When Facebook acquired the Oculus virtual reality headset developer in 2014, there were suggestions that the purpose of the social network was to generate revenue from advertising a virtual reality headset.
A survey of 11,300 people in 11 countries, recently published in a Facebook report for marketers, shows how to monetize the acquisition! Namely, Facebook wants to enable people to view purchases without physically visiting stores, and to facilitate social connections between friends and family members.
Thus, a new SMM tool appears, which will significantly expand the possibilities of selling in social networks.
The study touched upon the themes of virtual and augmented reality, but the respondents showed more interest in VR. In all 11 countries, 65 percent of surveyed users expect virtual reality to become part of their daily lives. And the results were as follows: 87 percent of users in India, 60 in the United States and 45 in France. In addition, 63 percent of users said they want to use virtual reality to test products before they buy, which seems to be the clearest example of using virtual reality in a survey.
Previewing travel destinations or hotels was the most popular destination for a virtual reality tool, which attracted more than 70 percent of all responding users. While watching immersive films and fitting clothes or make-up averaged just under 60 percent. Surprisingly, the use of virtual reality for games is perhaps the most popular direction today, only 48 percent of all respondents liked. The numbers were much higher in developing countries than in developed ones, reflecting a broader trend for VR as a whole.
Facebook has repeatedly stressed its role as a link between people from different parts of the world, so it is not surprising that the study revealed a significant interest in related virtual reality applications. According to the survey, 60 percent of people want to use VR to communicate with people who are far away, and 54 percent believe that VR will be used to participate in important events at a distance.
For comparison, AR (augmented reality) continues to be in an emerging state. Facebook notes that users are still getting used to augmented reality on mobile devices, "even if they don’t think of it as AR." Some examples include real-time text translators, AR games such as Pokémon Go, and masks applied in Instagram history.
Facebook claims that 63 percent of US Internet users tried AR, created by Instagram.
The company announced the results of the study to marketers, suggesting that it is time for retail brands to determine whether using AR or VR will help promote sales. AR may be the best solution for a cosmetic product, while VR may work better for showing beautiful places on the planet, auto reviews, etc.
The level of interest in virtual and augmented reality "is only growing," says Facebook, which is stimulated by cheap universal headsets, such as the Oculus Go for $ 200. This attracts many novice users of virtual reality.
Business owners should now think about an impending trend. Get a page on social networks if it isn’t? and replenish it with interesting high-quality thematic content!
And IT company Futureinapps will help you to be ready for any IT innovations in SMM!
