Over half of North Americans complain about shortening attention spans, and while it would be great to solve for that problem, instead of lean into it....well, I don't need to say it....but good luck! As a business who is fighting tooth and nail for any second of their audience's day, what can you do to earn some mindshare or eyeshare (is eyeshare a word?!?) The answer is easy in principle but difficult in practice, which is to show up where your audience is already spending their time, and engage with them in manner that is appropriate to said environment.
Enter augmented reality instagram filters, the most addictive pastime for Gen Z, X & Millenials alike. More than 600 million people use Instagram & Facebook (ahem...Meta) filters every month. For those haven't "crossed over" yet, AR filters are computer generated effects that superimpose videos, photos and artwork on top of the user, and also create dynamic interactions between them. You can try on a pair of 3 dimensional Prada glasses or do like we did, produce a short gamified experience for a specific industry (press the yellow play button in the header image to see us in action).
While we will leave explaining the development of your next AR filter to your creative partner, here are 3 strategies to get the most out of this exploding opportunity:
Instagram is full of communities, that share the same professional and/or personal interests. Create an experience that will resonate with one such community, and they will not only be quick to try out the filter, but also to share it on their grid or in a story. While creating a general fun or kitschy filter is certainly a cure for boredom, creating one with purpose, that activates a tribe will increase the probability of social shares.
Popular Influencers or Creators in your target niche have built trust in the communities you're trying to activate, and just like any proper brand campaign, celebrity (yes they're at least pseudo-celebrities) endorsement goes a long way. While it goes without saying that the larger audience a Creator has, the more eyeballs on your filter - a better stat to measure is their engagement rate. The more likes, comments and shares their content consistently gets, the more likely their community will be moved to action when they see your filter.
Keep it simple, stupid. While on Instagram, users are generally in a fairly mindless state (SAD!), that is to say they are just killing time and generally not looking to be challenged in any sort of meaningful way. What we mean by that is, don't get too fancy with your idea or programmatic logic, the easier the filter is to use, the more likely someone will be to use it. Sounds simple at first, but once your mind is opened to what's possible in AR, I can be sure your mind will start to race with the possibilities. So just keep it fun, light, and easy to use!
Some may have a problem with this, others will simply see it as the current state of social, but the better someone thinks they look, the more likely they are to post. Now your filter may have nothing to do with beauty products or even what the user's face looks like, but by applying a subtle skin smoothing effect, people's confidence will be boosted, and they'll feel better about sharing - it's the same boost of confidence people feel IRL when they're wearing makeup or a dope outfit.
