Metaverse marketing may seem like a blip in the distance for businesses, but there’s no time like the present to prepare your brand for future endeavors. While the Metaverse is unprofitable right now (and likely will be for the next few years), Mark Zuckerberg is confident that the Metaverse will reach one billion people and bring in billions of ecommerce dollars within the next decade.
In this article, we’ll be sharing consistent updates to keep you up to speed with what you need to know about Metaverse marketing and where it’s heading.
April 13
Who’s participating in the metaverse?
In our last update, we explored what the metaverse looks like now and where it’s going. The truth is, the metaverse goes beyond just Zuckerberg’s Meta. Let’s dive a little deeper into what that means.
Meta (Facebook) took to the metaverse trend by changing its entire name, but the term isn’t actually limited to the social media giant. Companies like Disney, Procter & Gamble, creative agencies, and accounting firms have hired a “Chief Metaverse Officer,” referring to the overall metaverse landscape and not just Zuckerberg’s Metaverse.
The metaverse is in its nascent stages right now, but it’s shaping up to be the next stage of the internet. Major innovations are on the horizon, but until they come to life, metaverse marketing strategies aren’t likely to be as fruitful.
That’s not stopping large brands including Nike, Gucci, Givenchy, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Balenciaga, and Prada from getting their feet wet in the metaverse.
Nike has been in the metaverse space since November 2021 when it launched Nikeland on Roblox, where users can buy and wear virtual items using in-game currency. The major athletic brand also launched a members-only digital space, Swoosh, where users can purchase virtual products. The Web3-enabled platform, which is currently in Beta, will offer a digital-only collection of footwear, apparel, and accessories that are created based on votes from community members.
Members will be able to sell and trade these items using real money. Nike also plans to offer additional benefits to users who purchase virtual apparel items, such as preorders for physical products or access to a chat room with Nike designers.
Nike made $3.1 million in April 2022 from selling virtual “Crypotkicks” NFT sneakers.
However, the Swoosh platform doesn’t provide an option to create an avatar to wear the clothes. Ron Faris, VP & GM of Nike Virtual Studios, says that the plan is for the wearables to be available across different experiences and games.
Of course, Meta has also been a major name in the realm of the metaverse. The company has partnered with Microsoft to offer 365 for virtual workspaces via the Meta Quest Pro headset. Other demos being tested on the headset include a game called Wooorld where the user is dropped into a random spot on Google Maps and has to guess where they are in the world, as well as a virtual art-making platform. However, Facebook’s Metaverse is less accessible because of the headset’s hefty price tag of $1,000 (although it was previously $1,500).
Of course, many users and skeptics have questions about data privacy in the metaverse, including transparent insights into how its algorithms will work. Meta’s Quest Pro VR headset uses five inward-facing cameras pointed toward the user’s face that track eye and facial movements so that the user’s avatar matches their expressions.
It’s been reported that Amazon and other companies have tried to predict a person’s emotional state by using facial recognition on photos. Meta claims it doesn’t use VR data to predict emotions and that they delete raw images. However, insights from those images “may be processed and stored on Meta servers.” Meta says that the ability to understand real-time body language is key to an effective VR platform.
To learn more about the current privacy landscape, read our consistently updated blog about consumer privacy news.
The metaverse is an evolving digital landscape, and the future of metaverse marketing remains to be seen. You can count on this blog article to keep you updated with all the latest metaverse news. And if you’re looking for a partner that is dedicated to creating digital marketing strategies for your business that take into consideration all of the latest developments in ecommerce, send a message to our team today.
March 23
Metaverse marketing: An overview
Before we start diving into what the Metaverse will mean for ecommerce, there is an important question to answer: What is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse is a vast digital world that promises to “provide new ways to connect and share experiences” so that users can “do more together.”
More specifically, the Metaverse is a 3D virtual reality (VR) platform where users can get together to do many of the things they would in real life, but in a virtual environment. The Metaverse is mainly accessible via Facebook’s Oculus VR headset, but Facebook is also developing augmented reality (AR) accessibility via smartphones and even smart glasses through a partnership with Ray-Ban.
Fun fact: The term “metaverse” was first coined in a 1992 dystopian sci-fi novel from author Neal Stephenson called “Snow Crash.”
Mark Zuckerburg acknowledged with the announcement of the Metaverse that it would likely be an unprofitable venture for an undetermined number of years. In fact, Meta spent $10 billion on the Metaverse in 2021, and that certainly hasn’t been gained back yet. However, within the next decade, Zuckerberg’s goal with the Metaverse is for it to “reach a billion people and billions of dollars in commerce.”
If the Metaverse does become mainstream in 5 to ten years as Mark Zuckerberg predicts, then now is a good time for businesses to experiment with and learn about the platform. The businesses that test out Meta marketing now are likely to have learned experience with the Metaverse that can lead to strategic success in the coming years.
The metaverse provides a good opportunity for brands to not only drive top-of-funnel awareness but also to increase conversions through social commerce. Ecommerce will be a big part of the metaverse.
Some brands have already started to sell virtual products through the metaverse, including Nike, Gucci, and Forever 21. As with any marketing strategy, you should determine the goal of your Metaverse marketing strategy before venturing in. Right now, as the platform gains traction and new features are added, the best opportunity probably lies in top-of-funnel awareness campaigns. Influencer marketing will also likely thrive on the Metaverse.
Consumers see the metaverse as a highly futuristic world, and the bar will be high for delivering innovative, immersive experiences.
Being a new and very unique platform, there will likely be entirely new ways to measure engagement and success in the Metaverse. On top of that, questions about ensuring consumer data privacy and the ability to leverage first-party data still exist for the Metaverse.
According to our 2023 State of Digital Marketing Survey, just 13.7% of marketers say they’re investing in the Metaverse this year. As the years go by and we continue to ask about the Metaverse in our annual survey, it will be interesting to see how this number changes.
The ecommerce experts at ROI Revolution are dedicated to staying informed about everything in the rapidly changing digital marketing space. Empowering businesses with strategic and innovative ideas to grow profitably is what we do. To explore the untapped wins that we could help your brand discover, send a message to our team today.
Sources
- WIRED, The Internet Is Ruined. The Metaverse Can Still Be Saved.
- WIRED, Meta’s VR Headset Harvests Personal Data Right Off Your Face.
- WIRED, Meta Is Still Betting on a VR Revolution That May Never Come.
- Nike, Swoosh.
- WIRED, Nike Will Let People Design and Sell Sneakers for the Metaverse.
- WIRED, The Metaverse Doesn’t Have a Leg to Stand On.
- Meta, Augmented Reality.
- Meta, Ray-Ban Stories: Smart glasses designed to keep you in the moment.
- Forbes, What Is The Metaverse—And Why Does Mark Zuckerberg Care So Much About It?
- McKinsey & Company, Marketing in the metaverse: An opportunity for innovation and experimentation.
