F8: Potential For Influence Marketing With Facebook Camera Effects

During this year’s F8—Facebook’s annual developer’s conference—Mark Zuckerberg made an announcement about Facebook Camera Effects that could get the creative juices flowing for influence marketers everywhere.

Facebook’s new Camera Effects Platform turns smartphone cameras into an open augmented reality (AR) platform, allowing artists and developers to create effects for the Facebook camera. Currently in beta, the platform allows anyone to create their own custom backgrounds and effects that can be overlaid onto real-life images.

The camera feature itself launched at the end of March with effects such as masks and frames as well as interactive filters you can apply to photos and videos. Included with this new Camera Effects Platform are two creative tools—Frame Studio and AR Studio, that offers a full spectrum of camera effects from simple frames to interactive augmented reality experiences.

While brands can and will no doubt have a bit of fun with the Camera Effects Platform, the availability for millions of users to create them could make discovery a bit more difficult. In that case, it may be best to let creators do what they do best.

For savvy Snapchat and Instagram creators, the Camera Effects Platform is yet another way to entertain their audiences and create value for their brand partnerships. Popular social media stars like mplatco, Shonduras and Cyrene Quiamco are famous for their ability to transform ordinary selfies into detailed pieces of art, which will translate well onto the new platform. Quiamco, for example, has partnered with such brands as Groupon and Disney for sponsored posts.

“Facebook Camera Effects puts Zuckberg’s network ahead of the curve, surpassing Snapchat and Instagram in terms of FUNctionality, which will help drive more engagement on the platform,” says Lindsey Buchanan, director of content strategy at the Influencer Orchestration Network. “Not everyone is on Snapchat but most people have a Facebook account. With the demise of Vine, creators have been flocking to Facebook to connect with their audience. These new features will allow them to be even more creative and entertaining, hopefully reaching an even wider audience.”

That’s not to say brands aren’t lining up to use Facebook Camera Effects themselves. Electronic Arts, GIPHY, Nike and Warner Brothers are among Facebook’s early AR Studio beta partners.

Is influence marketing on Facebook a profitable venture? The creators think so. July 2016 research found that 32 percent of US creators cite Facebook as being the best platform for influence marketing, followed by Instagram at 24 percent. Facebook offers tracking and monetization tools that help creators build their presence and of course, revenue. Marketer opinions are similar, with a quarter using Instagram for influence marketing campaigns and 21 percent on Facebook.

It goes without saying that a whole lot of people are on Facebook and with 48 percent of all selfies being posted on the social network, adding a bit more creativity than the duck face is good for creators, brands and audiences alike.