• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026

1

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup

2

The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting

3

Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
TechZeroing In

This Marketing Startup Pays People to Take Selfies

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
July 13, 2016, 12:59 PM ET
Photo by Gregory Rothstein, CloudSpotter
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

There are plenty of analytics startups mining insights from the photos posted on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and other social networks. An early-stage Chicago startup is focusing on a subset of those images: self-portraits, a.k.a. “selfies.”

Founded by childhood buddies Michelle Smyth and Kristen Holman, Pay Your Selfie does exactly that: pay people up to $1 per image to post photos of themselves completing certain tasks. Each image is chock full of quantitative data such as time of day, gender, or a specific location in someone’s home or office. But they can also yield qualitative insights such as a person’s emotional state, according to Smyth, who is the company’s CEO.

“It’s the people, places and products they love,” Smyth said.

Since selfies became a “thing” about three years ago, a growing number big brands have begun using them for marketing purposes. Among two of the better-known examples are Purina with its “dog selfies” and Dove with the “Real Beauty” campaign.

Pay Your Selfie is building out its own “selfie insights marketplace” where marketers can browse research that the startup has run itself. An ongoing campaign, for example, asks participants to post pictures of themselves with presidential campaign signs. But the startup also allows companies to sponsor contests, and marketers at Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, and Skinny Pop are among those testing the platform as part of their social media strategy.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily technology newsletter.

For example, P&G’s toothpaste division ran an experiment asking people to share a selfie of them using their favorite Crest product. The results yielded some unexpected findings, including the revelation that many people brush their teeth between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., before their evening meal.

“We viewed this as a social experiment,” said Kris Parlett, senior communications manager for P&G. “What came out of the month-long test was more value than anticipated.”

“The qualitative data that a picture can give us is so different than all of the numbers,” said another early customer, Alex Blair, an entrepreneur who owns four Freshii restaurant locations in the Chicago area.

Blair has used Pay Your Selfie to run several contests intended to gather information about favorite foods and recipes. Each photo that’s submitted can reveal other valuable information, such as the times of day when patrons are most likely to snack or ingredients that the restaurants might consider adding to its menus, he explained.

Companies pay a per-image fee for these insights, a price that varies depending on how many images they want to collect, Smyth said. While approximately 60% of those using the app are millennials (Pay Your Selfie doesn’t disclose user numbers yet), but the rest are what she described as “savvy savers” who don’t mind sharing information about how they shop.

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

Institute's Global Conference at the Beverly Hilton Hotel,on May 6, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California.
RetailSpaceX
Elon Musk was the world’s first trillionaire for 12 days
By Eva RoytburgJune 24, 2026
1 hour ago
President Donald Trump pictured in September 2025 signing an executive order that overhauled the H-1B visa program.
EconomyImmigration
Trump’s international student crackdown kicked off a domino effect that could shave nearly $500 billion off the economy
By Tristan BoveJune 24, 2026
3 hours ago
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
NewslettersCIO Intelligence
How Home Depot is rebuilding retailing with AI
By John KellJune 24, 2026
4 hours ago
bob
AIbooks
Robert Wright sees an ‘earthquake’ coming from AI that goes far beyond jobs: ‘cultural, political, personal, family, psychological’
By Nick LichtenbergJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
A man wearing a red and black jacket and a red hat walks down a hallway lined with servers.
InnovationChina
For the first time since 2017, it’s China, not the U.S., that has the world’s most powerful supercomputer
By The Associated PressJune 24, 2026
5 hours ago
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy scion and sardonic social media star, loses in bid for New York state assembly
PoliticsPolitics
Jack Schlossberg, Kennedy scion and sardonic social media star, loses in bid for New York state assembly
By The Associated Press, Danny Peltz and Anthony IzaguirreJune 24, 2026
6 hours ago

Most Popular

After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
Success
After forcing workers back to the office, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase are now letting their staff work remotely—but only for the World Cup
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
Economy
The Pentagon said Iran War costs $29 billion, but the real cost is closer to $200 billion—and counting
By Jacqueline MunisJune 24, 2026
14 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 23, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of gold as of June 23, 2026
By Danny BakstJune 23, 2026
1 day ago
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
Real Estate
Texas and Charlotte used to build huge McMansions—now they're copying the California design tricks they once mocked
By Sydney LakeJune 22, 2026
2 days ago
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
Banking
Markets tumble worldwide as Fed resets expectations: $400 billion wiped off SpaceX stock
By Jim EdwardsJune 23, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.