Get Started With AR Social Commerce

Looking for a way to engage with your audience and create an incredible shopping experience? Augmented Reality could help achieve this. AR has had a huge impact on social media over the last few years and now, it’s infiltrating the world of social commerce. Remember Louis Vuitton, when they created a QR code to activate the lens on Snapchat. Dreaming of a new bag was being kicked-off when the new Louis Vuitton bag appeared in 3D after scanning the code on the card.

No worries, even if you are not a Louis Vuitton sized company. Because of the seamless integration of AR and social media, AR is still something you can integrate into your communication mix … nevertheless your business size.

What is Augmented Reality?

First things first, “Augmented Reality” what’s in a name? Augmented reality is an interactive experience that enhances users and brands social commerce possibilities even further. In other words, Augmented Reality adds a virtual layer of content to the real world (2D/3D). Currently more and more brands and organisations are discovering the benefits of Augmented Reality to strengthen its place in the social commerce ecosystem.

After Snapchat got ahead with AR, other social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok launched their own filters, effects and lenses.

How to Sell Products with AR?

2021 is the year where brands will take the shopping experience to another level through Augmented Reality. There are a few different ways your brand or organization can use AR to improve your social media activities and boost your social e-commerce.

1. Branded Social Media Filters

Gen Zs and Millennials are the primary drivers of social commerce success, and as we all know these younger social media users love to play with (face) filters. We know you transformed your face into an animal and added elements like flower crowns or glasses yourself (wink). But face filters aren’t just for fun and games.

Being able to virtually try on a product gives shoppers a better idea of how a product will work for them, which helps remove hesitations about buying. And that’s exactly what Kylie Jenner was thinking when she launched her Instagram filter. Doing this, she allowed her younger following to try out the new lipsticks before purchase. In addition, many fans post a selfie, video or boomerang with the filter in their own story which further increases the reach.

2. Endless ‘Try-on’ possibilities

At some point the pandemic has pushed retailers and brands to come up with digital solutions for business continuity. The shutdown of many retail stores spurred some marketers to invest more in AR as a way to offer virtual try-on and other experiences typically only available in-store.

You probably start thinking about eyewear and fashion brands, but the Dutch Airline company KLM took the stage in 2019 (yep, it’s been a thing for some time already) and introduced us to “Try before you Fly”. KLM created an augmented reality experience to promote destinations. Through Facebook ads, it was possible to discover travel destinations in an immersive way. Upon opening the camera, users see themselves ready to go on a trip. During the experience, the user can look around at a location KLM is flying to. This campaign aimed to attract customers more to unfamiliar places.

3. Boost Engagement

Can brands use this technology to attract users and make them buy more? The answer is yes! AR has proven to be a real diament for brands as it significantly boosts customer engagement and the level of interest for a product. Besides that, AR is way more engaging than non-AR advertising. When using AR in a fun and playful way you can help customers envision their life with your brand, enhancing emotional connection and building brand loyalty.

Conclusion

It’s clear how impactful and relevant AR social commerce already is today. We can say that it improves the perception of a brand and deepens customer connection. But how incredibly tempting the use of a new and efficient technology sounds, you should not rush into using it just because it’s trending.

What would you tell your customers by using Augmented Reality in your next brand campaign?