Did you, like so many other people, fall in love with the fun augmented reality effects of SnapChat and similar platforms? Their integrated camera effects took social media by storm and attracted millions of new users to the new platform to play with the special effects.

Users love the playfulness of the SnapChat AR experience. Until now, those effects have been largely used for fun. But as of this week, Facebook is paving the way for widespread monetization of the AR experience.

Now, ad designers can add AR experiences to Facebook mobile ads. But designers will still have to wait for those experiences to be readily available and affordable. That is to say that the AR experience is there, but it's still not there for advertisers who are on a smaller budget.

How so?

In the future, it's easy to predict that AR experiences will be cataloged and sold in a Facebook library. For example, after selecting to create a mobile camera integrated ad, an ad designer might simply add and AR effect by selecting from a preexisting library.

What makes the new AR experience not that user-friendly yet, is that designers have to add the AR experience they want to apply to their ad.

If that seems confusing, it's like saying that you can add a video overlay to your ad, but Facebook is not supplying the video.

A video may seem like it lacks hurdles; purchasing a video online for an ad is not that expensive these days. But ordering a custom AR experience from an AR studio? That can be quite a pricey undertaking.

However, for larger budget brands who might make extensive progress with an AR experience ad-- say a sunglass company who lets you try on a pair of glasses directly in their ad or an interior decorating company that allows you to project a couch into the corner of your room via your smartphone's camera--investing in a custom, branded AR studio experience is probably worth the investment.

It's not difficult to foresee the largest sunglass companies such as Ray Ban or Oakley jumping to start using the AR try-on feature. 

So how does it work within the Ads Manager? Well, after your AR studio designs the custom AR application and you add it to your library, you just need to apply the following steps:

To create an Augmented Reality Ad:

1. Go to Ads Manager.
2. Click + Create.
3. Select an objective that supports Augmented Reality Ads (Brand Awareness, Reach, Traffic or Conversions) and click Continue.
4. Select your audience, placements and budget and click Continue.
5. Below Format, click Single Image or Video.
6. Upload your feed video. Click Upload Video to upload a new video or Browse Library to select a video from your library.
7. Select the checkbox next to Add an Instant Experience, then select Add AR Experience.
8. Click Use Template to open the Add an AR Experience window.
9. Click Effect and choose the effect you want to use from the dropdown menu. Note: Only effects approved by Spark AR appear in the dropdown menu. Learn more about the Spark AR content policy and getting your effect approved.
10. Add the Website URL and Call to Action, then click Done.
11. Click Text Overlay and choose the action from the dropdown menu you want people to take. You can choose Tap to try it on, Tap to interact or Tap to see it in your space.
12. To preview your Augmented Reality Ad, click Preview on Mobile. We’ll save your augmented reality effect and send you a notification in the Facebook app to open a preview on your phone.
13. In your Facebook app, tap the notification to open your preview.
14. When you’re happy with your Augmented Reality Ad, click Done.
15. You can update your effect after it's published. The new version of the effect will become available in Ads Manager after we've reviewed it. If you're already using the effect in an ad, the ad will automatically update with the new version.

It all seems quite easy when you read the steps outlined above. And it is. Your only hurdle is custom creating an AR experience with an AR studio.

And that's where design agencies like Cote Media can step in. Not only can we design the ads, but we can take the legwork out of researching and budgeting for your AR experience studio project.

We can brainstorm AR experience concepts for your advertising project and work with a studio to make your dreams a reality.

If you're looking to launch your next ads campaign with the latest Facebook functions, give us a call today. Our ability to take over the management of your Facebook Business Manager is seamless and efficient. 

Let's get started implementing your next AR experience project today. 

Shop Now