How to create custom Instagram filters for your brand? – Sociality.io Blog

How to create custom Instagram filters for your brand?

Custom Instagram filters are getting more and more popular among Instagram users. The possibilities of AR filters are endless. Instagram AR filters can increase awareness of your brand by bringing emotions and making your audience unique. In this article, you find out what benefits can be derived from using Instagram AR filters and how to create Instagram AR filters by yourself.

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What is an Instagram filter (also called AR filter)?

Brands are increasingly interested in AR (augmented reality) technology. Big IT corporations and technology companies like Facebook, Google, and Samsung are actively investing in AR. At the moment, one of the most popular AR marketing tools is social media AR filters.

One of the most affordable and easy-to-use promotion tools is Instagram AR filters.

Instagram AR filters first appeared in 2017. Initially, only Instagram’s creative team was engaged in the creation of AR filters. Standard AR filters were available on Instagram stories. Nowadays, Facebook is using a new strategy. Today everyone can upload their AR filters to Facebook and Instagram.

Instagram doesn’t pay accounts for creating new filters. Every time someone uses a customized filter, the account name of its creator is indicated at the top. If a filter goes viral, the creator can get new followers.

By August 2019, more than 1 billion people have already used AR effects and filters on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Portal. People use Instagram AR filters because they are fun to use and make Stories more attractive. With Instagram AR filters, there is no easier way to reach your audience and boost engagement.

Instagram AR filters are getting more and more dynamic. By the beginning of 2020, Instagram Stories took over AR filter tests. Users were posting selfies with a filter that randomly determined which Friends characters they were or which Hogwarts faculty they would be enrolled in.

How brands can use AR Filters?

Instagram AR filters can be used in a variety of business areas. Cosmetics companies are releasing AR filters that make it easier for customers to choose the shades of lipsticks and the eyeshadows that are right for them. It’s easier to buy a product if you already know how it looks on you.

Ray Ban’s custom Reindeerized filter is a great example of how you can promote your product by a fun way of trying it on.

Creative IG filters get shared and get excellent audience reach. With the help of Instagram AR filters, the brand is repeatedly mentioned in Stories, attracting a new audience that can be turned into customers.

By using customized filters, users generate content themselves. It almost sounds like a free advertisement, but a very native one. Adding a native mention of your brand or elements that evoke associations with it can help in building audience loyalty to your brand.

The more people want to talk about the brand themselves, the better for the brand. And IG filters are just the perfect tool for this.

If you select Mac Cosmetics’ AR filters, you find custom filters that allow users to try different lashes, eyeshadows, and lipsticks. Fix Plus Vibes filter is a vibe randomizer. Otherwise way to make a user addicted because you want to try it again and again.

Instagram users love to post themselves, especially when they look good or funny. Instagram filters allow them to be so. Instagram users try to make their Stories more attractive, so they are always looking for ways to diversify them. Thus, Instagram filters are a great medium to increase audience engagement and activity.

Introducing the Spark AR Studio

So what tool is used for creating Instagram AR filters? Spark AR Studio is a platform where the process of creating an Instagram AR filter takes place. 

Once it was made public, everyone came up with new ideas. 

The Spark AR team has already done most of the work for you. When Facebook made Spark AR open to the public, it also launched a community of creators to help its members create AR filters. There are many official tutorials and materials on the Spark AR platform that will significantly help newbies.

Step by step guide on creating Instagram filters

Here are the steps to create your own Instagram filters.

Step 1. Download and install Spark AR Studio on your computer or laptop. Also, install the mobile application on your smartphone.

Step 2. Log in to the program with Facebook.

Step 3. Launch Spark AR Studio on your computer. Connect a smartphone and a computer via USB cable so that later we can test our mask on a smartphone, so you will be able to test filters on a mobile device.

Step 4. Click the “Create New” button in the lower right corner of the application window to create a new AR filter. To edit a previously created project, click “Open.”

Step 5. Finding faces in the frame and determining their exact coordinates is one of the essential functions of creating filters. So you need to add a tracker by clicking Add – Scene Understanding – Face Tracker. Now the program tracks all the movements in the frame.

Then click Add – 3D Objects – Face Mesh. The program will select the face in the frame and make a checkerboard mask out of it. 

Now you can stretch the mask by dragging the axis arrows. Since this is a 3D object, there is a section with layers to the essential change some parameters. For example, uncheck the “Eyes” or “Mouth” so that the filter completely covers the eyes or mouth, respectively.

Step 6. Go to the faceMesh0 option in the Scene block. Select Create New Material so that material0 appears in the Assets panel. Click on it and try changing the settings. For example, change the color.

To make your filter unique and outstanding, add objects, special effects, and textures. If you want to create something original besides the standard materials available in the program, you need to prepare Photoshop files. Convert files to png format before importing.

Step 7. To test the filter on the smartphone, click the Mirror button in the upper right corner of the Spark AR Studio program. Make sure that the finished file does not exceed 20 MB. Otherwise, nothing will work.

Step 8. When your filter is ready, save it to your computer. Go to the Spark AR Center to upload your AR filter. You need to apply to use the beta version, so other people can use your filter. Upon successful verification, the filter will be available to the followers. Filters can be uploaded not only on Instagram but also on Facebook.

After uploading the IG filters’ statistics of your filter will be available. To see the statistics, go to the Insights in Spark AR Hub. Here you can find out how many times other Instagram users viewed your filter, how many times your filter was shared in Stories, etc.

Instagram filters are gaining popularity and will be in demand for a long time. Therefore, stay on top of the trends and make some excellent Instagram AR filters.

Related article: How to create & upload branded GIFs to Instagram Stories?