How Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Can Help Your Social Media Strategy

If you’ve spent any time developing a social media strategy you know making an impact with your audience isn’t always easy. Enter the newest addition to your content mix: Augmented (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR). Recently, social media platforms have been incorporating AR and VR features into their platforms and brand and users alike are getting in on the action. In fact, with AR and VR projected to hit a combined $150 billion revenue by 2020, this trend isn’t going away anytime soon.

What’s the Difference Between Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality?

When it comes to incorporating AR and VR in your social media strategy, there’s a bit of overlap between the two. Augmented reality blurs the line between an imagined world and reality by overlaying digital information on our real-world experiences. Remember that Pokémon Go craze that swept the nation in 2016? That’s augmented reality.

Virtual reality (VR) on the other hand immerses you in a digital world allowing you to experience something without any physical effects. When most people think of VR they think of those big VR goggles but that’s not the only way VR can come into play.

So how can you incorporate AR and VR in your Social Media Strategy?

There are many ways to incorporate AR and VR into your social media strategy, but some of the most common uses are…

• Sponsored Lenses: Ever put a filter on your face in Snapchat? Perhaps one of the most well-known uses of AR on social media is through the use of filters or lenses. Originally pioneered by Snapchat, Instagram now has these too. Brands can sponsor a lens. Snapchat has even added a shoppable component to their AR lenses so users can buy products right from their app.
• Chat-Bots: While the bots themselves use AI to chat with your customers on social media, you can incorporate AR here as well to give customers some visual assistance. Estee Lauder did this by having their chatbot use AR to help customers find that perfect lipstick shade.
• Events: Events were made for social sharing and now brands are incorporating augmented and virtual reality to make a bigger impact. From letting fans attend from the comfort of home to offering games during downtime there’s no shortage of ways to use AR/VR at your next event.
• 360 Video: Now you can incorporate VR on your website or social media through 360 videos. Most commonly used on Facebook, this lets people experience something without actually being there with a 360 view of what’s happening. Consider using VR to showcase industry events, give tours to prospective students, train folks on how to use your product and more.

And what impact can it make on your social media strategy?

Using AR and VR as part of your social media strategy is a customer experience win-win. Not only does it make it easy for your customers to get involved, it can also lead to increased brand awareness and engagement with your content. VR and AR can give your users a way to experience your products, beyond just looking at a picture on your website.

While, like anything on social media, you shouldn’t expect immediate results overnight using AR and VR in your social media strategy can be a great way to stand out from the competition. So get out there and start experimenting to see what works for your brand.