral responses toward selfie-marketing. For marketers, this underscores the importance of understanding the unique nature of user-generated visual content on social media.
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Richard Kedzior, Douglas E. Allen and Jonathan Schroeder
The purpose of this paper is to outline the contributions presented in this special section on the selfie phenomenon and its significance for marketing practice and scholarship.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline the contributions presented in this special section on the selfie phenomenon and its significance for marketing practice and scholarship.
Design/methodology/approach
The significance of the topic is reviewed and themes related to the selfie phenomenon and marketplace issues are discussed in connection with extant research. The contributions of each paper are briefly highlighted and discussed.
Findings
Although the selfie is a relatively new phenomenon, both marketing practice and scholarship have noticed its prominence in consumer lives and potential for generating marketplace insights. Despite its frequently presumed triviality, the selfie is a multifaceted phenomenon of significance to key marketing areas such as branding, consumer behavior or market research. Possible avenues for future research are outlined.
Originality/value
Key issues relating to research into the selfie phenomenon for marketing scholars are illuminated.
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Bidit Lal Dey, John M.T. Balmer, Ameet Pandit and Mike Saren
The purpose of this paper is to examine how young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity is exhibited and reaffirmed through the appropriation of selfies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how young British South Asian adults’ dual cultural identity is exhibited and reaffirmed through the appropriation of selfies.
Design/methodology/approach
The research adopts a qualitative perspective and utilises a combination of in-depth interviews and netnographic data.
Findings
The appropriation of the selfie phenomenon by young British South Asian adults reifies, endorses and reinforces their dual cultural identity. As such, their dual cultural identity is influenced by four factors: consonance between host and ancestral cultures, situational constraints, contextual requirements and convenience.
Research limitations/implications
In terms of the selfie phenomenon, the study makes two major contributions: first, it analyses young British South Asian adults’ cultural dualism. Second, it explicates how their acculturation and their dual cultural identity are expressed through the appropriation of the selfie phenomenon.
Practical implications
Since young British South Asians represent a significant, and distinct, market, organisations serving this market can marshal insights from this research. As such, managers who apprise themselves of the selfie phenomenon of this group are better placed to meet their consumer needs. Account, therefore, should be taken of their twofold cultural identity and dual British/Asian identification. In particular, consideration should be given to their distinct and demonstrable traits apropos religiosity and social, communal, and familial bonding. The characteristics were clearly evident via their interactions within social media. Consequently, senior marketing managers can utilise the aforementioned in positioning their organisations, their brands and their products and services.
Originality/value
The study details a new quadripartite framework for analysing young British South Asian adults’ acculturation that leads to the formation of their dual cultural identity and presents a dynamic model that explicates how cultural identity is expressed through the use and appropriation of technology.
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Richard Kedzior and Douglas E. Allen
This paper aims to serve as an integrative literature review that organizes the burgeoning literature and findings related to possible impacts of the selfie phenomenon on…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to serve as an integrative literature review that organizes the burgeoning literature and findings related to possible impacts of the selfie phenomenon on consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper.
Findings
The current empirical scholarly work supports two conflicting perspectives on the impact of selfies: the selfie experience as a source of empowerment and the selfie as embodiment of societal control and expression of existing power-relations. While the two perspectives are seemingly discordant, in fact, they pertain to different levels of analysis – individual and social, respectively.
Originality/value
While the empowerment aspect of the selfie experience has been well-documented in existing literature, the mechanisms of control and disempowerment have remained underconceptualized. This research paper offers a framework which addresses this omission and theorizes ways in which the selfie phenomenon perpetuates societal control and maintains power-relations.
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