YOU’VE SEEN THEM COUNTLESS TIMES. YOU CAN’T HELP BUT TO TRY THEM OUT. AND YOU KNOW THEY MAKE SOCIAL MEDIA SO MUCH MORE FUN. THAT’S RIGHT. WE’RE TALKING ABOUT AR FILTERS!
While brainstorming new ideas to keep our clients’ content extra-relevant and their goals on track during the pandemic, we noticed how Instagram AR filters were becoming popular. So, we set out to make these fun and engaging filters for our clients. We knew these filters would keep each brands’ followers interested and encourage those followers to share the brand.
What are AR filters and how do you make them?
What does AR stand for, you ask? AR stands for augmented reality, and an AR filter is an effect made to be layered on top of the real-life image your camera is displaying.
![A navy blue text graphic that reads: By using your branded [AR] filter, your followers become your brand ambassadors. This means limitless reach and a door wide open for engagement.](https://www.parachutemedia.co/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/blog-quote-ar-filters-forbes.png)
The first question we had to answer: how do we make an AR filter? The answer is a program called Spark AR, created by Facebook. The desktop application is free and the possibilities are endless. From simple to incredibly complicated, there are so many tutorials on the Spark AR website that you can watch to get started. Beyond that, there are additional resources on YouTube to troubleshoot and learn even more dynamic techniques for your AR filters. Then, let your imagination run wild to get followers engaging and sharing about how cool your brand is!
AR filters for dog breeds, shoes, national parks, and more…
We started off with creating an AR filter for Evolve Pet Food: “Which Dog Breed Are You?” With this type of question-and-answer filter, we were able to continue to activate the filter on social media by creating Instagram stories that explained each dog personality. Evolve’s AR filter had more than 6K impressions and 1.5K captures, where the users saved the results to their camera rolls.
After positive feedback from Evolve’s followers, we whipped up an AR filter in the same vein for Merrell: “Which Merrell Shoe Are You?” We followed this AR filter launch with Instagram stories that highlight the personality traits of each Merrell shoe.
The U.S. National Parks inspired our most recent AR filter for Triumph Pet Food. We created bright and bold illustrations for the filter, “Which National Park Should You and Your Dog Adventure to Next?” We used these illustrations for a Triumph blog as well, giving readers a brief description of each dog-friendly park featured in the filter.
We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to the different AR filters we can make for our clients. Spark AR will continue to allow us to differentiate our clients from their competitors on social media and engage their followers, generating more brand awareness that spreads organically.
