Facebook rebranding to a metaverse-inspired name signaled the rise of the metaverse to the world in 2021. Since then, companies and individuals have followed Meta Platforms’s – formerly Facebook – path with plans to invest in metaverse. Virtual events, interactive virtual retail, and real estate are examples of how prominent firms in various industries are entering the metaverse and innovating to outperform their rivals and draw in new consumers.
With the continuous rise of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), metaverses are growing more globally. In 2021, an estimated 85 million users experienced AR or VR at least once. That number has since grown to over 400 million active users in the metaverse in 2023. The diversity in the market has attracted many new users of the metaverse, and it has motivated different industries, like fashion and music, to want a share of the capital coming from the NFT and metaverse market.
Like any other industry, metaverse marketing is a way for businesses to connect with users. Since the metaverse is parallel to the physical world, they share many similarities. Though some differences exist, marketing in the metaverse is similar to traditional marketing.
In this guide, we aim to explain marketing in the metaverse and provide some advice for those who wish to take a share in a broad market of the metaverse.
Marketing in the Metaverse
Simply said, the metaverse is a shared virtual space where users are represented by virtual avatars. It is a 3D virtual world that allows users to interact within the universe. Metaverse uses Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to offer an immersive experience to users. Metaverse also provides a rich market for brands and industries to advertise their digital forms of products/services to metaverse users. To learn more about the metaverse, check out this post of ours.
The latest technological developments, including the metaverse, have brought new markets that attract lots of consumers. The economy of the metaverse has grown and is now worth an estimated $38.5 billion. Therefore, marketers should try their best to keep up with the speed of such markets. To do so, they must fully understand these markets and their full potential. In the case of the metaverse, marketers need to see that it is not just a trendy new thing; its broad development suggests that it is here to stay and is the next big thing.
Initially, the metaverse was popular amongst gamers and virtual life enthusiasts. But now, more industries have moved into the metaverse and flourished, offering services to customers in virtual worlds. Therefore, Metaverse marketing products and services can be profitable to industries that plan to sell to customers in the metaverse. Metaverse digital marketing can also help them simultaneously connect with users in the physical and virtual worlds.
Content Metaverse and Marketing
Metaverse has revolutionized marketing and how brands engage with their target audience. To sell in the metaverse, marketers now use strategies different from conventional marketing tactics to promote their brand in the metaverse. Here are some:
Content is still the most effective way of marketing, even in the metaverse. Metaverse digital marketing should be fun enough for the target audience to draw their attention to the service or product you advertise. You can consider things like branded games or clothing range.
Create a new loyalty scheme for marketing metaverse
Metaverse allows you to reward your customers with a digital experience, such as VIP access to live events. You can also award them exclusive and early access to digital merchandise like NFTs or cryptocurrencies.
Ad placements in Metaverse marketing
Metaverse billboards will most likely replace social media marketing. They can be viewed as avatars entering different parts of the digital world. When using ad placements, businesses should remain ahead of the game.
How to adapt your content for the metaverse
The metaverse is highly active and flexible. Thus, you should be creative when creating content for marketing in the metaverse. Read the following points on developing creative content for the Metaverse marketing:
Convert the Web 2.0 content to Web 3.0
Tokenized digital assets are a big part of virtual worlds. They give users ownership and control over the asset while securing it from third parties. Since they are stored on the blockchain, they have unique traits, which makes them different from other categories of assets.
When Web 2.0 contents are saved on the blockchain, they become NFTs. They can keep these NFTs, sell them or keep them as assets. All you need to do is to mint the existing digital assets into NFTs. Some digital assets you can easily mint into NFTs include photography, blog posts, digital images, and videos.
Apply new content formats for marketing in metaverse
New content formats that were not practical before are required to keep up with metaverse improvements, such as interactive 3D environments and 3D virtual tours. Think about a virtual library with virtual books containing the best e-books and blog posts in the form of an actual book or collecting videos as a virtual screen that looks like a regular TV in the living room. Creativity is the key to winning.
Live streaming the metaverse experience
Metaverse also allows you to hold virtual sporting events, concerts, and other live shows. These virtual live events are popular amongst metaverse users, and it is one of the ways brands can connect with their users, especially for those not presently in the metaverse
4 Best metaverse marketing strategies
Here are four top metaverse marketing strategies:
1. marketing in the metaverse with no interruption
Advertisement is, by its very nature, interruptive. It can be irritating to watch even a 5-second advertisement during a movie. Metaverse marketing has a golden rule; insert yourself into the platform without interrupting the audience’s experience.
Always put your target audience first when advertising. Choose the right platform, such as PC or mobile streaming, and the best format (billboards, music, and banner ads). The most common way is to use native in-game advertising via product placement. Brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, and Samsung have virtual billboards within several video games, including Roblox and The Escape.
2. Apply real-life strategies in marketing metaverse
The virtual world of metaverse shares lots of similarities with the physical one. So, just replicate real-life marketing in the parallel virtual world. This is the best and most natural way for your brand to be noticed.
It allows greater brand recognition and engagement; it is more immersive, and helps users experience more organic experiences. For example, Balenciaga, the luxurious fashion line, released a line of four Fortnite skins, a designer pickaxe, accessories, and a backpack. They also developed a Balaceiaga Hub in the Fortnite game, including a virtual store. Customers go shopping, pay and have fun.
3. Direct-to-Avatar Economy (D2A)
Metaverse users appear as avatars in the virtual world. Therefore, successful Metaverse marketing should offer virtual retail products to digital avatars. With the expansion of the metaverse, experts expect the D2A economy to grow beyond the gaming sector and reach over 50 billion by 2023.
Brands like Gucci are working with creators on-platform to invest in D2A. They can also experiment with augmented reality to create a more immersive user experience and a unique shopping experience.
4. Immersive Experiences with Digital Avatars
Experiential marketing has a top priority to drive customer engagement in metaverse. Products that can be experienced through Augmented Reality are the most interesting to users. Besides, it is a great way to increase brand loyalty and engagement by creating immersive experiences in the Metaverse. All business types are eligible for such immersive experiences. Think of Nike shoes worn by avatars and the concerts held in metaverse, all are tangible and fun.
Other strategies for metaverse marketing your products
Branded NFT for marketing in the metaverse
Creating a branded NFT for marketing metaverse leads to brand awareness. It is already known that world-class brands understand the power of NFTs and trying to attract more audiences using branded NFTs. Last year, Nike launched a virtual sneakers line, “Cryptokicks,” with which users can customize their avatars. Other brands like Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Taco Bell have announced plans for branded NFTs.
But before branding your NFTs, study your audience to know what they find most valuable.
Marketing in metaverse for Virtual stores
As a booming market, real estate is active in both the virtual and physical worlds. Owning a virtual real estate allows you to create buildings, hold events, or rent them to other brands. You can also build virtual stores where customers can visit and see your products.
Axie Infinity, Decentraland, and more metaverses provide land parcels to brands, industries, and even ordinary people. Your business can create virtual stores that will serve as interactive platforms for users. So while they check out your products, they also connect with other users with similar interests.
Gamify, metaverse digital marketing
Famous brands have gamified user experiences within the virtual world. Games are good motivation for users to interact in your metaverse marketing. Gamification allows users to simultaneously experience the joy of winning NFT rewards and interacting with others.
Mini-games are proper choices that incentivize users to win rewards. Possible rewards include virtual products for their avatars, building material, and other NFTs or cryptocurrencies, which can be used to win more games or sell on open marketplaces.
Sell Digital Products for Avatars
Avatars are the digital identity of people in the metaverse. Therefore, you should focus on exclusive products for avatars. People want to customize their virtual avatars, and the fashion industry has already taken a lot of advantage out of it.
Although well-known brands are probably more successful in the metaverse, the market gives them a chance for younger brands to start their marketing and take their share. Remember that users are willing to spend money on digital products which make their avatars look unique.
Examples of successful marketing in the metaverse
Nike and Metaverse marketing
Nike developed their virtual world, NikeLand, on Roblox. This virtual platform helped Nike attract customers to create avatars and play sports games to earn rewards. Nike also acquired RTFKT Studios to develop its plans in the metaverse. Owning RTFKT allowed Nike to release virtual sneakers as digital products for their users’ avatars. These sneakers are NFTs, so they only exist on virtual platforms. However, users can sell or rent the sneakers out.
Nike also recently released a web3 shopping platform dotSwoosh. The platform is a virtual store where users can sell and buy digital collectibles.
Coca-Cola metaverse and marketing
Coca-Cola teamed up with Tafi to develop a string of virtual products as their first NFTs. On International Friendship Day, Coca-Cola auctioned virtual wearables inside the “Friendship Box” on the Decentraland platform. Decentraland’s users loved this, and the winning bid ended at $575,883. Although Coca-Cola does not have a branded metaverse, this is an excellent example of metaverse marketing.
Meta Platforms, metaverse digital marketing
Along with the hype of the metaverse and NFTs, Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook’s parent company to Meta Platforms – a sign that the company plans to invest in the metaverse. According to Mark, the metaverse is the internet of the future where users would socialize, interact, play games, learn, and work. To that end, Facebook launched its metaverse, Horizon Worlds, a pair of smart glasses (partnered with RayBans), and a headset.
Metaverse marketing Challenges
Although the Metaverse is a promising future for brands, the space is still young and developing. Thus, there are challenges brands face when using the platform. These are some of them:
Accessibility for marketing in the metaverse
Users need certain equipment, such as AR and VR lenses or high-end PCs, in a virtual world to join the metaverse and experience virtual life. While some metaverse platforms support web and mobile devices, others still require high-end tech gadgets. This severely limits the metaverse marketing possibilities for brands in Metaverse.
Hard to Integrate
Creating a cohesive advertisement that feels natural in Metaverse can be challenging. It can be challenging for companies to find the right audience or product placement. This is especially so for companies in industries not yet present in the metaverse.
Privacy concerns
Data Privacy and security are always concerns with new technologies. Building trust can be easier if security measures are updated. Metaverse must always look for new Privacy regulations. On the other hand, companies must create new ways to protect their users’ data.
Scams and illicit activities in metaverse marketing
Many users are discouraged from using the metaverse due to the widespread scams and illicit activities. Due to the anonymous nature of the blockchain, it is difficult to identify users or get information about them. That exposes unsuspecting users to a lot of security issues. It also makes it easy for illicit actors to scam users without revealing their personal information.
Conclusion
Metaverse marketing is a new-age method to create an immersive experience for potential consumers. In an age where digital technology is taking over, businesses must adapt to these changing tides. To remain relevant, businesses must invest in metaverse.
Companies can use different strategies to sell more digital products and NFTs in the metaverse and increase their brand awareness. It can also be a way to attract new users and generate more revenue. Although the metaverse has brought several advantages for marketers, metaverse marketing also faces some challenges that businesses must consider before marketing to their users.
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