The beautiful thing about technology is that it continues to evolve as new resources emerge. New updates and changes mean new conveniences and new ethical dilemmas as well. When technology evolves, we must learn how to adapt and adjust as we make new rules for the changing environment. While the printing press was the most phenomenal advancement in technology at one time, now the pinnacle of progress is in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA).
The metaverse is one such new development in the internet’s evolution. We’ve seen iterations of it in science fiction, from books like “Feed” and more recently “Ready Player One.” When print first emerged, marketing evolved in its earliest form, and now with the metaverse, we’re faced with new questions about changes in the scope and influence of marketing. All of this leaves us asking ourselves if the metaverse will redefine marketing.
What Is the Metaverse?
The internet has been around for over 50 years, when the first messages were transported between a computer in Los Angeles, California and Menlo Park, California. Although that first system crashed when the first two letters transferred through the system, that first transmission was the origin of what has become the modern internet.
The metaverse may not be the newest concept, but its actual implementation is among the most interesting advancements. The metaverse is a virtual place where people can get together. For many, it’s a space for video gaming. Augmented reality and virtual reality are among the most common ways that people interact with the metaverse. Augmented reality uses computer generated images and integrates them with the real-world environment. Images are often interactive through a screen, most typically a smartphone. Pokémon GO is currently among the most popular and recognizable forms of augmented reality, along with Snapchat.
Virtual reality is another way that we interact with the metaverse. Virtual reality is a computer-generated environment. While augmented reality incorporates images in the real world, virtual reality creates a whole new world for a user to interact with. From horror games to mental health treatment, virtual reality has several useful applications.
The metaverse is a reimagining of the internet. It’s meant to be an interactive experience for social and professional networks where people get together to interact. Interaction can happen through both virtual and augmented reality in 2D through a computer screen or with the usage of a whole 3D interactive world with a headset. The metaverse is meant to change the way we interact with one another, not just socially, but in all forms of life.
“Just like the internet opened up a whole new world and created the ability for businesses to reach consumers where they live and work, so, too, does the metaverse.”
What Is a Metaverse Strategy?
As this new interactive technology grows and develops, the main thing we start to think about is how we can become involved in the metaverse. The starting point is to develop a metaverse strategy. A metaverse strategy is a way that you and your brand can enter the metaverse. The end goal of any branding or marketing is to gain visibility for your business. The more people who see you and recognize you, the more your revenue can be increased.
Implementing the metaverse into your marketing strategy is one way to stay on top of the trend. The metaverse is expanding, but there’s no real way to predict how much it will grow, or if it will collapse entirely. Currently, augmented and virtual realities are a big part of our lives, now being used in healthcare, education, and entertainment. The combination of the virtual world and the real world has been termed extended reality.
With the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, extended reality has become increasingly important to keeping people connected. Between 2020 and 2024, these extended realities are slated to see an extensive increase in demand.
The great thing about the metaverse is that it also provides new ways for businesses to interact with their market. The more people that become entrenched in an online existence, the more they’ll need virtual products and services. Part of your new metaverse marketing strategy might be creating these virtual products and services to be dispensed on the metaverse. You might also find a way to expand these things into the real world as well.
Creating your own virtual space is another way that you may consider incorporating the metaverse strategy into your marketing plans. Having a place that your consumers can interact with you and your brand via extended reality will keep you present in their minds, and a consistent part of their world.
What Is Metaverse Marketing?
Metaverse marketing is just what it sounds like—different marketing strategies that are associated specifically with the metaverse. It involves implementing strategies like NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, virtual real estate, and gamification. Taking advantage of the space within the metaverse can give you a competitive edge.
An immersive experience is key to the metaverse. Because of the nature of extended reality, placing an advertisement is obvious, but it might not be the best plan of attack. Creating your own immersive experience that others can interact with and within is the best option.
While most of the usage of the metaverse right now is for marketing purposes, many companies are predicting that it will become a much larger world. Using a virtual conference room where colleagues can interact with each other is just one example of how this world is changing.
Can I Advertise in the Metaverse?
Advertising is an integral way for brands to interact in the metaverse, and, of course, simple advertising is possible. Placing an advertisement on entertainment billboards or placing your brand’s image on buildings is one way to go. However, avoiding overt forms of advertisement and embracing the full breadth of the metaverse’s possibilities will be best practices.
Due to the unique quality of the metaverse, it’s likely that consumers will find new ways to interact with advertising in the metaverse. As previously mentioned, finding new ways that aren’t simple billboard placements are going to be key in this new environment.
Learning ways to organically integrate your brand with the metaverse environment is one of the most effective ways to advertise in augmented reality. Creating customized and branded goods for avatars is one way to do this and employing influencers can also allow you to take advantage of metaverse marketing. Just like social media influencers, virtual influencers also affect the desires of the consumers within the extended reality.
Hosting or joining big events can also be an effective way to advertise in the metaverse. You may not have the ability to host an event yourself, but joining an event is possible for most. Whether you have members of your business or brand interact with consumers, or you help to sponsor an event, these events can be incredibly influential.
Why Is the Metaverse Important?
There are a few reasons the metaverse may be important to the future of marketing. Marketing has always walked a fine line between science and art. The metaverse acts in a similar fashion to the real world, particularly on the time it runs. This means the time in the metaverse and the real world are in sync, running concurrently. You’ll be able to see how effective your marketing and interactions are in real time.
Second, unlike a video game, the metaverse doesn’t stop simply because someone walks away from it. Because it’s time runs like the real world, it is active even if you are not. The metaverse neither ends nor pauses. This can be both good and bad. You can have your interactions running at all times, but that means just because you step away from it, it doesn’t stop when you do. Keeping up with a consistent plan, similar to modern marketing, will be the most effective.
Finally, because all the different platforms can interact across the board, your service or goods can be used from area to area. This means your brand and your business will see the widest possible exposure while it’s being shared across platforms. More platforms mean more exposure. Because the metaverse is an entirely self-contained world, you won’t need multiple entrance points. You’ll just need to strategize for your business or brand to be as visible as possible.
What Does the Metaverse Mean for Business?
As this market continues to grow and change, another thing we’ll be asking is what it means for business. In fact, the metaverse can mean many things for business. First, it means a new way to develop your business and brand. The metaverse is a new way to expand your business.
Just like the internet opened up a whole new world and created the ability for businesses to reach consumers where they live and work, so, too, does the metaverse. The metaverse is an additional market for businesses to participate in. It’s a new marketplace to provide goods and services.
The metaverse can also expand the possibilities of remote work. As the metaverse grows richer and more diverse, there will be additional opportunities for businesses to integrate their goods or develop new goods. More people will be needed to operate in this market specifically.
The metaverse eliminates the limitations of geography. Because the metaverse can be accessed from anywhere in the world, it erases the barrier that distance can create. Your business will be able to interact with anyone, anywhere in the world. While a website can do this too, a space in the metaverse provides consumers with a fully interactive experience that you can control. It is a totally new way for you to fully control and develop the user experience.
Limitations of the Metaverse
While many are saying that this is the next promised land of development, there are still quite a few limitations present for the metaverse. These things can limit not only brand and business influence, but also user interactivity. One of these things is the limitations of the technology itself. Virtual reality is still in the early stages of development and needs to be developed further for metaverse implementation.
Another limitation is ease of access and use. Not everyone has access to the resources required to join the metaverse. In countries that are richer, more than two thirds of the population is on the internet. However, there are still many remote areas of the world where internet access is limited.
Another limitation is the cost and resource requirements. While playing video games using virtual reality is commonplace these days, implementing extended reality for the workplace requires the usage of more money, time, and resources. This is putting a strain on not only the businesses interacting with the metaverse, but also those individuals interacting with the metaverse.
Find Your Place in the Metaverse
The metaverse can certainly change the landscape of the world at large. New ways to interact socially, academically, and professionally may harken advancements simply by giving people access to a more global community. While the world is adapting to this new community, marketing already has a leg up on individuals. Certainly, marketing will need to grow and adapt, but this is a fundamental tenet of marketing already.
Marketing already needs to adjust with the changes in growing markets, so a new market will only help those who know the business thrive. The metaverse may not redefine marketing, but marketing can help define how we experience the metaverse.
Sources
- Computer History Museum (2009). The Computer History Museum, SRI International, and BBN Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of First ARPANET Transmission, Precursor to Today’s Internet. Computer History Museum Press Release. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://computerhistory.org/press-releases/museum-celebrates-arpanet-anniversary/
- Maida, J. (2020). COVID-19 Impacts: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Market Will Accelerate at a CAGR of Over 35% Through 2020-2024 | The Increasing Demand for AR and VR Technology to Boost Growth. Business Wire. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200903005356/en/COVID-19-Impacts-Augmented-Reality-AR-Virtual-Reality
- Kim, J. (2021). Advertising in the Metaverse: Research Agenda. Journal of Interactive Advertising (21)3. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2021.2001273
- Roser, M., Ritchie, H., & Ortiz, E. (n.d.). Internet. Our World in Data. Retrieved May 22, 2022, from https://ourworldindata.org/internet
- Xi, N., Chen, J., Gama, F. et al. The challenges of entering the metaverse: An experiment on the effect of extended reality on workload. Inf Syst Front (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10796-022-10244-x
