Ever since it was announced, the Metaverse has made a huge global splash. Mark Zuckerberg’s fantasy world, which seems strangely familiar to the dystopian world of “Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline, is finally becoming real.
While resembling a world similar to our own, Metaverse is free from earthly limits and serves as an open platform to digitally communicate, exchange knowledge, and develop creativity. It comes as no surprise that this novel idea has gained so much attention, as approximately 85 million users experienced AR or VR at least once a month in 2021.
The AR/VR sectors are finally taking off. If you’re interested in joining the trend, top video marketing agencies offer unique advertising chances for a broad range of businesses and sectors alike.
The marketing landscape will change dramatically as we learn to use new mediums like virtual, augmented, and mixed realities to reach consumers. To be successful, brands must put their customers first. They must also use cutting-edge technology to connect with prospects in previously unimaginable ways.
But what exactly is Metaverse bringing to the table? As for the digital marketing industry, what does this portend for the near future?
We’re here to explain it all. Let’s dive in.
Metaverse, Explained
American science fiction author Neal Stephenson first used the term “metaverse” in his 1992 novel, “Snow Crash.” But Meta’s (rebranded Facebook family of popular applications) vision of it has significantly different concepts. It serves as an open-source network created for users to be able to freely communicate, interact, and explore in an environment that is completely free of restrictions.
While today’s social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, rely on centralized data centers to function, the Metaverse will allow seamless cross-platform communication. A virtual environment that perfectly merges the actual and digital worlds will be created by Meta, using the latest AR and VR technologies and content. What’s more, blockchain technology will be used to power all of this.
Thought to be the next generation of the internet, is a virtual environment that mirrors the actual world via the use of a variety of technologies, including:
- AI
- Virtual Reality
- Augmented Reality
- Digital Currency
- Društvene Mreže
Key Features of the New Digital World
The metaverse, like the actual world it mimics, will change and expand based on the actions of its users. When it becomes a more popular topic, its depth will increase. Let’s break down its most important aspects:
- Occurs in real-time: The chronology is in sync with our own, so everything you do in the metaverse occurs at the same moment.
- Enables cross-platform actions: Things can be moved in the virtual environment, from one game to another, for example
- Promotes user-generated content: As one of the most popular trends in social media marketing right now, users will be able to develop content that other users can like and engage within the metaverse
- Provides a collaborative space: Collaborative working is a breeze in the virtual world since you can do anything you want, whether you’re collaborating with people or working alone
- Never stops: Like the actual world, it doesn’t terminate when you log out
- Offers a fully functional world: It’s ideal for digital marketing and eCommerce, since it allows users to do anything from start a business to sell their products
How is Metaverse Changing the Marketing Game?
Consumers can gather information, make purchasing decisions, and even spend money in virtual environments. A company’s success in the Metaverse depends on establishing a long-term presence in the virtual world.
We now have the ability to build digital experiences that particularly target people who may be interested in our brands, goods, and services. We have the ability to establish genuine, one-on-one connections with anybody, anywhere in the world, in an instant.
The ability to let people try on clothes, show them around a property from the comfort of their own home, or even participate in sports and activities will be feasible on a scale that has never been seen before.
The metaverse and the digital marketing business are engaged in a match, each striving to remain one step ahead of the other.
VR Brand Promotion: Setting the Pace for the Future
Our shift from traditional media advertising to social media, SEO, and inbound marketing is akin to this technical upheaval. Search engines and social media platforms employ text, images, and video in their advertising to convey their key themes. Virtual and 3-D sights will become increasingly ubiquitous as VR technology becomes more widely available. As a result, marketing professionals will face new problems.
It’s possible that the advent of the Metaverse may also bring significant changes to search engine optimization. It’s impossible to predict the future of SEO, but there are many who predict a more immersive approach from Google. With a mixed reality search engine that enables users to access webpages using virtual reality headsets and other forms of VR, Google may step its game up.
Marketers will need to adapt to this new reality in the same way that they have in the past with SEO in order to stay visible on Google and YouTube. For example, you may share in groups that fit your audience, actively include targeted Metaverse and AR/VR keyword phrases in your content, or even invest in producing 3D experiences that are directly connected to your Google local listings.
Changes in Social Media and Content Marketing
To bridge the gap between the physical and virtual worlds, Facebook made an early investment in the Oculus device, which today allows users to share their experiences in both 2D and 3D formats. Users of the site can work together on world creation, organize gatherings, and utilize their newly formed avatars to engage in conversation with others through social media integration. The social networks of the future may mirror those of Fortnite and Roblox.
Today’s content marketing landscape only has around 3% of its material classified as interactive. Videos, photos, and more are all passive content on the internet.
The Metaverse has the potential to alter this by making it easier to create and share interactive visuals that react to the activities of their viewers. The inquiry and discovery inherent in interactive media is one of its strongest appeals. Customers will appreciate brands that provide information about their goods, services, and objectives in an entertaining and engaging manner.
AI-assisted tools, such as AI-powered video editing, AI analytics, or AI-created animation and graphics, may be used by content producers in the metaverse. When you have AI at your fingertips, you can leverage data to create content that resonates with your target audience.
Immersive Experiences
If your digital marketing strategy does not include immersive experiences, it’s time to upgrade your strategy. As technology advances, everything is possible in the virtual world.
Immersive experiences have proven to be a hit with early experiments. In 2020, rapper Travis Scott held a fully digitalized immersive concert experience inside of Fortnite, gathering around 27.7 million players. Following the same manner, but this time implemented into the Roblox game, rapper Lil Nas X attracted around 30 million visitors, all in order to promote new music.
So what do these numbers tell us? Nailing your target audience and creating a fully-immersive experience is one of the best ways to get attention inside of this new digital way of thinking. Evaluate your company’s image and the products or services you provide. Now, think about how it translates to the virtual world, and how you can reach them in a manner that immerses them in your virtual world, as well.
Marketing Challenges Inside the Headset
Metaverses may be inaccessible to many people because of their technology needs. They require the money to acquire VR glasses and high-end PCs. For mass marketing, this might be a problem.
Additional considerations include data security and privacy. Data privacy and protection safeguards must be updated when new technologies emerge, and this is always the case. In the Metaverse, users’ personal verification may need the submission of more data, increasing privacy concerns. In order to develop trust with their customers, brands must adhere to data privacy best practices.
As a final point, the Metaverse’s openness necessitates that businesses be careful in preserving their images. It’s more probable that your brand may show alongside content that’s inflammatory or problematic if people have greater control over the digital channels they utilize. Some people may disregard or tear off the placements of specific items on the map.
Final Words
A growing number of businesses are investing in metaverses for more than just entertainment.
For marketers and companies, Meta’s concept is still a relatively new and innovative notion. Businesses of all sizes stand to gain by using innovative advertising strategies and experimenting with new ideas.
The Metaverse, as well as future metaverses, will provide places where people can gather, create, discover, collaborate, and, of course, spend money. A new age of marketing will be inaugurated by companies that can successfully build new realities and share them with their target customers.