Every year Facebook holds their F8 developer conference designed to highlight new and exciting features – the “next big thing” – for their platform. For the 1.9 billion individuals and businesses who log-in on a monthly basis (including ourselves), Facebook’s major F8 announcement was all about Augmented Reality (AR).
For a social media marketing company like Newpath WEB, we must constantly stay abreast of all social media trends, and we think Augmented Reality is a potential game changer; well, eventually.
What does Facebook augmented reality mean for social media marketing?
Having seen the burgeoning success of Snapchat and its various filters, Facebook clearly decided now is the time to enter the AR landscape.
But, more than just offering simple overlays that are relatively static, Facebook is banking on a system that features object recognition. Their AR will suggest effects based on whatever is held up in the frame on your phone.
How will augmented reality benefit your business?
Why should you care about silly faces and overlays on your products as a part of your Facebook strategy? The reason why this announcement is so exciting is for one simple reason: There are 50 million businesses on Facebook, and all now have access to this service in order to differentiate themselves and their business’ products and services, as well as being engaging and entertaining at the same time.
For this reason alone you will also need to be a part of it.
Right now, AR is little more than a parlour trick. But that will change.
Whilst it can be geographically-based and used to push a particular brand message, ultimately AR exists as a complementary marketing practice, at best, and shouldn’t be a front-line solider for your brand.
However, with object recognition, eventually you’ll be able to deliver AR that interacts with advertising, products, and even your stores; something that can become an active marketing tool at your disposal.
How could you use Facebook augmented reality for social media marketing?
Imagine someone is using the Facebook AR platform at a grocery store. They walk past your product with it in frame and suddenly the app tells them more about the product, like features and benefits, or pricing. Immediately, you’ve connected to the customer in a new way, enriching their experience with your brand and increasing both engagement and recall.
This is an exciting opportunity for businesses and can ultimately benefit both goods and services.
Where do we see Facebook AR headed?
In the end, you should be excited about Facebook launching AR simply because there are others excited by the marketing opportunities. If you aren’t planning on using AR, your competitor certainly will.
The opportunities presented by this platform are limitless and has the potential to revolutionise the way brands interact with customers. And when it launches, we’ll be excited to test Facebook AR for both clients’ social media marketing and our own.
If you need help with Social Media Marketing, check our services page or contact us to discuss your business’ needs.