Metaverse to Transform Digital Marketing – Strategies & Implementation
An immersive, digital setting populated by virtual avatars that stand in for actual people is known as the Metaverse. It’s a self-contained, fully-functional universe that is always active, contains user-generated content, and exists in the present. The Metaverse built an integrated network of 3D worlds using a combination of virtual reality & augmented reality (AR); it is a place parallel to the real world where you can live your digital life.
Marketing in the Metaverse Explained
Building a virtual public platform that anyone can use gives businesses and brands a huge window of opportunity to market their goods and services. Even though the Metaverse is in the early stages of development, businesses are starting to use it to connect with consumers.
The four Ps of the marketing mix is product, price, promotion, and place. It’s not surprising that marketing teams all over the world are eager to get started with the Metaverse since it offers new venues for marketing and avenues for promotion.
You can design your platform for promoting a company’s goods or services in the Metaverse. Numerous brands have already demonstrated that this process, which requires significant financial investment, time, and research, is worthwhile.
The 2022 Summit for Shopify, an e-commerce platform for online stores, was held there. Users could listen to music, purchase goods, and have actual food delivered all from within the experience, thanks to partnerships with Spotify and Uber Eats. In contrast to a physical event, where attendees are constrained by the venue’s capacity and space, hosting a virtual convention exponentially expands the size of the potential audience.
The direct-to-avatar sales of virtual goods are a $54 billion market, and the Metaverse has created new opportunities for virtual collectibles, which have previously been successful through numerous online video games that allow players to buy collectible items. By using the Roblox platform to build the specifically designed Metaverse area known as Nikeland, Nike has used this in the Metaverse. Users can buy exclusive Nike digital goods to display and wear on their avatars in their private areas of Nikeland. Nike’s platform has amassed over 7 million users since its November 2021 launch.
Native advertising is transferable to the Metaverse, where billboards for advertising on virtual highways are also available, in addition to product placement on platforms. The Metaverse hosts a variety of sporting and musical events, all of which offer sponsorship opportunities.
Well-known companies like Samsung and Coca-Cola have already used advertising on this new platform. In the Metaverse, Coca-Cola introduced a limited-edition beverage, and Samsung developed a treasure hunt where players could enter to win a Galaxy S22.
A wide range of brands can take advantage of the marketing opportunities that VR and AR both offer. Customers can view a virtual 3D model of the product before purchasing by hosting products in the Metaverse. Hyundai has used this feature by building a digital Motorstudio on the platform where users can browse various car models, watch educational videos, and make purchases.
Challenges that Marketers can Expect to Face
Accessibility is a major obstacle for businesses attempting to market in the Metaverse. Currently, a powerful computer with fast internet access is needed to access the Metaverse and a VR headset for many of the virtual features. Only some people can immediately access the Metaverse because not everyone has access to these expensive pieces of technology.
With the appropriate technology, anyone can access the Metaverse for free, and there is no organization to oversee it. Since you have no control over what other user-generated content appears alongside your brand and run the risk of virtual vandalism, this is a major concern for brands looking to promote within the Metaverse.
Concerns about data security and privacy exist with the Metaverse’s implementation. New privacy and protection techniques are being developed to adapt to this new environment, but it is still being determined how much trust one can currently place in this newly created technology.
Figuring out how to measure performance in the Metaverse presents another challenge because it offers new marketing opportunities that make it difficult to directly translate traditional metrics.
Metaverse Shaping the Digital Advertising
The Metaverse is here. Potentially, we are witnessing a more significant shift than when SEO, the web, email, and everything digital replaced TV and radio as the two primary modes of communication. Facebook has changed its name to Meta. Epic Games, the creators of the Unreal Engine and video games such as Fortnite, collaborated with LEGO to create safe and enjoyable Metaverse experiences for children.
Why the Metaverse Matters to Digital Marketers
An effective marketer uses new digital technology to reach and connect with customers in novel ways. They connect with their audiences through the platforms that are most convenient and appealing to them.
There are currently 50.2 million VR users in the US, and by 2023, there should be 33.2 million headsets and 32.7 million non-headset VR users.
By 2025, 32.1% of people will monthly view augmented reality (AR) content on any device.
Also, estimates indicate that the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) markets will grow by nearly $600 billion by 2025.
The market worth of metaverse in 2022 was USD 47.48 billion and by 2030 it will reach USD 678.80 billion growing at a CAGR of 39.44%.
Thanks to the Metaverse, Gen Xers and Millennials can be targeted and connected to in a novel, exciting way. The younger generation, known as Generation Z, can also be contacted because they frequently keep up with the latest technological developments.
But regardless of their age, interests, or backgrounds, people are open to new technology, especially if it makes their lives simpler and more convenient.
The Metaverse is so new that it presents a fantastic opportunity to stand out and enhance one’s reputation as an innovator.
Event Marketing in the Metaverse
Attending webinars and virtual events can be done without leaving one’s home or office. This is taken to a whole new level in the Metaverse. At Metaverse events, one can interact virtually with peers and colleagues.
Customers can try out products and services virtually as they would in person. Product demonstrations can be in person.
Social Marketing in the Metaverse
Facebook is creating the Metaverse and has renamed itself as such. Snapchat and TikTok have both provided AR experiences with various filters. On social platforms, users can interact with avatars worldwide in wildly imaginative environments such as an underwater city, the moon, or the sky.
Content Marketing of the Future
Various ways to make content stand out include fireworks, a loud horn, or even the stars above forming words.
In an interactive, immersive environment, interactive content will be most important. To keep audiences entertained and engaged, gamification will be important.
Customer Loyalty Programs Thrive in the Metaverse
Gamification is already widely used in customer loyalty programs to keep members engaged. Users can give members access to larger, imaginative games where they can win rewards and points in the Metaverse.
The New Cross Channel and Omnichannel Marketing
The goal of cross-channel marketing is to give customers a seamless, easy experience as they move between channels to interact with your brand. You now have access to yet another digital channel thanks to the Metaverse.
Customers who click a link from an email or landing page might be transported to a Metaverse setting for an event. Instead of just reading content on a screen, they could click a link and interact with it.
One might want a consistent brand experience across all channels; the same principles will apply. But the Metaverse has even more opportunities to engage customers in deep conversations.
There are other options besides cross-channel marketing. The next step in marketing is to engage customers across multiple channels at once, or omnichannel marketing.
An email, text message, or push notification about a promotion or discount might be sent to customers before they enter a store.
Examples of Metaverse Marketing
With the Metaverse, several brands have already stepped up.
- Nike offers a virtual version of their Nike Dunk sneakers called Cryptokicks for sale.
- Chipotle allowed Roblox users to trade virtual coupons for actual burritos.
- With the help of discount codes that users could use in real life, Deliveroo employed virtual couriers to make deliveries in the Animal Crossing video game.
- A virtual skatepark was created by the skateboarding clothing company Vans.
Drawbacks of Metaverse Marketing
The Metaverse is still being developed. It still needs to be determined how the future will look and how it will impact digital marketing. As of January 2022, Statista reports that 31% of adults in the US who were polled had never heard of the Metaverse. An additional 31% had only heard of it; 24% had only a passing familiarity with it.
In addition, there will be many moving parts (AI, video, blockchain, etc.) and enormous amounts of data in the Metaverse. It won’t be easy to use and work with. A headset, smartglasses, HoloLens, or any other technology required for a Metaverse experience might be out of reach for some customers.
However, many of these issues exist because the Metaverse has yet to take root.
Conclusion
Today, several businesses are making investments in Metaverse. For marketers and companies, the much-awaited Metaverse is still a relatively fresh and innovative idea.
However, this technology has the potential to benefit a wide spectrum of enterprises by allowing for unique advertising strategies and limitless testing.
Users can learn, develop, explore, share, and, of course, buy things in the Metaverse and subsequent Metaverses. Brands that can successfully construct new realities for their target customers will shape the future of marketing.
