“Metaverse” has recently become one of the hottest buzzwords in the tech and social media world. This is mostly thanks to Facebook’s recent announcement of the parent company name change to “Meta”.
At first glance, the metaverse may seem like trivial gaming or social experiences. However, there is likely going to be a huge investment and development into it. Much like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) experiences. As a business, being ahead of the curve with your digital marketing strategy is a must. So, turning some attention to the nascent metaverse could pay off massively.
In this article, we’re going to look at how the metaverse could play a role in the future of marketing. We’ll also discuss how it could impact your business’s marketing strategy.
What is the Metaverse?
Essentially, the metaverse aims to be a connected virtual universe. The metaverse will be a culmination of virtual social experiences, like workspaces, virtual social events, gaming, e-sports, virtual concerts and festivals, and more.
Think of the metaverse like the internet. The internet is essentially a huge network of different two-dimensional website experiences. The metaverse will be similar to the internet. Except it will be a more immersive and interactive 3D experience. In the metaverse, you have your own avatar to interact with the different metaverse worlds and other users.
Use of Metaverse, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality
VR headsets have already become household gadgets like PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift. However, in their current form, VR headsets primarily focus on immersive solo gaming experiences.
AR experiences haven’t necessarily reached global mass adoption yet. However many new use cases are being developed. One example is Google’s new Street View feature. This feature enables smartphone users to get augmented reality directions. It works by using their smartphone’s camera function.
According to Statista, the global virtual and augmented reality market is worth around $30 billion. But that $30B figure is set to rise over 1300% over the next 3 years to nearly $300B. So, taking into account the emergence of metaverse experiences, and the forecasted growth of virtual and augmented reality, the adoption of these technologies is set to skyrocket.
How Could the Metaverse Impact Digital Marketing Strategies?
The metaverse would open up a whole new (virtual) world of opportunities for businesses to advertise their products and services.’
Experiential marketing
The metaverse would open up a whole new era for experiential marketing.
Traditionally, experiential marketing campaigns are set up in areas with a lot of foot traffic. Such as shopping malls or supermarkets. Experiential campaigns can be quite costly. But they can yield great results. The cost of setting up an experiential marketing campaign in the metaverse would likely cost a fraction of real-world campaigns. All while gaining far more attention from virtual foot traffic.
Earlier in 2021, Luxury clothing brand, Gucci, collaborated with virtual world experience, Roblox. Together they launched the virtual “Gucci Garden” experience. Users could view and purchase a collection of Gucci items to customize their avatar. Gucci profited from selling their virtual avatar items. But as an added benefit it works as a real-world advertisement.
Interacting with consumers
The metaverse will completely change the experience of interacting with friends on social media. It will also most likely change how businesses interact with consumers via social media virtual worlds.
For example, customers from all over the globe could talk directly with customer support avatars to resolve issues, making for a more personable customer service experience that wouldn’t be possible to achieve in the real world.
Companies should maintain the same best practices for engaging with customers via social media. Be quick to respond. Authentically engage with customers. But take the entire experience to the next level.
Augmented reality advertising
Augmented reality art is an upcoming technology. In augmented reality, users with smartphones can scan a 2D piece of art and see it come to life.
For example, a person can scan a piece of graffiti art. Just scan it like you’d scan a QR code with your phone camera. Then see it become an animated 3D artwork. You can then walk around and observe it from different angles.
This could be another huge opportunity for marketers wanting to advertise in real life as well as online.
Augmented reality advertising will create a bridge between real-world and virtual-world advertising, where companies can advertise using traditional methods like a billboard, but allow passersby to extend the advertisement experience and learn more about the company by scanning the physical ad. This would also enable brands to better connect with consumers.
Esports advertising
The Esports industry is already well-established, and advertisers have been utilizing the rise in sports gaming events for a while.
However, the metaverse could bring around many more opportunities to advertise in gaming, for both competitive gaming events as well as casual metaverse gaming worlds.
Paying for advertising
It’s hotly debated how payments will work in the metaverse. Many say virtual currencies will be the prominent method of payment.
With the increasing concerns for users’ privacy, marketing regulations, and the monetization of user data, it could likely be the case that metaverse worlds require markets to use digital tokens that reward users for opting to share their data with advertisers.
That said, conventional payment methods would probably still be accessible.
Start Planning Your Metaverse Marketing Strategy
It might still be very (very) early days with the metaverse and live virtual reality experiences, but by starting to consider these new technologies you can find ways to plan your business’s approach.
When you consider the number of marketing opportunities presented by live virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, it is definitely worth taking time to assess how your business can take advantage of the metaverse to both improve their business and grow their business.
For more ways to improve your marketing strategy and grow your business online, check out the latest posts on the Intentionally Inspirational blog.
Written by Lewis James