What are AR filters?
AR stands for Augmented Reality. It allows us to combine the real and virtual worlds through overlays that we add to our video or photo. In practice, thanks to AR, we can see the real world altered or enhanced in our smartphone. Although the use of AR filters look very modern, they do not require specialised software or hardware – they use ambient mapping technology that any smartphone can handle. They can be used in advertising campaigns on various social media or as a product presentation in e-commerce. Many brands are already practising this successfully.
How AR filters can be used?
With AR filters, you can modify your appearance or your surroundings: change your hairstyle and hair colour, try on clothes or put a virtual chair in a salon to see how it will look before you buy it. Checking one’s appearance in clothes and accessories in the form of AR filters is, by the way, one of their most common uses. They are put to use not only by clothing or furniture companies, but also by cosmetics companies, electronics and home appliance manufacturers, automotive companies or property developers. In addition to shopping, AR filters are also used in education (displaying objects to show their actual size, applying a muscle tissue filter to show what a person looks like under the skin or the popular Google 3D animals module, which shows the appearance of animals in 3D) and entertainment (applying filters to the face with effects such as freckles, falling snow or captions that can be placed as an object in the space next to us).
AR filters are used, for example, by the Warsaw Uprising Museum, placing archival photographs and objects that we can see with our smartphone at various points around the city. Each such filter is embedded in a particular location – we can zoom in and out, view from different sides or angles, and the object seen on the smartphone will change accordingly.
What are the benefits of using AR filters in marketing?
A huge benefit provided by AR filters is the involvement of the viewer in the purchase of the product. When a potential customer views an item from different angles and tries it on, they are inevitably able to get to know it more intimately than by just seeing it in a photo. One of the basic principles of sales psychology is at work here, which says that it is difficult for a customer to give up a product that he or she has only had the chance to spend a few moments with. In addition to this, the aforementioned opportunity to try on clothes in different models, colours and designs makes the purchasing process much quicker and more pleasant. There is no need to go to a shop, stand in traffic jams or try on clothes that someone else has already worn before you. These are just some of the reasons why 61% of Americans surveyed choose shops with augmented reality products, and 71% say they would shop online more often if shops offered augmented reality product previews.
How can AR filters support sales?
When the viewer engages with the product more than usual before buying, his senses are sharpened. Nothing distracts him; he is focused solely on the product and the brand. In online marketing, gaining and keeping the viewer’s interest is very important, but also difficult. AR filters make this much easier by focusing the customer’s attention on what is important from the brand’s point of view. As a result, more time is spent looking at a product than with other types of advertising, so the customer gets to know and remembers the product much better. Thus, the likelihood of returns also decreases and satisfaction with the purchasing process increases. Filters and AR technology, although they have been around for some time, are constantly being developed and improved. However, they still generate a lot of traffic, attracting new customers; they also build the image of a modern and flexible brand.
In which social media can AR filters be used?
In 2019, AR filters on Snapchat alone were already used by 70% of its users. The size of the market is growing every year – it is estimated that in 2022, as much as 44% of the planet’s population will be using augmented reality in various forms. It is also not insignificant that AR filters are (and will continue to be) incredibly impressive all the time due to their innovative and futuristic nature. AR filters are available on Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, but they can also be implemented in applications dedicated to your brand. We can also create additional apps or modules just for showcasing your products. We know how to create interesting filters on social media platforms that offer this possibility. Contact us – then we will determine together how AR filters will help promote your brand or product.
