Hi, Lauren Kaye, here with this week’s Content and Coffee with Brafton. Today I wanted to talk about a hot button topic – the selfie. Click play to watch the full video below, or read on for the text version. 

What might appear to be a self-indulgent photo habit is actually much more than that. A recent infographic from Marketo connected this image style back to Van Gogh’s self-portraits and many people view them as a way to convey self-confidence. But to others, it’s a sign our culture is become more “me-centric” than ever. Opinions aside, I wanted to talk about what the selfie means for your future web marketing plans.

Don’t underestimate the selfie – it’s bigger than you think. Just how big? Smartphone makers introduced front-facing cameras and the word was inducted into the Oxford dictionary. since the selfie became thing, people have posted over 41 million photos of themselves on Instagram alone.

Selfies also give you a pretty good idea of what Millennials are into – things that represent who they are as individuals – and this is great insight for your content marketing. Millennials now make up a quarter of the U.S. population, according to Nielsen. And they are growing into the biggest demographic of working Americans, which means this is who you’ll be targeting for sales moving forward.

The problem is, this generation doesn’t want content served up in the same old way. They want it to be personalized. How can they dare to be so self-centered? Well, they’ve grown up in an era when customization is the standard. Ipods come in every color, screen savers can be updated with your new favorite pictures and TVs can learn to automatically record shows “suggested for you”.

Now, your challenge is to make brand messaging that achieves the same effect. Because at the end of the day, Millennials respond to personal experiences that feel unique to their likes and dislikes. When you can tap into this zone, you will earn loyal customers that feel a connection with your brand.  

Let us know what other content marketing questions you have in the comments section below or by tweeting @Brafton.

Catch you next week, and happy content marketing!

Lauren Kaye is a Marketing Editor at Brafton Inc. She studied creative and technical writing at Virginia Tech before pursuing the digital frontier and finding content marketing was the best place to put her passions to work. Lauren also writes creative short fiction, hikes in New England and appreciates a good book recommendation.