Last Updated on Apr 8, 2020 by James W
The debate over whether or not augmented reality will be beneficial to marketers is over. This technology gives brands the opportunity to directly engage with customers to a degree never before possible.
Now that just about everyone accepts the value AR companies offer to marketers, it’s time to focus on another crucial element of the equation: measuring return on investment.
Fortunately, AR makes it easy to evaluate ROI, by letting companies track exactly where, when, and even why a customer interacted with a piece of content. Whether you’re measuring ROI in terms of shared posts on social media, purchases, or just about any other metric, augmented reality provides the information brands need to determine how much they get back from a marketing investment.
AR is Increasing Engagement Value
Marketers already know that user engagement is a sought-after result. What they may not realize just yet, though, is how AR can actually boost the value of an engagement.
First of all, many AR products will provide content or experiences that users have directly requested. Instead of posting an update on a social media platform and hoping people respond to it, brands can tailor their content to the personal tastes and behaviors of a given customer. Engagement with this type of content is much more valuable than engagement with generic posts or notifications.
On top of that, the novelty that many AR apps offer often results in greater social media sharing. For example, imagine an AR program for an apparel company that notifies users that they’re selling a certain garment at a discount. Through AR technology, users can “try it on” first by superimposing it over a selfie.
This is the type of content a user is likely to share with others, further spreading brand awareness. One user’s engagement with this feature could actually earn the attention of multiple others.
Improved Strategies Thanks to Augmented Reality
AR programs typically allow marketers to more effectively gather information about the success of a piece of marketing content. This makes the process of testing out different strategies much simpler.
Best of all, they can evaluate a campaign’s success by focusing on their own preferred metrics. One brand may be trying to earn more social shares with a campaign, while another might be trying to encourage users to purchase a particular item. Because AR makes it possible to track different kinds of engagement, marketers can adjust campaigns and tailor them to their own specific goals.
That said, AR isn’t going to alter marketing best practices in any clear way just yet. Brands will still need to provide users with valuable content that features a clear call-to-action. They’ll still have to decide what their goals are before launching a campaign, and they’ll still have to make adjustments if their efforts don’t yield the intended results.
Luckily, AR makes it easier to accomplish all of these goals. It’s time for marketers to embrace the potential of this technology now, before they have to compete with others to leverage it in unique, appealing ways.
