What is the Metaverse?
Do you know about Van Gogh expo where you can experience the paintings physically with the help of augmented reality?
There are 360-degree projections and VR glasses that enable you to immerse yourself in those fantastic paintings fully.
Now, imagine you don't even have to leave your house for this kind of experience. You don't even have to move from your comfortable couch.
How? Via the metaverse.
The word "metaverse" was made up of the prefix "meta" ( beyond) and the "verse" (from "universe"). The term "metaverse" was coined by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel Snow Crash, published in 1992.
"The Metaverse is a hypothesized iteration of the internet, supporting persistent online 3-D virtual environments through conventional personal computing, as well as virtual and augmented reality headsets."
The metaverse is a place where users can access and interact via virtual reality or augmented reality.
With this technology, people are able to participate in social activities and entertainment like never before.
Metaverse is built upon the concepts of presence, immersion, and interactivity.
The metaverse has been described as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet.
The characteristics of the metaverse include being:
- Persistent: It is an entirely immersive, shared experience; a parallel reality that exists in real-time and never stops.
- Synch: In the metaverse, users interact with one another and their digital environment in real-time. Just like they do in the physical world, participants of the metaverse react to their virtual environment and each other.
- User-Driven: Users can create their content, or they can enhance existing content.
- Self-Sufficient: It has/will have fully functioning economies based on non-fungible tokens, cryptocurrency, and more.
Why Use Metaverse for Marketing?
The technology never stops. So why should your marketing strategies?
Metaverse marketing allows brands to engage with customers in different ways to stand out amongst their competitors.
The good thing is metaverse appeals to anyone no matter their age, country, occupation or gender. Especially, if you want to attract Gen-Z and millenials, metaverse marketing is now a must-have strategy for your business.
Prioritizing new forms of interactive content increases the likelihood of sparking a conversation with your audience.
Saving your spot in the virtual world does not only increase your exposure in the metaverse, but also increases your conversions in the real world.
Plus, the more trendy products a company sells, the higher its market value. And in our case, joining the metaverse trend is definitely a trendy move.
Marketing in the metaverse broadens brand recognition and adapts to the characteristics of virtual environments.
Though there is still some time to consider metaverse “natural”, with the changing customer habits, staying relevant means remaining present in marketing platforms.
Metaverse is a rapidly growing world and facts prove no different.
According to Statista’s virtual reality facts, the global VR market size is projected to increase from less than five billion U.S. dollars in 2021 to more than 12 billion U.S. dollars by 2024.
This growth will benefit both the enterprise and consumer segments. So it is safe to say that every business will have their share from it if they act in time.
Last but not least, metaverse helps you level up your marketing campaign game. As the way you tell your brand story is a vital aspect of marketing, you can make use of metaverse to create an immersive story in which users can also participate.
Metaverse Marketing Strategies
1. Keep Up with the Metaverse
If you want to take part in metaverse for marketing, you should learn about everything you may need. At this point, let's add two things to your vocab: Centralized and Decentralized worlds.
For instance, say you are using a social media platform like Facebook or Youtube. It means you are using a centralized system - in which central authority is in control of the data.
For example, if you want to share a post with your friend via Facebook, they will know that you are sending it, and the data will be verified and transferred by Facebook.
That means in a centralized world, centralized platforms like Facebook have the control.
What about a decentralized world?
The idea of the decentralized world came into our lives with the release of Bitcoin in 2009.
With the help of blockchain technology, if you want to send bitcoin to your friend, it doesn't have to go through the same steps in a centralized system.
Tip: A blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and tracking assets in a business network.
So that's only a glimpse of metaverse terminology. It is vital to keep up with all the updates and news about metaverse if you want your metaverse marketing strategies to success.
2. Create Brand Awareness Using Non-Fungible Tokens
Tokens refer to the data stored on the blockchain ledger. Consumers will engage with brands and each other in the metaverse, so it is essential to understand tokens.
There are two types of tokens: Fungible and Non-fungible.
Fungible means something that can be exchanged for another item of the same kind.
For example, a dollar bill is fungible because it can be exchanged with any other dollar bill.
Digital items such as Bitcoin are also fungible because they can be interchanged with each other.
Non-Fungible means that the a digital item that is unique, one of a kind.
An excellent example of this is CryptoKitties, an Ethereum based game where users can buy and trade virtual cats.
"Each cat is one-of-a-kind and 100% owned by you; it cannot be replicated, taken away, or destroyed." So, an NFT is a non-fungible token that is secured on the blockchain.
You can promote both your brand and your NFT assets at the same time as a part of your NFT metaverse marketing strategy. As your brand attracts attention, your NFTs will be more valuable and this value will make people be more aware of your brand.
3. Use the Power of Augmented Reality for Marketing
Augmented reality (AR) is, basically, an interactive experience of a real-world environment in which real-world objects are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information.
But how are you supposed to use it for your marketing purposes?
Let’s check IKEA’s example to make it easier to understand. IKEA’s app, IKEA Place, allows you to try their product in any environment you wish using AR. You can virtually place furniture around to see if you like it.
Plus, they created everything in 3D and true to scale to make sure you will have the experience as close to the real one as possible. That prevents all the doubts a customer might have such as the size, design and functionality.
IKEA Place is without a doubt a game changer in the marketing world from which you can get inspired.
4. Utilize Metaverse Gaming for Your Marketing Goals
Including metaverse games in your marketing strategy is a fun and unique way to attract attention and become organically visible.
Giant brands like Wendy’s are already taking advantage of metaverse for their marketing goals already.
Taking place in Fortnite’s gaming metaverse, Wendy’s goal is destroying all burger freezers from "Fortnite" implying the freshness of the food they are serving. Good move!
Similarly, Deliveroo, a British online food delivery company, joined the online game “Animal Crossing” to do the same thing as in the real world: making deliveries.
Plus, they offered a promotion code to be used in the real world to the players. So it is no surprise that they had more than 3 million player interactions.
5. Create a Walk-In Store in Metaverse
How convenient would it be to walk into a store, look around and try things in the comfort of your own home? Well, that’s one way to benefit from metaverse for your marketing goals.
Thanks to virtual reality (VR), users can interact with environments and objects without physically being present in the same place. It is a completely immersive experience which makes it so cool and handy.
This technology has room to grow, still, understanding the concept and modifying it according to the needs of your business is worth considering.
After all, there is no doubt that you will offer your customers a unique experience.
6. Live Events in Metaverse Universe
Metaverse events remove the boundaries of physical place which means anyone from anywhere can join an event with no number limit.
Plus, due to the pandemic, many venues cannot function at full capacity. That’s why virtual events have endless opportunities to reach a larger audience anywhere in the world.
Popular events include virtual concerts like Justin Bieber’s meta-universe concert on the virtual music platform Wave and a series of concerts of Ariana Grande inside the hit video game Fortnite (image below).
However, only the sky's the limit at this point. You can have seminars, conferences, training and basically anything that requires a venue in the metaverse minus the venue.
Once fully realized, the metaverse could provide a highly interactive experience in which people can move freely and engage in two-way dialogues without leaving their homes without the traveling costs.
You can meet with your customers from anywhere in the world, promote your products and achieve your marketing goals. There will be no need to travel long distances to gather thanks to the metaverse.
7. Make Use of Brand Avatars
Avatars are the virtual representation of a person. You can adjust even the little details like eye color, body, nose or lips form. Snapchat made us familiar with avatars firstly. Now avatars are in the metaverse.
Huge brands like Gucci and Nike are making use of avatars already. Gucci, for example, collaborated with the famous singer Miley Cyrus to promote their new fragrance.
They created an avatar of Cyrus in the brand’s digital version of its ad campaign.
You can allow your customers to create their own avatars in metaverse and use your products to modify these avatars.
If you also encourage your customers to share their avatar online, thanks to social media, customer avatars and consequently your products will have a greater number of exposure which is always a good thing for creating brand awareness.
8. Create 3D Models
3D models are fundamental to create immersive content.
With the rise of VR, 3D models have become an essential tool for creating rich interactive experiences.
As more industries adopt VR as a standard, there will be an increasing demand for 3D models that can be used to create these immersive environments.
There are many ways to adapt your company and brand to the metaverse.
And keep in mind that it is just a beginning; there will be more options to find your way in.
Major Metaverse Marketing Challenges
Finding the Right Metaverse Platform
As the metaverse is still quite new, there are some misperceptions, like the metaverse is a single place. On the contrary, it is actually an ecosystem of immersive virtual worlds competing for users, events, and play-to-win games.
You may have heard of Decentraland, Sandbox, and Roblox, for instance. So it is better to do your research on demographics, land costs, growth opportunities, and monthly users of different meta-worlds and go for the one that suits your business needs the best.
Discovering New Ways of Interaction
We are still in the era of regular billboards, print advertisements, and all other traditional marketing methods to interact with potential customers.
However, there is no doubt that these means have to change if you will do metaverse marketing.
It is not the easiest part since the logic and logistics of marketing in places like Decentraland and Sandbox differ dramatically from those in the physical world.
To cut a long story short, users in the metaverse want their experience to be as authentic as possible.
You can take examples of huge brands like Gucci, the pioneer in metaverse marketing. In the metaverse, marketing entails creativity and generally providing users and their avatars with something intriguing and unprecedented that they haven't seen before.
So no matter what industry you are in, you need to level up your marketing efforts to last in the metaverse.
Keeping Track of the Performance
In traditional marketing, there are many KPIs and metrics to track to see how well your business is doing. However, it is safe to say that these KPIs and metrics may not be your assistants in the metaverse.
What should be kept track of in metaverse marketing is still vague, but there is one thing for sure: engagement.
Other than that, it has room to grow, and we have a road to walk to truly understand metaverse KPIs and metrics.
Temporariness Concerns
Whenever something new comes up looking pretty fantastic, there is this question concerning its stability. It is the same for the metaverse.
Although the hype is all about how the metaverse will change the way we live and do marketing now, people may get over it any hot minute.
So authorities believe that the metaverse universe should be treated carefully, and steps should be taken once at a time in terms of marketing.
Customer Worries
For the customer side, the biggest concern is data privacy in the metaverse.
According to Statista's worldwide research on the dangers of the metaverse in 2021, the biggest concern is the addiction to a simulated reality by 47%. It is followed by privacy issues (41%), and mental health issues (41%).
As of March 2022, potential concerns in the metaverse, according to internet users in the United States, also include tracking and misuse of data. Online abuse and cyberbullying are also a major concern for people.
So, in a universe where people are afraid to be present, marketing efforts can be in vain.
Metaverse Statistics
Let's start with the viewer numbers of Marshmello's Fortnite concert. American electronic music producer and DJ Marshmello was on the stage inside of Fortnite, an online game, and 10.7 million people attended the concert in 2019.
It's huge right? But it is only the number of people who saw the concert in-game. If you include those who watched it live on Twitch and other platforms, the number is almost certainly much higher.
Later on, in 2020, 45.8 million people watched the Travis Scott in Fortnite event, Astronomical. In addition, Travis Scott's personal YouTube channel views for the show have exceeded 77 million views.
Next stop: Gucci. Would you be surprised if I told you that a digital Gucci bag was sold for more than the real value on gaming platform Roblox?
No jokes! The Gucci Dionysus, a logo enveloped bag with a distinctive tiger closure, was sold for 4,115 dollars compared to its store price of 3,400 dollars.
Fashion world has already loved metaverse. Balenciaga dropped a video game, Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow, where the users enter a virtual Balenciaga store and experience Balenciaga's fall collection.
NFTs are also at it in the metaverse. An NFT called Everydays: the First 5000 Days was sold for $69.3m and if it is one of the most expensive NFTs so far.
That list goes on and on day by day. The world is changing, and it is changing faster than we expected.
There is even an Earth 2.0 where you can own, buy and sell land!
In 2022, worldwide VR market size and revenues are expected to climb to 6.71 billion U.S. dollars, and by 2024 it will double the amount and hit 12.19.
And if you wonder how many people play Roblox, as of the second quarter of 2022, gaming company Roblox Corporation had over 52.2 million daily active users of Roblox games worldwide.
Before You Leave...
No matter how metaverse marketing continues to grow, consumers look ready to adapt. Seeing all the statistics and information about metaverse, businesses should definitely keep on working on it to catch up with the technology.
Also, areas like augmented and virtual reality, consumer journey analytics, and social commerce should be secured by marketers with the talent they require.
The metaverse has a bright future beyond marketing. Companies must take the time to consider the potential strategic implications of the metaverse for sales, operations, production, R&D, and HR in order to create value across the enterprise.
If you start working on a plan and implement it in a timely manner, you'll have the greatest benefits from the future of metaverse marketing.
Do you think metaverse marketing is the real deal?
Let me know in the comments section below!
Frequently Asked Questions
How can Brands Get into the Metaverse?
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to that question, as the best way for brands to get into the metaverse will vary depending on the brand and its goals. However, some tips on how to get started include creating a presence in popular virtual worlds, and taking full advantage of gaming.
Is Social Media a Metaverse?
In a sense, metaverse is the future of social media but some also consider metaverse as the extension of social media. So we cannot say that the social media as we know it is a metaverse.
Which Companies are Investing in the Metaverse the Most?
Top companies investing in metaverse include:
- Meta (Formerly Facebook)
- Microsoft
- NVIDIA
- Unity Software
- Roblox
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