From Likes to ROI: How Social AR Helps Brands Boost their Bottom-lines

Who would have thought that the potential of augmented reality (AR) filters lies beyond their entertainment value? Of course, digital marketers.

When Snapchat launched its screen overlays, letting users put on dog ears, makeup, or even hair wigs, everybody found it amusing enough. However, very few thought that the feature would find usage in more critical applications.

Social AR is already sweeping across popular social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat – and the trend is a few months old. From 3D models to virtual product try-ons to tons of brand filters, AR social media is much more than a flashy gimmick – it is driving real ROI.

Currently, there are about 1.4 billion active mobile AR users across continents. The number will skyrocket to 1.73 billion by 2024.

Such exciting numbers have influenced industry giants, including Adidas, Lego, and H&M, to leverage brand filters to improve shopping experiences and brand awareness on social media. Custom AR filters offer brands an undeniable advantage of locking in more loyal customers. Additionally, they help brands engage with their customers at deeper and more personal levels.

Read on to understand how retail businesses are unlocking the business potential of social AR.

Fast-track Purchasing with Virtual Try-ons

2D videos and images only do so much to convey your product’s benefits. While people can already purchase products via social media, the shopping experience becomes significantly more immersive with AR filters.

Coupled with 3D rendering, AR try-on tools enable users to try out different products via their smartphones before buying them. Likewise, they can also place a true-to-life 3D model in their physical space.

Social AR apps let customers fully feel the products as they do in the real world. These intuitive experiences not only engage customers but also boost conversion rates and order value.  Allowing social media users to virtually try out products and see the AR-enabled previews helps eliminate sales barriers arising from uncertainty about what they are about to purchase.

For instance, Zalando, Germany’s leading online fashion retailer, launched a virtual dressing app called "Try On" on Snapchat. Coupling AR with Snapchat's Lenses, customers can virtually try on products from Zalando's own brands, including Zign, Even & Odd, and Your Turn.

Similarly, Michael Kors tested out Facebook’s AR ads in the platform’s news feed. Facebook users could tap on the ads’ “tap to try it on” button to overlay a pair of Michael Kors sunglasses on their faces to see how they fit and look. Finally, they could buy the selected sunglasses directly on social media.

What is more, people no longer need to visit your brand’s physical stores. Instead, they can enter your virtual store, try out your products, and purchase them directly online.

As a sweetener, brand filters can also help you increase conversions through impulsive buying. This is especially true when your products spark a need right when users are viewing them.

Keep Customers Engaged for Longer

Suppose you spend your entire marketing budget on incredible video advertisements. Despite that, there is no guarantee that they will reach a wider audience. All this ad spending and users may watch the video only for a few seconds.

Fortunately, brand filters keep users engaged for 75 seconds on average – 4X more than video content. The reason - watching a video is a passive experience. On the contrary, AR filters require users’ attention to function. Thanks to solid visual aesthetics, social AR keeps users glued for a longer time.

For instance, you roll out an AR filter that allows users to try on various jewelry pieces. With AR social media tools, you can offer more diverse collections than brick-and-mortar stores. This translates to shoppers staying immersed for more time.

Furthermore, such a level of engagement enables customers to participate in the brand narrative actively, influencing them to share their virtual experiences with their network.

Offer Personalized Try-on Experiences

Customers expect exceptional service and experience from brands, and social AR is the epitome of hyper-personalization.

With AR try-on filters, social media users will spend more time modifying and trying out diverse products. They have customizable elements that allow customers, for instance, to personalize glass frames, necklaces, and hair colors to create a new style and look that suits their personas.

This at-scale personalization improves the odds of purchase and results in post-sale satisfaction. In addition, brands can build custom filters that resonate with users’ interests or trends based on their existing behavior.

Expand Social Media Presence

You might be thinking, “People on social media platforms only follow other people, not brands.”

In contrast, 9 out of 10 users follow at least one brand page on social media. This offers brands the opportunity to capitalize on user-generated content (UGC).

Hence, if users discover your branded filters, they will highly likely share their AR filter experience with their followers via newsfeeds or stories. This is incredible news for your brand, as it is basically UGC and word-of-mouth on steroids.

Moreover, users can bump into your branded filters by searching the effects gallery on social media (Instagram). As such, they get to know about your brand’s products and services even if they have never heard about you earlier. This increases the likelihood of your brand adding new customers and followers as a result of showing up randomly on the search results.

Build A Recognizable Brand

The more creative and immersive your AR filters, the more shareable the content. Instead of paying for outreach, let social media users do this heavy lifting for you.

People follow other people on social media platforms as they share similar interests. As such, captivating one user enough to share content means their followers will then see it. You do not even have to pay for that click. The creativity behind the filter will drive brand exposure.

Over 500 million people use the Stories feature across all of Facebook’s platforms – Messenger, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp – every day. If there is an intuitive element, more social media users will likely share it in their Stories.

Of course, these custom filters must be intuitive and shine among the crowd. If users find the virtual experience worth using, your business will be rewarded with increased traffic, social media follower growth, and, eventually, brand awareness. In fact, 4 out of 5 businesses have improved their brand awareness using AR filters.

Turn Customers into Brand Advocates

Given their intuitiveness, social AR filters leave a lasting memory. You can invite focused groups to try your products virtually – product sampling. This will make them feel confident about the product quality and compatibility. That way, you can boost brand loyalty and attract more new paying customers. Makeup brands, in particular, can considerably capitalize on this.

As this is creative content, you can also manage the information distributed. Your brand filter might be specifically about a message, product, or something about the business. Social AR lets you create multiple AR filters to accomplish different missions.

The better these virtual experiences, the more users will enjoy them and understand your brand. Eventually, the resultant goodwill and trust will ensure long-term customer stickiness.

Promote New Product (s)

You already might have an active social media presence. So, if you want to promote a new product or service, your brand filters can directly reach and engage with your existing followers to educate them about your new launches.

Case in point, makeup brands can advertise a new lipstick line. With social AR tools, they can inform their followers in a memorable, immersive way.

Moreover, the AR try-on filters allow users to try products and share their experiences with their followers on social media. This will spread the word and attract more people to explore and ultimately purchase the product.

Target the Right Audience

Social AR tools gather real-time data on user behavior and preferences and convert them into quantifiable metrics. You can then utilize these insights to optimize your marketing content (text and media) and strategies based on individual interests, location, and ethnicity.

Offering targeted content that resonates with your audience helps brands improve conversions and sales. According to a report, 80% of brands use AR to secure new customers, increase sales, and improve key performance indicators (KPIs).

Turn Social Media Scrollers into Purchasers

Social AR is the missing piece of the e-commerce puzzle. Immersive technology has rapidly become a powerful force on social media - and this is just the beginning. As eCommerce evolves, AR social media will significantly contribute to better customer experience.

Today, social media networks provide brands with the most effective way to advertise their products in the digital space. People want to use more intuitive, fresh AR filters, and brands have several platforms to pick from to build unique virtual experiences.

Custom AR filters help retailers drive organic traffic and put themselves at a high level. Further, with the Metaverse on the horizon, social AR will soon become a crucial ingredient of every marketing recipe.

Sounds impressive, right?

So, do not miss out on this opportunity to boost your brand’s digital presence and engage with customers in a completely new way using AR Software.

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