Augmented Reality Shopping On Google And 3 More Updates

Thursday's here🐵 Time for our weekly social media updates; and it looks like augmented reality's starting to become our reality.. Let's dive in to discover more!

Improved AR Product Displays On Google

The platform remains the key discovery starting point for a great many eCommerce searches - if you want to ensure your products are being found, you need to align with the latest Google search trends to maximize your exposure potential.

First off, after announcing a new Shopify intergration to streamline its Google Shopping connection process, Google is now expanding its third-party shopping partners, with WooCommerce, GoDaddy soon.
That will provide new, simplified processes to enable integration with these platforms into Google's shopping listings, which will make it easier to connect up your existing processes and port them into Google's product displays across search, Maps and YouTube.

In addition to this, Google is looking to stay in touch with the next phase of digital product discovery, through the expanded use of AR for item listings and promotions:

"We launched an AR (augmented reality) makeup kit try-on experience for lipstick and eyeshadow, and soon consumers will be able to find that perfectly matching foundation, from brands like L'Oreal and Estee Lauder."

The new AR displays will be available in various Google discovery surfaces, while AR Try On tools have been available on YouTube since 2019. But Google's also looking to take those tools a step further:
"Consumers also want to visualize how clothing will look on them. We’re rolling out a new AR apparel experience to show shoppers how different tops appear on people like them."

Enabling full virtual try-on experiences, through advanced body mapping, is the next stage of eCommerce discovery. Snapchat has made the most significant advances on this front, with its footwear try on tools and advancing Body Tracking Lenses that will eventually facilitate complete try-on experiences. It seems that Google, too, is now moving in this direction.

 

Twitter Launches 'Twitter Blue'; Paid Subscription Feature

'Twitter Blue' subscription service will enable users to pay a monthly fee to gain access to a range of additional tweet features and tools.

As explained by Twitter:

"We’ve heard from the people that use Twitter a lot, that we don’t always build power features that meet their needs. We took this feedback to heart, and are developing exclusive features and perks that will take their experience on Twitter to the next level."

Those tools are:

Undo tweets -Twitter Blue subscribers will get access to a "customizable timer of up to 30 seconds" to click ‘Undo’ before the Tweet, reply, or thread gets posted to their timeline - so you can make it 10 seconds, 20 seconds, etc. It's not tweet editing, but likely the closest you'll ever get to an editing feature.

Bookmark Folders - Categorize their saved Tweets into assigned topic folders, providing more ways to manage content in the app. That, eventually, could be particularly handy for eCommerce listings in tweets.

Reader Mode - Turn tweet threads into clutter-free, easy-to-read text, so that you can read all the tweeted content in a single stream.

Color theme - Twitter Blue subscribers will also be able to select from a range of color options for their UX display. These options are already available on desktop.

App icon - Blue subscribers will also get a new selection of custom app icons that they can use on their device.

Dedicated Support - Blue users will also get access to dedicated subscription customer support.

You can see the new 'Bookmark Folders', 'Undo Tweets' and 'Reader Mode' options here:

Twitter Blue will first be made available to users in Canada and Australia, and priced at $3.49 CAD/$4.49 AUD, respectively. Twitter plans to gather feedback from this initial test pool, before making the option available to more regions.

*Twitter Blue is currently available for users in Canada and Australia. You can also follow the new @TwitterBlue account for further info.

LinkedIn Adds New 'Boost' Option for Organic Posts

LinkedIn is looking to make it easier for brands to maximize the reach of their posts, with a new, Facebook-like ’Boost-option’.

"Starting today, you can easily “Boost” any high-performing organic post directly from your LinkedIn Page. With the click of a button and a few payment details, you can give your most engaging or time-sensitive content a little boost to quickly expand your audience reach."

LinkedIn explains that users will be able to pick from four objectives when boosting:

Brand Awareness - Video Views - Engagement - Website Visits

You'll then be able to select your target audience:

Profile based - Select target audience criteria from job seniorities, job functions, or company industries.

Interests based - Select target audience criteria from member groups.

LinkedIn Audience template - Select a LinkedIn Audience template with pre-set targeting options.

 

In addition to this, LinkedIn's adding a new Event Ads option to help marketers boost awareness of their virtual events.

 

Snap Moves Into the Next Phase of AR

It's been a long time coming, but this week, Snapchat announced the next stage of its augmented reality push, with the launch of the fully AR-enabled version of its Spectacles smart glasses.