How Virtual Reality can be a total game changer for Digital Marketers
Virtual Reality is the new, dynamic kid in school and everyone wants to be friends with it. Virtual Reality has come far away from just being a thing of Sci-fi movies. If we talk about marketing as a segment in focus, digital/content marketing and VR go hand in hand as part of integrated marketing strategy, creating an immersive experience for both consumers and the brand.
In a recent study on early adopters of virtual reality and augmented reality, it was concluded that 62% of consumers say they would feel more engaged with a brand that offers immersive VR experience. On the other hand, 71% of consumers think a brand is modern and futuristic if it utilizes virtual reality. In a nutshell, consumers are more likely to purchase from a brand that uses VR.
That being said, virtual reality is all the rage for marketers. Mainly because VR experiences are becoming easier to create. Creating a unique and interactive content on regular basis has always been challenging for digital marketers, but getting on board with the VR trend ensures creating consistent immersive experience for consumers. Pairing up your content with VR apps or Google Cardboard can help you create an experience that engages all the five senses of your consumers — taste, touch, hearing, smell and sight.
But before you hop on this new bandwagon, it’s important to take a step back and determine how developing VR enabled content will help you create an outstanding degree of user immersion. Especially, when new Oculus will be on everyone’s Christmas list this year!
It’s not just about the content, anymore!
Don’t focus on just creating VR content. Create stories and experiences that aim at giving your customers in-depth view of your product offerings. In fact, VR can be a powerful medium for both passive and interactive storytelling. With VR, you have to create content strategies that elevate storytelling way beyond anything that anyone has ever experienced before. A creatively crafted story, coupled with jaw-dropping visuals, ambisonic audio, immersive spatial and even aromas can create an authentic, transporting experience when done properly and responsibly. This is an incredible way to put your viewers into a new perspective and VR into mainstream, mass- market audiences.
“Find out if story you want to create will be monoscopic (2D) or stereoscopic (3D). Not every 360-degree story has to have 3D or depth. 2D, 360 stories — when well told and produced — can rival any 3D experience. The problem with 3D is that people don’t always know how to perceive depth. They see the 3D, 360 video and think, “that’s blurry.” It’s not blurry. The viewer is perceiving depth, but doesn’t always know how to process that kind of content. It’s up to you: you can play it safe and go 2D, 360. Or if you have a bigger budget and the shop you hire can procure high-quality proprietary camera rigs, shoot for the moon” as directed by Sarah Hill, CEO and chief storyteller of StoryUP.
There are certain kinds of experiences that naturally fall under the domain of virtual reality. Notably, location is a character in VR and hence, it is important to choose stories that enable immersive environments or perhaps can be used to create one. The whole point is to create a greater sense of empathy in viewers by creating content that piques their interests.
“Most common reaction of the first viewers of virtual reality has been : “It feels like being there”.
Make the content highly personalized
In VR, you take the customers into your virtual studio and show them your best product offerings. Perhaps allowing them to actually pick up products, make bookings and walk around in your virtual world without leaving the comfort of their home.
For instance, the concept of store “Walk-Throughs” is already in its infancy being explored by some of the world’s top flagship stores. As spoken by Mark Hardy, CEO at InContext Solutions, in a recent article, “We’re seeing clothing companies using VR to try out virtual dressing rooms, or as a way to bring shoppers into the store with VR marketing campaigns,” wrote Mark Hardy,
Similarly VR in real estate has started creating a buzz in the industry with its guided virtual visits that only adds another possibility to the mix. This way clients get the ability to take a tour without having to spend time and money on traveling from one place to another, also naturally increasing sales efficiency and making user experience more interactive.
In short, viewers move their head to the left and they can select from the huge collection of apparel from GUCCI’s store. They move their head to the right, they can “tap” to buy one of the most coveted home decor pieces from IKEA. All they have to do is lay their hands on units like Gear VR or an Oculus Developers Kit and get involved.
Given all the advancements in the virtual domain, it won’t be wrong to say that the demand of high quality VR experience will continue to grow in future, especially when general consumers being able to equip themselves with VR Hardware, tools and applications. With Facebook and YouTube now supporting the 360-degree camera format to leverage on user-generated content, there’s no better time than now to use VR to boost engagement and overall brand trust.
How ready are you to implement Virtual Reality into your marketing, promotion and content strategies?
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Originally published at xporium.blog on December 6, 2017.
