With 4.2 billion social media users and 4.15 billion mobile devices users worldwide, it is not a surprise that marketers concentrate on social media and mobile marketing for their advertising campaigns. The focus on mobile is clear since several major social media, gaming, and e-commerce platforms or some of their features are exclusively accessed via mobile devices, increasing smartphone traffic by 222% in the last years. Among them Clubhouse, game apps, Instagram AR filters and LinkedIn stories, you name it.
Mobile opened the doors to marketing for innovative emerging technologies, such as VR, AR, MR, and 360 degrees videos. Check out some virtual reality ads in our creative gallery. These immersive technologies allow people experience new virtual environments, engage with favorite brands and try appealing products.
Social media also stepped towards immersive technologies, like Instagram launching augmented reality (AR) “Try on” ads. AR enables enriching a real-world environment with virtual superimposing objects that can be limited only with the imagination of marketers. But let’s start from the beginning.
It all started with people loving to play with AR face filters on Instagram, Snapchat, or Pinterest. Users have fun adding virtual objects like flowers, glasses, make-up, etc., in their social media stories or posts, indicating that they love to be entertained, apart from showing how good they look with these filters on.
So, why not entertain people with ads? What if they could virtually try your new line of hats, glasses, or jewelry? Compared to pictures or videos, which can capture your attention for a limited time, AR enables fashion enthusiasts to dive into an immersive experience, engage longer, or even indirectly promote your brand by sharing photos and videos in their network, and therefore go viral.
Instagram started testing glasses and make-up ads with certain advertisers. With this option, people can virtually try on, e.g., sunglasses or lipstick by simply holding the front camera of their phone in front of them, like if they would take a selfie. When they look on the phone screen, they will see the object or make-up appearing immediately on their face. This way they can see if the color or the form of the product is a good fit for them, without going in person to a store, and they can buy it directly online. Instagram plans to expand this AR advertising possibility for other kind of products too.
Of course, you can advertise your product on Instagram also by simply adding personalized filter options on your business’ profile, like Louis Vuitton, Pepsi, Gucci, and many other companies do. They are not necessarily connected to a product people can directly buy, like an ad, but they are still a way to create awareness and improve engagement among Instagram users. If you go, for example, on Luis Vuitton’s profile, you can try on filters like branded sunglasses for skiing or a branded face mask. Just think that 80% of the Instagram users follow a brand on this social media and 60% like to discover new products on the platform. These are high numbers that highlight how important it is to keep up with new forms of advertising. The users are there, and you need to grab the opportunity to increase engagement with your brand.
In conclusion, mobile phones gave social media the possibility to bring engagement to the next level with these new forms of advertising. There are tons of AR filters out there that you can use to advertise your business, increasing people’s curiosity for your brand.
And if you are still a little confused, Adello team can help you to set up your social media advertising campaign and bring the best know-how in mobile advertising. Contacts us for more information 😉
