Can Brand Marketers Take Advantage of the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is the new digital frontier, and marketers cannot overlook its importance in the current physical reality. 

On its face, the Metaverse appears to be all fun and games because that’s where youngsters go to hang out and play virtual reality games. They create immersive worlds where they interact, buy, sell, learn, party, and live entire lives.

But the Metaverse presents ample opportunities for marketers looking for new and exciting ways to reach their target audiences. Although it is still in the initial development stage, many companies have already taken the leap into it, and they have seen excellent results in sales, engagement, brand awareness, and other KPIs. 

Gaming and entertainment companies are, naturally, among the early adopters helping shape the future of the Metaverse. However, real estate marketers, lawyers, content developers, and app makers are also in the race to win the hearts and minds of the citizens of the virtual space. 

This article will look at what the Metaverse is and how marketers can take advantage of it.

Understanding the Metaverse for Marketers

A Metaverse is a network where users can interact in a 3D virtual experience. It is a hypothetical universe working in augmented reality and personal computing headsets. Users can create virtual avatars of themselves and experience life as it is in the virtual world. 

Here are the key features of the Metaverse outlined by Matthew Ball:

• Happens in real-time. A metaverse has a timeline that’s synchronized with the real-life timing.
• Active at all times. The Metaverse doesn’t stop when you leave it; it continues for other users, and time passes there as it does in real life.
• Fully functioning and self-contained universe. Metaverse is a fully functioning universe, allowing users to develop, possess, invest, and sell things. Moreover, users can also be identified and compensated for the labor they put into the Metaverse.
• User-generated content. A Metaverse is more than a virtual space for interacting with others. Users can create content that other people can also enjoy.
• Combination of various platforms. Numerous platforms can work collectively in the Metaverse. For instance, if there are video games, users can bring items from one game to another, connecting multiple worlds.
• Players have discrete agency. Companies can perform a range of marketing activities simultaneously. But just like in real life, some users might choose to interact with your marketing collateral, and others would rather stand in the corner and observe.

Marketing In The Metaverse: What Can Brands Do?

It’s high time digital marketers make an effort to understand the Metaverse and its potential. Know that it is not just a trend – it’s here to stay and ready to bring on the next big evolution in tech.

Brand marketers need to realize the value of Gen Z’s and Millennials as a target market. These two generations are avid users of some practices of the Metaverse, like games and technologies such as VR. 

Let us explore how you can market and leverage the power of the Metaverse.

Virtual Advertising

Virtual ads are an excellent approach for reaching an audience in the Metaverse, and there are numerous ways brands can market their products there.

For example, you can use real-world advertising tactics to get your products seen. Billboard ads, posters on buses and benches, and other signage can all be used in the virtual world, not to mention product placements.

Brands can also get creative and launch brand-themed experience placements. For example, Gucci partnered with Roblox to create a Gucci Garden where users can try on digital Gucci items. Hosting events such as concerts or parties can also be a way to promote your brand.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality has been here for a while now, and it isn’t going anywhere. AR helps your target audience get an online yet real-time product usage experience. Their complete shopping experiences have been optimized with AR’s entry. And the Metaverse enhances the digital marketing for e-commerce brands even more.

However, it is vital to note that augmented reality isn’t limited to just e-commerce. It is also essential to understand how you can leverage augmented reality in the Metaverse to market your business. 

Brand Collaborations

As a brand marketer, you can experiment and collaborate with the creators and companies that already exist in the Metaverse. You can connect with them via email outreaches or social media. 

Partnering with others can help you generate an immersive experience that will be a win-win for the parties involved. 

Micro-influencers have a significant impact on the ways Gen Z and Millennials engage on virtual platforms. Networking with the audience via online channels is a brilliant strategy to communicate your arrival in the virtual world. 

Branding with Non-Fungible Tokens

A non-fungible token or an NFT is any online intangible asset that doesn’t exist physically. Anything on the digital channels can be NFTs if you want. Some common instances of NFTs are digital art, celebrity images, videos, and more.

And since the Metaverse is an intangible space that users can’t access in real-life, each element is also intangible in the Metaverse. For instance, if Audi decides to make a car for the Metaverse, it could earn millions for something that doesn’t actually exist. 

But how can this relate to the marketing aspect in the Metaverse? Well, you can buy and sell NFTs at substantial prices. For example, any company, be it an accounting software provider or a women’s clothing business, can create fun and artsy avatars or assets of the brand they can treat as NFTs and sell to their customers.

Challenges of Metaverse Marketing

While the Metaverse promises a rewarding future for businesses, there are still some challenges that you’ll need to overcome during the process.

For starters, accessibility is a concern. Not all users have access to devices, like VR lenses and higher-end computers, which are vital to take advantage of the Metaverse. This limits the potential for brands, hindering their mass marketing efforts.

Also, from a brand’s standpoint, it is pivotal to be careful when navigating the Metaverse. It is crucial to have seamless integration to prevent alienating players from your brand. As it’s a novel technology, you may still have trouble finding a suitable place in the world of Metaverse. You need to plan your placements strategically, ensuring that they feel well-integrated and natural.

But the real challenge for businesses comes from data privacy. The increasing use of the Metaverse means an increase in collecting data and tracking behavior, leading to data protection issues. If your company intends to take part in Metaverse marketing, make sure to hire a Chief Compliance Officer to ensure data privacy laws are protected. 

Wrapping Up

Metaverse marketing is here, and now would be an excellent time to take advantage of it to grow your brand. Ultimately, the Metaverse offers a promising future for the internet and computing, providing innovations for advertisers and brand marketers alike. 

Regardless of the challenges, marketers have the opportunity to be experimental, innovative, and provide an immersive experience.

This post was written by Nahla Davies, a software developer and tech writer. Before devoting her work full time to technical writing, she managed—among other intriguing things—to serve as a lead programmer at an Inc. 5,000 experiential branding organization whose clients include Samsung, Time Warner, Netflix, and Sony.