What Is Metaverse, And How Does It Influence Marketing

Ever since Facebook has rebranded itself as ‘Meta’, the word ‘Metaverse’ is also creating a lot of buzz. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and CEO of popular social media platform Facebook, has been working on bringing the metaverse to life. Its influence in the world of online marketing is yet to be explored fully. Let’s look at what actually metaverse is.

What is Metaverse?

Understanding what metaverse is takes a while, which is why a lot of people still have zero clue on what it is – is it a digital product, is it a platform, or is it a technology?

Metaverse is a complex term, but if you must have the explanation in simpler terms, think of the metaverse as a technology – a network of 3D virtual worlds based on virtual reality and augmented reality. This is a network that connects both the online and physical worlds.

How do you get into the metaverse? Well, since it is an integrated network of 3D virtual worlds, the metaverse can be accessed through a virtual reality headset. The headset offers a complete immersion of our senses and makes us feel that we are actually in a particular place.

One of the very common applications of the metaverse is already being used in multiplayer video games. But what about its applications or use, or how does it influence online marketing?

How does the metaverse influence marketing?

While we don’t see widespread adoption of metaverse marketing anytime soon, there are many examples where big companies are successfully using metaverse marketing.  In the coming years, here’s how metaverse marketing will change digital marketing.

1. Metaverse is rewriting billboards marketing

Generally, billboard marketing is positioned in a place where there is a significant amount of population or in the most popular spots of the city. But with metaverse, billboard marketing is getting a new makeover.

Take this as an example: You are playing a racing game in the metaverse. And you have just completed the race in the first place, and you are congratulated with your character name put up above in the sky that offers you discounts on your favourite brands for winning the race. This adds an experience and shows that the billboards are not just in the physical spaces but also there when you are in virtual reality.

2. Metaverse for Facebook marketing

While some effects are already predictable, some others are still a puzzle. For example, Facebook ads. When it comes to social media marketing, including Facebook advertising, there are definitely some challenges. Since metaverse is definitely targeting more towards the younger generation, Facebook has been facing more and more drop in teen audience since 2019.

Also, it is important to note that virtual reality is fun and exciting, but it also is not yet widespread – meaning it is expensive. And for those who are not marketing on a free-to-use platform, adopting marketing that requires extra equipment will require a huge transformation which we are not ready for yet, and neither are the startups and small businesses.

But if Facebook is really hell-bent on making it work, there are chances that Facebook metaverse marketing might be possible sooner than we saw it coming.

Conclusion

One thing with metaverse is sure that marketing won’t be just digital, or the products we see on the screen won’t just be digital, but it will be a whole experience just it would be in a physical world. And it doesn’t matter whether any big or small companies don’t approve of this new technology or virtual reality that will change a thing – it is going to happen anyway, and the best way to prepare is to – well, prepare.