Augmented Reality has successfully integrated itself into our lives in many ways. Now, it has caught up with social media. The global AR in the social media market is said to grow at a compound annual growth rate of?57.3%
?by 2027. In the US, the number of social media AR users increased from 29.9 million to?48.3 million
?in 3 years. Facebook has introduced AR capabilities for Instagram with the help of Spark AR Studio. The goal of this innovation is to help creators build different types of AR experiences. Spark AR Studio is an Augmented Reality Platform that allows the creation of AR effects for mobile cameras. Using Spark AR Studio, Instagram can spread AR to the masses. More than?600 million
?people across Instagram and Facebook are using AR filters. A variety of features available to users aim to simplify and streamline the creation of AR effects. It also includes templates so that creators get a head-start for the creation of popular effects.
?Features of?Spark AR Studio
?for Instagram
- ?AR Target Tracking – With this feature, a user can create an AR experience by integrating an AR effect into a static image. This can include logos, signs, pictures, or any flat surface in the real world. By pointing the camera at the target image, a digital overlay in the camera is created.
- Native Slider – The Native Slider is an optional controller that gives users an option to make fine adjustments to the AR effect, like changing the size of augmentations, animations, or objections. This provides a user with better personalization and control.?
- Pre-defined templates – Using existing templates, users can modify, customize and create their AR projects, ranging from popular effects like background segmentation or face masks to color effects and filters with the help of 3D objects. Templates give a quick starting point to ideas.?
- Actions – "Actions" is a set of activities that are repetitive or common that are made into shortcuts. These time-saving shortcuts for routine tasks help creators streamline their workflow. It includes placing objects on people, positioning them in the world, or adding simple animation objects.?
- In-App Upload – Spark AR Studio has an in-app upload feature, which removes several manual steps like exports and uploads to Spark AR Hub, automation in Spark AR Studio, etc. It simply directs users to upload effects from the Studio in one step. This ensures a better user experience while preparing the publish of effects.?
?How can businesses use Spark AR for Instagram??
- ?AR effects for online shopping – Instagram has successfully established an online shopping environment in its ecosystem. But some products cannot be effectively judged with the help of photos or videos. AR effects can help users virtually try on products to decide how it looks on them before making a purchase.?61%
?of online shoppers prefer AR-based websites and?63%
?say it improves their shopping experience.?
- AR effects for publishers – Just like the E-commerce industry, publishers can create their AR effects on Instagram for promotional purposes.?67%
?of media planners want AR in marketing campaigns. For instance, if a user has a food channel on YouTube, they can create a unique food-related AR effect. If the effect gets popular, the channel will also be promoted alongside.?
- AR effects for causes – Businesses can raise awareness on different causes using AR effects that symbolize that cause. The AR effect will then be associated with the cause, creating enough engagement among users and finding people who can contribute to the betterment of the cause.?
?Best?practices
?for utilizing AR effects on Instagram
- ?Express, capture and inspire – Instagram is a visual medium and sharing aesthetic and creativity using AR can help a user engage with an audience. Effects can also be used to amplify the feelings of people or inspire them. Create an effect that serves a need.?
- Create for a wider audience – The most popular AR effects are the ones that make a user the center of attention. Such effects can be used and reused by the larger audience as the effect isn't restricted to a particular event or action.?
- Keep heavy branding elements aside – The main demography of AR users are young people (ages of 16-34
) who like to engage with different aspects of a brand, not just obvious pointers like a logo or tagline. Introducing these obvious elements into the AR effect might do the opposite of promotion for a brand. Colors, designs, mascots, or products are more reasonable choices.?
- Make it simple and exciting – Users do not spend several hours trying to decide upon an effect. If an effect is complex or needs multiple triggers to activate, or doesn't work on both the front and back cameras, a user might just skip it altogether.?
- Think outside the box – As AR effects can be created by anyone, the factor that will separate an effect from a hundred other ones is the novelty. Striking a balance between novelty, fun, simplicity, and re-usability will result in a popular AR effect.?
Thus, Spark AR Studio is an excellent medium for creating AR effects on Instagram and connecting to the audience in an immersive way. AR in social media has a lot of growth potential, and any business can ride the tide of AR through its filters and effects. Apple and Google expect?36.4 billion
?dollars in earnings from the AR industry over next few years. Meanwhile, Facebook continues to roll out new features for Spark AR Studio, and the ease of creating and using AR effects keeps improving. Soon, AR will triumph over social media and become even more accessible to users and an influx of creative content based on AR technology will gain popularity.?
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