Paying for college can be hard (like, really hard), so Bankrate decided to invest in the future of some truly creative and inspiring students by creating a unique scholarship opportunity. Using #FutureSelfie, we invited current and prospective students to enter by snapping a photo and writing a caption showcasing their career ambitions, life dreams and goals for a chance to win $5,000 for school. Our mission was to promote financial literacy by focusing on the people who will shape our future -- our students.
Students were so eager to express their #FutureSelfie that our promotional campaign consisted almost entirely of user-generated selfies and quotes. Our brand didn't need to say anything -- the students shaped the energy and content of the campaign.
From aspiring doctors, engineers, news anchors, and, of course, Tae-Kwon Do masters, the range of creativity and diversity of selfies was overwhelming.
Throughout the course of the campaign, we received nearly 2,000 selfie submissions from social media and across the Web. The #FutureSelfie hashtag reached more than 10 million Twitter timelines and generated 1,500 unique engaged contributors on Twitter.
Our social media scholarship also got the attention of the press, earning coverage from Yahoo! Finance and the Examiner, as well as acknowledgment from Marquette University.
To date, the #FutureSelfie scholarship is the most successful Bankrate social media campaign, sparking an authentic conversation across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr.
