Snapchat’s AR Lenses have long been a key driver of engagement and interaction in the app, with the company recently reporting that Lenses are used over 80 billion times per month, and that 85% of Snapchatters engage with its AR elements.
And with AR set to become a bigger focus, as Snap and other companies develop their AR-enabled wearables, it’s worth considering the value of virtual experiences, and the lure of AR in driving deeper engagement.
To glean more insight into this, Snapchat recently partnered with Tinuiti to conduct a multi-phase research study, incorporating responses from 5,000 social media users, to examine how social media content, and more specifically, AR, “fits into online conversations and facilitates a more modern word-of-mouth.”
As explained by Snap:
“Ultimately, this study aims to more deeply understand how and why people are using AR as a catalyst of conversations and how brands can meet the desires of Snapchatters in starting a conversation with their community.”
The research shows that AR experiences are shared more often than other social media post types, especially among people’s close connections.
That underlines the connective value of AR, and could point to significant opportunities in facilitating greater social connectivity in future.
Snapchatters also use AR features to create emotional bonds, and find particular value in Lenses for this purpose.
That may also be why AR experiences are viewed as being close to on par with video in terms of influence.
The study also shows that brands can tap into these key elements to drive campaign performance, though there are limits on how much branding people will accept in AR experiences:
“We found that when brands harness core AR sharing motivations – emotional connection and entertainment – they gain a significant advantage in driving share rates and brand lift. However, overt branding seemed to diminish share rates, so finding the right balance is key.”
These are some interesting notes, which point to the value of AR as a brand and advertising tool. That could get you thinking about the potential for your promotions, and with Snap also looking to simplify AR creation, with a range of templates and AI tools that can streamline the process, it may be more open to you than you think.
You can read Snapchat’s full AR resonance study here.
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