Digital Marketing and the Metaverse
The metaverse is one of the main terms we come across in the media on a daily basis. Ever since CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg introduced his new company Meta, the topic hasn't left the minds of millions of Internet users around the world. It can be assumed that in the near future companies and their digital marketing will use the various "metaverses" to reach customers in completely new ways.
You can almost compare it to the past steps that catapulted marketing into the digital age. Just as there has been a transition from print media, news and radio broadcast to social media, SEO and digital inbound marketing strategies, the metaverse will also be the next crucial milestone in the evolution of marketing. But what exactly is the Metaverse and how are VR and AR technologies related to it? Here's how the Metaverse will transform digital marketing.
Digital marketing completely reinvented
The majority of companies and marketers have seen the rapid growth of VR and AR applications not only in the entertainment industry but also in various marketing contexts. Since, according to many experts, it will be common practice within the next few years to offer virtual and augmented reality for online shopping experiences, the importance of the metaverse as the latest trend to market your own brand and company is also increasing.
Broadly speaking, the Metaverse is a digital space characterized by its consistent existence and the use and representation of real, virtual and augmented realities. A metaverse like Meta's and other similar platforms are nothing more than digital places where users can interact with each other, access information, shop, spend money or even own things. The Metaverse has many features that make it particularly attractive to marketers. This includes, for example, the fact that a metaverse is always active and does not end as soon as a user exits. It's a kind of digital universe that allows users to learn, create, own, buy, sell, invest in, or just play like gaming within it. Marketing can also be carried out uniformly in a wide variety of digital environments, and products can also be transferred from one video game to another, for example.
Forecasts and the use of augmented reality
Some experts are of the opinion that platforms like Google in the future immersive possibilities is offered to visit websites, for example in augmented or virtual reality technologies. In the following, this means that companies that want to remain innovative must adapt their brand presence to a digital world in which 3D media prevail. Social media of the future will possibly resemble virtual worlds such as Fornite or Roblox, so users can create 3D and augmented reality avatars and then use them to visit websites in the metaverse and buy products, for example. So there will be a switch from passive media content such as photos and videos to interactive ones. But also in interior design Augmented Reality is used more and more often.
How do you advertise in the Metaverse?
Probably the most common way to dive into the metaverse with the marketing strategy is to use NFTs. Companies often resort to the creation of platforms on which, for example, digital merchandise of their own brand can be traded in the form of NFTs. But not only merchandise or art can be offered in this way, the fashion industry is also already active in the Metaverse. Fashion houses such as Gucci, for example, already offer clothing for avatars, which can be bought as NFT in a digital showroom in the Metaverse.
A more classic way of promoting your own brand in the Metaverse is the use of virtual advertising posters within interactive games. You can think of it like a real football game where you can always see perimeter advertising along the edge of the field. Exactly the same can be implemented in a virtual soccer game.
As marketers enter the metaverse, they need to be aware that they are also dealing with entirely new formats. In Metaverse platforms like Meta, Roblox or Fortnite, brands attract far more attention when they work with the developers of the respective platform. Not only do they bring the expertise needed to create marketing content, they also help to create advertising, content or digital products that are also relevant to the respective community.
Obstacles and construction sites in the Metaverse
However, digital marketing in the Metaverse also presents some novel challenges. The most obvious are the technical requirements, which currently still exclude a large part of the range. Digital mass marketing is difficult when many people cannot yet afford VR glasses or top devices.
Security and privacy are also two highly relevant topics for Metaverse users. New technologies always bring the need to develop new standards for data protection. In order to be able to move in the Metaverse at all, a large amount of personal data is required.
As with the use of all innovative technologies, it may only be a matter of time before appropriate guidelines are set in the Metaverse context and hardware is available for a wider audience.
The potential is great
Although there are already rough approaches to individual guidelines and strategies for metaverse marketing, all innovative marketers should make it their task to tackle and explore this new exciting area. The metaverse and the use of increasingly popular trends such as VR and AR technologies offer plenty of room for experimentation. The right strategies will only establish themselves by trying them out over time - one must not forget that this sets you apart from the competition as an early starter anyway. Each new marketing approach in the Metaverse guarantees uniqueness.
