The Future VR/AR of Social

Virtual really is to Total Recall as Augmented Reality is to Pokemon Go!

There’s some exciting news making way on virtual reality/augmented reality that should hit the social scene by 2019. Will this be a major win for business leaders marketing their product to an already online society? For now, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft are working out the kinks before VR/AR makes its debut at an affordable price for the consumer.

Before we get excited for the future of Social, what is vr/ar? Virtual really is to Total Recall as Augmented Reality is to Pokemon Go! With VR, you’ll experience a new reality in the comfort of your home by plugging into a system, i.e PlayStation VR. And with AR, reality is accompanied with an interactive filter.

While vr/ar is still in beta ‘retro arcade” mode, it’s well on its way taking social media to the next level. What does this mean for social? For starters, Snapchat is already creating buzz in virtual experiences with it’s Spectacles. Although consumers aren’t ready to make a full commitment to the hands free experience it’s a big step for the social media game change.

For the future of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, VR/AR will be a major role in audience engagement. Engagement is key to reaching out to the community. Staying ahead of the game should be priority with social media development. Adding features like VR/AR will create even more potential growth between marketers and their relationship with their consumers.

The main focus for social and VR/AR at this point affordability, accessibility and comfort. While plugging into a virtual headset is a great first step in the way consumers interact with products, immobility seems to be the pain nobody wants to deal with on a regular basis. But Augmented reality is winning big with mobility- i.e Snapchat facial recognition filter animations.

It won’t be too long until Facebook will feature animated filters on Instagram. This is promising for major social media platforms and will lead toward a continued climb for the top of the hierarchy. Social media engagement with consumers could see great innovation towards making virtual reality a tool as a marketing necessity. Consumers can make on the go decisions based on instant connectivity with influencers streaming live video feed.

If software engineers at Sony and Microsoft could team up with Apple and Samsung to execute an app and device that functions fully as a VR/AR mobile system with a sleek design and affordable price, 2019 could see huge gains for consumers connected to the internet. And by late 2020’s I would like to see mobile devices as earpieces/eye wear that connect to the web via VR/AP. For now, VR/AP connectivity will have to live in beta form as the goofy, bulky “space goggle”.

Although VR/AR used as marketing tool could seem less human, the reality is everyone has a product they believe could make your life better. And if that product is in another state or country, influencers connected on VR/AR live streaming can make being online more human by building relationships.