AR social media boom
AR filters — the shortcut to hacking your social media game that you are missing out on illustrated with a case study of snoozing on digital innovation by Mercedes-Benz.
Something noteworthy is happening right now on social media. The so-called “filters” are booming on and while most people think they are just fun and games, they are actually the shortcut that has the potential to hack your brand’s social media game that we have all been waiting for. We haven’t had an option of a shortcut in some YEARS now.
For example, Face Swap filter that was released on Snapchat a couple of months back brought Snapchat 200 000 MILLION new users in just 2 weeks from being released. This kind of growth in user base definitely played a role in helping Snap deliver stronger than predicted Q2 earnings sending its stock up over 10 percent in after-hours trading the day the Q2 numbers were announced.
While Faceapp and Snap’s earnings news is big news in technology times its already old news. The hot news today is Instagram and the release of Spark AR Platform to the general public. The phase of closed Beta, when only approved creators could publish their filters is over and now anyone can create and publish their own Spark AR effects on Instagram. The public Beta also comes with a new Effect Gallery, which includes niche AR effects from up-and-coming artists, making it easier for people to discover unique effects from the creator community.
According to Facebook, more than 1 billion people have already used AR effects and filters across Facebook’s platforms: Facebook itself, Instagram, Messenger and Portal and that was the reach in Instagram closed Beta times, which limited the number of AR creators on Instagram to 20 000 people. Now with Spark AR being available to the general public on Instagram, brands will be able to join the party and take advantage of a whole new AR world that just became available on this platform. And as always, there are the early adopters and there are the skeptics…
Here is a case study for skeptical marketers.
Johanna Jaskowska went from zero to hero on Instagram reaching 800 000+ followers within just 6 months thanks to pioneering AR filters. In her recent interview, she explained that her AR filter debut on Instagram was a side effect of her failed attempt to make a digital proposal for Mercedes-Benz while being employed as a digital creative for antoni agency. Johanna developed her first AR filter as part of a campaign she was working on, luckily for her, it was declined by skeptical marketers who were not yet ready to embrace AR in January 2019. Since she had already developed it, she just went ahead and published the Beauty 3000 filter on her personal profile. At the time it absolutely stood out from the cat ear and dogs nose filters on Instagram and turned a human face into a beautiful plastic cyborg creature. It went viral. Since then Johanna created a number of viral filters, left her job at the agency, created the world’s first blockchain haute couture collection, is making the most of the AR social media revolution and is on her way to reach 1 million followers.
Mercedes-Benz stepped into the AR filter arena 4 months later and released an Instagram filter as part of the CLA launch campaign. Although still reckoned the first car brand to enter the scene, there still must be a bitter after taste knowing that they could have done it all the way in January, pioneered the hype and harvested all the success that Johanna did. This is a print screen I made from Johanna’s featured stories, since she is bothered to make an announcement of a branded filter, I dare to make an assumption that the brand went right back to her to get it made….for a much higher price tag than when they offered to in January, I suppose.
So what makes AR filters the shortcut to grow an account’s following organically? Johanna gained 800 000+ followers within 6 months because the only way an Instagram user can gain access to the filter of a certain creator is by subscribing to their account, the mere act of following the account automatically gives access to the effects published from said account.
AR filters is that shortcut that converts viewers into followers that we have all been waiting for. Just like Face swap brought Snap 200 000 million new users within 2 weeks and Johanna 800 000 + new followers within 6 months, if you are successful in developing a sick creative with your AR filter, it can accelerate your Instagram following literally overnight. Every marketer’s dream of going viral has finally become possible again to achieve after years of battling with hashtags, ever-changing algorithms and getting crafty with developing collaborations with influencers and content plans with social media agencies. And don’t even get me started on shameful bot mass following…
AR filters also drive engagement and if developed and published regularly give your brand an opportunity to publish video content that doesn’t require any production whatsoever, all that needs to be done is a selfie video with your Instagram filter and voila the Instagram magic starts working in your favour, because the almighty Instagram algorithm prioritizes video content and rewards it with a wider reach. Equally AR filters drive engagement with stories views, your new subscribers will stay tuned to your brand’s stories not to miss any new filter releases either.
While many marketers are still being skeptical about AR filters that are disrupting (while this word is being thrown left, right and center nowadays this is indeed a legitimate use case of the word) social media and are waiting for data on ROI from others to then follow their footsteps, a new plethora of social media influencers — like Johanna Jawskowska — is rising strong. Some Spark AR creators have reported their filters being used by over a billion users. And speaking of ROI — the investment into an AR Instagram experiment in proportion to your marketing budget is so ridiculously small and the potential results are so ridiculously disproportionately big — there is absolutely no reason not to try. And when you do try, focus on the quality of your creative and nail it.
If you are skeptical marketer still working on non-augmented influencer collaborations and content plans with your social media agencies, I want you to know that you are riding a horse when the train has been already invented and with the release of Spark AR to public beta the tickets are now available to everyone. The train has not only been invented it already left the station and is heading to internet 3.0 AR boom with your consumer on it, so you better catch-up fast if you don’t want to be left behind.
