Welcome To "The Facetune Generation"

Over a year ago, I read an article about Barack Obama banning the pubic from getting selfies with him at events. At first it seemed like he was doing this to avoid the endless swarms of people who no doubt flock to him wherever he goes. He went on to explain however, that it wasn't the people that were the problem. He said he missed a time when meeting individuals involved eye contact, a firm handshake and some conversation. Instead people would hijack the opportunity to strictly ensure that they got that invaluable selfie “for the gram”. The story went viral because it spoke to us about just how far we’ve thrown ourselves into the digital world of selfies.

Fast forward to 2018 and we’re now all “living our best lives” at a rate which we haven’t seen before. Smartphone manufacturers now pump more and more into developing and marketing their rear and front facing cameras. They claim that these advancements can improve our selfies, portraits and show us in the best light possible. This is of course also a reaction to the way in which we use our phones to show off our daily lives and tell our stories. With a recent report claiming that over 250 people have died while trying to get a breathtaking selfie in the last few years, it’s clear that the obsession goes too far for some.

This isn’t just another modern issue that has been brought about by the millennial generation either. Ever since cameras were invented, people have been acutely aware of their best angle, favourable lighting and other elements of editing that can enhance our images. In the last year however, the world of selfies has brought about a worrying trend.

When the Irish Instagram page “BloggersUnveiled” started in 2018 and exposed the dodgy dealings of Influencers and brands on social media, it began to amass a huge following. Among other things, the page showed us all how widespread the use of picture manipulation apps had become among online influencers. In the months since BU has been deactivated, it appears that lots of people have gotten over the initial shock of this and started using the apps themselves.

Ever been scrolling through your newsfeeds and scratching your head over why someone you follow now looks almost like a cartoon version of themselves? Well if you’re not familiar with the app they’re using, it’s called “Facetune” and it’s recent popularity (now at over 5 million downloads) has opened up a scary world of photo manipulation to the masses. It essentially allows users to brush away any perceived defect on your face and completely alter your shape.

How good is it though? Well I downloaded it to find out. I took the below on the left after a night out (hence the no life behind the eyes and coldsore) and decided to see just how gorgeous I could make myself with the app. The picture on the right is the final result.

With tutorials on the app you can quickly learn the ways you can brush, smooth, remove and enhance any part of a picture. Some of the edits I made to the left photo was to smooth out my face, nose, hair and remove all freckles, scars, stubble and the coldsore. I then gave my eyes some much needed life. Finally I brought my cheek bones in and made my nose thinner.

These are all edits and features that the app highlights as being popular with users. Side by side the differences are pretty clear but had I uploaded the one on the right to my instagram I wonder if people would have noticed that something was up. My mam said that she much prefers the one on the left so If I did have any niggling hang ups, they’d have been forgotten after those kind words. <3

So what has turning myself into a Ken Doll like avatar taught me? I don’t think it’s really taught me all that much. I do worry about the impact of what apps like this may have on impressionable teenagers, but then again magazines and TV have always churned out images of unattainable perfection to the masses. In 2013, a viral video showed us just how much photoshopping goes into models we see in magazines.

The video has eerie similarities to the types of adjustments you can make on Facetune just a few years later proving that mobile photography technology can compete with that used by production houses. It’s not too long ago that people thought putting filters on our pictures was deceiving yet now we routinely scroll through each of them before giving ourselves a healthy glow and hitting that share button. I think we are just seeing the evolution of this and more people will start to join those online who push an image that in no way resembles what they really look like. I can safely say however that I won’t be joining the Facetune generation any time soon.

Looking to give your brand a digital face lift but in the right way? Get in touch with me today and we can put a plan in place. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook.

What Brands Can Learn From Conor McGregor's Instagram

With Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon after nearly two years edging closer, it’s clear than no matter what way the fight goes, brand McGregor will always keep on winning. The fighter has had a rather controversial 2 years since he last stepped into the cage. His two “mega fights” in the interim with both Floyd Mayweather and a bus window may have appeared to many as somewhat (or entirely) staged, but this upcoming fight will be a return to what McGregor calls “true fighting”.

An idol to many young men in Ireland and the representation of all that is wrong with masculinity to many of their mothers, as his popularity has grown so too has the controversy around the way he “talks the talk” and “walks the walk”. I personally tend to set the moral decency bar quite low for millionaire cage fighters and so I don’t get let down when he starts his usual tirade of “smack talk” with his opponents. His brash behaviour is usually broken up by regular philanthropic outbursts too so for many of his more ardent followers, it all balances out in the end.

Love him or hate him, you can’t deny that McGregor and his team have built an empire around his brand by leveraging his own social channels to build attention, hype, and keep us wondering what’s coming next. Having just signed up to a 6 fight/whiskey promoting deal, I believe we’ve only seen the beginning of what his brand is capable of. Let’s take a look at some of the clever ways he’s managed to use his Instagram in particular to boost his commercial success and how these same steps could be used to build any brands online presence;

80/20:

One of the main rules in social media that has persisted since its beginnings is what people call the 80/20 rule. This rule states that communication from brands on social media to their audience should be 80% informative, entertaining and useful with the other 20% being left for directly commercial purposes. If brands or influencers flood their feeds with strictly sales pitches or ads, then they’ll alienate their audience pretty quickly. The very best social feeds tell a visual story and McGregors Instagram is full of examples of this. Whether he’s training, calling out possible opponents or just sharing pictures with his son, he is engaging his audience with what he knows they want to see.

If you contrast this with the content from full time influencers on social media, it becomes apparent very quickly that the 80/20 rule is rarely even considered by most. Below is a picture of 15 recent Instagram posts from Conor McGregor’s accounts beside 15 recent posts from Geordie Shore’s (UK based reality TV show) Holly Hagan. I’ve placed the word #ad over any of the posts that have either a product or company tagged in the photo or caption.

You can see from the above how much Holly Hagan’s Instagram has been bought out by brands pushing everything from “Tan Gummies”(yes they’re actually a thing in 2018) to dating apps. McGregor on the other hand, opts to focus heavily on sharing his training and other aspects of his life with his following. With a recent article from Business Insider stating that David Beckham can get paid up to $300,000 for a single sponsored post on Instagram (he has double the followers), it’s perhaps surprising that McGregor is not trying to cash in more.

McGregor and his team understand that the greater money will be made over the long term and that building an audience of fans (MMA or otherwise) through engaging content will help to secure this. This strategy is a must for brands especially on a platform like Instagram. Focus on sharing relevant, helpful or entertaining content around your brand and it’s niche and save the sales pitch for intermittent sponsored campaigns.

Collaborations:

When McGregor does do collaborations or ads, they are usually with brands that make a lot of sense. He has promoted energy drinks, teeth whitening and other fashion products over the last few years in what were no doubt very lucrative deals for both parties. Usually he tries to put his own spin on these however and play up to his own character to make it seem almost less about the product and more about himself. The perfect example of this was his 2018 ad with fast food giant Burger King below.

If you manage a brand then choose your collaborations, influencers and other advertising partners in an authentic way. There’s nothing worse than hearing a clearly forced and scripted sales pitch come from someones mouth. Let your advertising partners work on the ad copy, scripts, blogs etc with you to let them carry your message in a way that suits both their audience and yours.

Cross Selling:

Not content with just being a millionaire fighter, McGregor has always looked for new ways to diversify his revenue streams within his own brand. Despite recent reports of his McGregor Sports and Entertainment Ltd making a loss in 2017, I doubt the Crumlin native is too worried about this blip. He has had a part in building other ventures like The MacLife, an online publisher pumping out daily MMA content, the McGregor F.A.S.T training programme, his upcoming David August clothing range and most recently his Proper 12 whiskey. It’s the way he seamlessly cross sells these through his Instagram however that is most impressive.

These products all become part of his story and everything from training to toasting victory is backed by the appropriate brand. It never feels forced or like a hard sell, but it’s there in the background making an impression. This is cross selling and content marketing done right and proves that there could be no end to what he will promote in the future. With baby Conor Junior now having a Instagram account with over 160k followers (it has a blue tick but may still be fake), I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a “MacBaby” range on the horizon.

Humour

The main takeaway from McGregors Instagram that I think brands should consider is the general way he approaches social media. With many celebs and big brands social feeds now closely managed by agencies and with content appearing almost like manicured press releases, it’s clear that McGregor has more control over his and that he can (or just decides to) post what he wants when he wants. These can be random photos from nights out with his friends or bizarre posts that get people talking online. One example of such a post is the time McGregor decided to take to his Instagram to pay homage to Irene, who he says had the “gaf sparkling”.

Image Via: NotoriousMMA

Another great example of this was the time McGregor went to visit 2 Pac’s last “gaf” after landing in LA to begin training for an upcoming fight. This should have been a memorable moment for McGregor but you can see from the caption below that he wasn’t all that impressed. I’m hoping for a future autobiography part ghostwritten by Roddy Doyle.

Image Via: NotoriousMMA

What stops many brands from posting to their social feeds is the fear that their content may look unprofessional compared with others. The key to really building a loyal following is not to have perfectly professional content, it’s posting regular and engaging content. This could be sharing out a relevant viral video or image, a staff member bio, a customer review or a quick but slightly grainy snapshot of your latest product release.

Don’t take yourself too seriously on social media and try to have as much fun with it as possible. If McGregor isn’t always precious about what he shares with his millions of followers, then you shouldn’t be with your content either. If you’re looking for guidance on how you can start to get more from your digital content, get in touch with me today. You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook.