SXSW Report: How the Lytro Camera Can Revolutionize Your Business

With SXSW, the major 10-day trade show, music festival and film fest wrapping up on Sunday, intrepid Inc. Well contributor Jabez LeBret will be writing posts about the best things he saw in Austin that can super-charge your business.

The Lytro camera is by far the coolest technology that I’ve held in my hand in a long time. This sleek and sexy camera is going to revolutionize the industry. Recently at SXSW in Austin, I sat down with Kira Scherer Wampler, VP of marketing at Lytro Inc.

In addition to being a really cool gadget, there's also a direct impact on how businesses can use this new technology to increase sales, customer engagement and the viral effect of social media.

Lytro cameras use what's called “light field” technology. Instead of capturing just some of the light and turning it into a still image, Lytro captures all the light from every angle. This provides you the opportunity to interact with the picture after you click the shutter. The first thing I noticed is the ability to change the depth of field. Give it a try, just click anywhere on the photo below to bring into focus different parts of the picture:

Kira walked me through some of the ways businesses could use this technology. Let’s say you own an apparel or accessories store. If you created a small set full of models showing off your items, with Lytro one picture can become a living catalog. Apply some simple coding to your website and that picture can bring volumes of information to the consumer’s fingertips. When a customer clicks on the image to bring an item into focus your website could deliver specific information about that piece including an add to cart button.

The images can also be hosted on Facebook where your fans or friends are able to interact with the image without leaving the website. Getting creative and having images that include well placed branding will lead to better customer engagement. The experience of changing the image will lead to increased sharing.

The camera is even able to take micro-images. This is perfect for restaurants, retail or any company with products. From a business perspective, having people interact with your marketing material is crucial to driving more sales.

This is not a replacement for professional photography. It is certainly putting the ability to create amazing photos, easily, into your hands. You can even print the photos if you want to.

Starting at $399 the Lytro camera is a steal. Some of the features that are coming include 3-D images, the ability to change perspective after you take the picture, and dynamic moving images.

We all know how important images have become to reaching our markets; now you have the ability to both provide good images, but also increase the amount of time people spend with your brand. What does Kira want you to do with the camera, “Experiment, get creative, and happy shooting."

Jabez LeBret is the author of the Amazon No. 1 bestselling law office marketing book How to Turn Clicks Into Clients. As a partner at Get Noticed Get Found, a legal marketing agency, over the last nine years he has delivered over 800 keynote addresses in six countries. His main area of expertise is managing Gen Y in the workplace, advanced Facebook strategies, LinkedIn strategies, Google+, SEO, local directory optimization, and online marketing.

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