Organization Name: Modiface Inc.
Industry: Sofware Publisher
Name of contact if available: Dr. Parham Aarabi, Founder, President and CEO
Web references: Modiface
Description of how social media is used for business performance
From an interview with Data Science Weekly, Dr. Parham Aarabi responding to a question, “What specific problem is ModiFace trying to solve? How would you describe it to someone who is not familiar with it?”, says “ModiFace technology simulates skin-care and cosmetics products on user photos. So, a skin care product that reduces dark spots, or a shiny lipstick, or a glittery eye shadow … we specialize in making custom simulation effects for all facial products. This is us as a core. From this technology we have built a variety of apps for popular beauty brands (like L’Oreal or Vogue magazine), as well as ModiFace-branded mobile apps for consumers which have been extremely popular (with over 27 million downloads to date)”.
Modiface has created mobile apps powered by their technology.
Modiface has also partnered with product manufacturers such as Murad, creator of Acne Spot Fix. The mobile app, ClearCam, allows the user to target blemishes with product or apply a time-lapse swipe to their entire face to see the results after 1-2 weeks. Once the user has selected their desired treatment, they have the option to view their transformation with before/after images, save their new look to their device or share with friends and family. And if you share your selfie you can get free samples.
As you can see Modiface uses many social media sites. In an article by Melissa Leiter, How to Choose Social Media Platforms, the following chart shows the characteristics and relationships between some of the most common social media sites.
Although you have a social media presence it is important to measure its success. There are lots of tools available such as Google Analytics and bitly. One that I found useful for this post was Social Mention . This site can help the user find mentions in blogs, news and other locations.
In a discussion with Dr. Aarabi he said “Magic does not happen when using social media.” For every 1000 likes on Facebook, 100 only see the post, 10 look at the details and only 1 becomes an active user. When it comes to Twitter they have found that the 18-19 year olds interact with their friends. If they happen to use one of Modiface’s apps they will tweet about it and then their friends may download the app.
I asked Dr. Aarabi several questions about how they measure their social media sucess.
Measurement that you undertake should align with your overall corporate objectives. Assuming that Modiface’s objective is to be the leading virtual makeover technology provider for anti-aging, skin care, cosmetics and hair color tools, “we track Facebook likes, Twitter followers, etc. We also look at user comments and posts very carefully”. Facebook indicates how much of the conversation of which you are part.
How do they measure awareness, attention and reach? “This is partially done through social media like Linkedin, but primarily it is something you sense in person when you meet with industry leaders”. Most cosmetic executives are in the 50/60/70 age range so personal discussions are most beneficial.
How do you measure what share of the conversation about beauty products is yours? “Google search, on a daily basis”.
Do you track inbound links? “Of course, every morning, that is one of the top five things I do while still in bed. I primarily use Google search for the past 24 hours.” There are some holes in that it cannot search Facebook and Twitter but it covers everywhere else.
How do you track if/how people are talking about you? “Search for all relevant keywords, and which ones mention us”.
I asked Dr. Aarabi if there was one person responsible for this monitoring and he said that even though there is a Social Media Coordinator, everyone is involved right up to the President.
Lessons for others
- Choose the social media platform that best suits your business model
- Monitor traffic often – make it a daily ritual
- Listen to what people are saying about you
- Reward those that create inbound links
Submitted by: Sandra Kodis, SMBP Student, University of Waterloo
To contact the author of this entry please email at: sandra.kodis@nrc.gc.ca
If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Programme Director, Social Media for Business Performance.
References:
Melissa Leiter, How to Choose Social Media Platforms