Augmented reality (AR) has become a staple of a lot of industries. While the gaming industry obviously displays a lot of interest in this regard, for the most part the marketing business has started to take off by using this new technology. This is spurred by the incorporation of AR into their platforms by companies such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, offering companies and brands newer and better ways to advertise their products.
The main reason why AR has become such a resounding success in the world of social media has to do with immersion. The more immersive an experience is, the more likely it will be that it will translate into direct sales for a particular brand or company. In spite of the fact that AR is still a new field that is changing every day, brands have managed to boost audience engagement tremendously by leveraging it.
By 2022, AR based ads will be pulling in about $13 billion dollars a year, about 12% of all revenue that will be coming in from mobile ads and the like. And, according to a report by Business Insider, the number of global mobile AR users is expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2023. This is why it is imperative that ad revenue dependent organizations try to get ahead of the curve and make the necessary investments now so that the profits that are soon going to be coming in can be obtained without too much trouble.
Below are a few examples of how AR will influence social media in the near future. Brands really need to be aware of how social media tech is evolving and think about how they can adapt their marketing strategies to fir within these changing environments.
In the future, social media content will cease to be 2D and become completely 3D, using AR to make it all happen. With the usage of interactive content shaping social media, all channels will start to explore AR integrations. This means that product design trends and product development professionals will need to effectively change the way they approach the creation of their projects.
In the near future, the world of social media will move to an AR bonanza. The companies that fail to create engaging AR experiences for their social media following will lose tremendous potential value. Snapchat are the prime example of a platform that has adopted and thrived from AR this year:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfc1O9ODxyw&t=1s
AR on social media channels will basically allow users to share content on the fly. Using such devices as smart glasses, the phone camera or live social media features, users will be able to explore a brand-new world of possibilities.
Another type of content that you will certainly want to explore is reviews and ratings. Indeed, as people shop for their favorite products or try to book a hotel room in Barcelona, they get to see reviews and ratings magically appear in front of the specific window shop or hotel building.
This will allow social media sharing to become much more immediate and will put companies on their toes. In fact, businesses that fail to provide a great experience will be mercilessly attacked, since Augmented Reality will be fertile ground for negative reviews that pop up like a vision of doom.
Remember when you saw a social media ad for a sweater but couldn’t get the feel of what you would look like wearing it? Those days are over.
Now, with this impeccable and enriching experience, consumers can get to pass on visiting a brand’s physical, brick-and-mortar store.
Indeed, they can step into the wondrous realm of a virtual space, try on some products, and then purchase them online. Below is an example of an AR app that can change your hair colour live and is a perfect example of how seamless the experience could be to shop for a new item of clothing, furniture for the house and many more.
With AR and social media, users will be able to attend events that feel like they are happening right there, inside the comfort of their cozy living rooms.
This tech is already being implemented by different brands. Indeed, on the PGA tour, tennis aficionados could actually download an AR app, starting to engage with the event and the ShotLink data in different ways.
All they needed to have to enter this augmented scenario? The app, a flat surface, and their useful smartphone.
One of the worst challenges to face in marketing is the following: to come up with enticing brand awareness techniques that allow people to explore what a brand is all about. With this technological fantasyland, brands will be certain to provide highly-shareable AR experiences.
If they get to create something truly inspiring for their audiences, people will want to share that experience.
Is creating these experiences a step towards perfect brand awareness methods? Of course!
And that’s why this content - that can also be user-generated - will skyrocket brand positioning like nothing else