The word "Metaverse" has been getting a lot of attention lately. Facebook recently announced that it had changed the name of its brand to "Meta."
Metaverse is a part of the real world that adds to it. So, the metaverse is a world with an infinite number of options.
Metaverse Development is the idea of a 3D universe that is online and made up of different virtual spaces. To put it more simply, metaverse is a network of virtual worlds that helps online avatars connect with each other socially. Virtual and augmented reality headsets help with the universal virtual world. Users can meet and talk to each other in 3D virtual spaces through Metaverse.
Metaverse is the online version of something that already exists in the real world.
"Snow Crash," a science fiction book written by Neal Stephenson in 1992, is where the idea of the metaverse first came from. So, think about how metaverse used to be a made-up idea and look at where technology is now.
The metaverse is like the world of video games like Second Life and Fortnite. The idea behind these games is not exactly the same as the idea behind the metaverse, but there are some similarities.
Metaverse in the Real World
Metaverse has so many amazing things that can happen. Let's look at some examples from the real world that show how metaverse is changing the digital world.
Augmented Reality (AR)
Augmented reality, or AR, is a technology that adds digital elements to the real world. AR is a concept that is used a lot in video games. One of the most well-known AR apps is Pokémon Go, which uses a phone's camera to let players catch Pokémon that appear in the real world.
AR is also improving navigation systems. Google's AR and VR let users experience real life with the help of AR and VR.
Metaverse in Pop Culture
Fortnite is more than just a game. It has become a virtual stage where people can hang out and go to concerts. The Soundwave Series is a collection of music from around the world by well-known artists like Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, and many more. With this series, players can get to interactive parts of the game.
Metaverse in Video Games
"Second Life" is the first thing people think of when they hear the word "metaverse." In Second Life, people can make their own digital characters, which they can use to explore the virtual world and talk to other people. In-world currency called Linden Dollars can be used to buy and sell goods and services in Second Life, which is an interesting feature.
How will the metaverse change the future of digital marketing?
Traditional marketing and advertising is being replaced by a new age of digital marketing. Let's look at how brands are using metaverse to change the landscape of digital marketing.
Roblox
In virtual environments, people who use the metaverse spend a lot of time and even money. Check out Roblox. It's a platform that lets its users live in virtual worlds made by other users. Recently, Roblox has been trying out an interactive ad that gives marketers more freedom than product placements.
Hyundai, a car company in South Korea, has made a Roblox level where all of the cars are their own. Hyundai wanted to build a long-term relationship with a younger user who was interested in gaming.
Roblox has 43 million daily active users, so it makes sense for brands to work with the company.
Changes to the rules of online markets.
Aside from being a copy of our real world, the metaverse is also changing how people spend their money. When we look back, a credit card used to make us a little nervous, but that's no longer the case. What a difference time makes.
Many people think that spending real money in a virtual world is weird. A poll, on the other hand, found that 65 percent of Gen Z consumers have spent money on a virtual item, like a piece of gear or an accessory that can only be used in the game. Because of this, brands have to think outside the box to come up with new ways to market online.
This makes it clear why brands like Balenciaga made their own video game platform called Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow to show off their latest collection. The game was made with help from the same studio that made Fortnite.
Players would start their journey in a digital Balenciaga store, and as they moved through the game, new levels would open up that showed off the new styles for the season. So, Balenciaga was able to reach a new audience outside of traditional channels by making the experience interactive and 3D.
Different way to gather information
In addition to bringing in a new audience and expanding organic reach, metaverse has given digital marketers a new chance to learn more about how people use their sites.
Online games have been around for a long time in the digital world. Metaverse has been around for a long time, but virtual reality is the first thing that has made it popular with most people (VR). What used to be an old technology is now in homes all over the world. It could help push retail into a future where digital and real experiences are mixed.
Suppose you have a digital avatar that can try on clothes. Looking at new sofa sets in virtual stores won't make it easy for you to shop selectively without moving an inch. Instead, it lets you try things that you can't get through e-commerce.
With the help of virtual reality systems, brands can now easily and in-depth measure how engaged their users are. When users look at and explore items in the virtual marketplace, brands learn in real time what they like and don't like.
Metaverse Marketing has given us new ways to market the product and make it easier to find new users. Brands can also find out how long people spend using their products.
Brands are now aware of this and are changing the meta landscape to manage user engagement and make it stronger.
Let's talk about Nike. They are working on "downloadable virtual goods" and "virtual stores." Nike wanted to protect their brand by registering the "swoosh logo" as a trademark because it would be used in new ways.
Digital Campfires
We live in a time when new ideas are constantly being made. Every other day, you'll see something new. Younger people are the ones who drive change and new ideas.
A few years ago, challenges on social media like the ASL Ice Bucket Challenge were very popular. If you think they are gone, they are still around. Social media challenges still capture attention. The younger audience has a short attention span and is more likely to be influenced by ideas or conversations on platforms like Roblox or Discord.
The term "digital campfires" was created by Harvard Business Review in 2020, and who knows, it might be the future of modern marketing. Younger people are leaving traditional platforms like Instagram and Facebook for ones that give them more privacy and don't judge them.
Because younger people are becoming less interested in traditional social media platforms and have short attention spans, it has become very expensive for brands to reach their target audience and interact with customers.
In this case, digital campfires save the day because they are the best way to copy the close relationships between customers and shared experiences of metaverses.
Metaverse Development is Lucrative for Marketing
Metaverse is still a new idea, so the costs of running a campaign aren't very high. This makes it profitable for businesses to reach the right people. Statistics show that there are about 3.4 billion online Metaverse Game Development gamers, and that about 27% of them are between the ages of 21 and 30.
Another benefit of the metaverse is that marketing campaigns do not have to be based on physics. For example, just like a real garden, Gucci's virtual garden has themed rooms that bring to mind the company's old advertising campaigns. However, unlike the rooms in Florence, Italy, which have ceilings, these rooms are open to the sky and covered in trees.
Digital marketers inside or outside of the metaverse have a lot of options, but now is the time to take advantage of the opportunities that are opening up because of the metaverse. Some brands have seen how the metaverse can be useful, but it hasn't been used to its full potential yet. More exciting changes are still to come in the world of digital marketing. Metaverse gives the field of digital marketing a bright future and a lot of room for new ideas.
