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A lot of questions revolve around the hype of the metaverse, with major players Epic Games Raised $2 billion Facebook renamed it Meta due to its kid-friendly Metaverse initiative, while Snapchat tried to make a splash with it Augmented reality glasses. Is the Metaverse just a playground for tech lovers and gamers? Is it just a fad, or is it here to stay?
These questions are no different from the uncertainty about the Internet itself in the 1980s and 1990s. Weekly newspaper published an article In 1995, Silicon Valley tech writer Clifford Stoll asserted that computer and electronic publishing would never replace physical newspapers or magazines. Stoll believes that hardware and software will eventually peak and the internet will never be as portable as physical printing. (Ironically, Weekly newspaper Ceases its 80-year print publishing business 2012 focused solely on electronic publishing. )
We know today that Stoll’s predictions are almost ridiculously off-base, but we still have naysayers skeptical of the next technological trend: the metaverse. Much like the internet, the Metaverse became increasingly popular with young people in its initial popularity.
according to New York Zoo, metaverse gamers (that is, those who play the three most popular metaverse games: Fortnite, Roblox, and Minecraft) are younger than the average gamer. Metaverse players aged 10-20 and 21-35 outnumber non-Metaverse players. And older generations of gamers, including millennials over 36, are less likely to participate in the metaverse these days.
The metaverse will happen, but the measure of its success depends entirely on how humans physically interact with it. While the PlayStation VR, HTC’s VIVE, and other virtual reality headsets have had their fair share of success, Oculus is the closest thing to “mainstream VR” in the consumer market. But that may soon change.apple has one Mixed reality headset And Apple Glasses that support augmented reality in the pipeline. Google’s Iris Project Although Google Glass has failed before, it’s still on Apple’s tail.
From gaming to enterprise, use cases are constantly being discovered. Before long, everyone will be scrambling to take a virtual train to the Metaverse. Innovative marketers are already blazing the trail.
related: How Brands Strategize for Metaverse
Create Metaverse
Startup founders, entrepreneurs, executives, and marketers should all care about the metaverse, because it’s the new Wild West: a whole new world of advertising, both literal and metaphorical.
If you saw the early days of the internet in the late 20th century, you would know that advertising giants like Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet got their start in that dot-com era. This new field allows small players to outperform larger competitors with greater financial resources. The video killed the radio star and the internet slaughtered both. The internet is a disruptive technology that creates new connections and displaces existing businesses in industries ranging from media to retail.
The mixed reality and extended reality segments have the same potential. Every modern smartphone supports AR.At the same time, about 9.86 million VR devices Worldwide shipments in 2021, the VR market is expected to grow by about 15% by 2030. This will bring the number of VR users into the reach of some of the most popular social media networks, such as Discord and Twitter.
And you don’t need a VR headset to play most Metaverse games, as you can access them via desktop browsers, game consoles, and sometimes even mobile devices. Many of the amazing interactive marketing opportunities in the metaverse don’t exist on old-school social platforms, including next-gen storefronts, advanced influencer marketing, and experiential marketing.
Next-generation digital storefronts are emerging across the metaverse. Major fashion houses such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga and Prada have taken stakes in everything from Roblox to The Sandbox.Samsung opens flagship store and holds event decentralization. Large trade shows cost some big brands tens of millions of dollars to attend, so a permanent virtual showroom may be a more economical option.
Advanced Influencer Marketing is also used in Metaverse. Travis Scott’s virtual Fortnite concert brings more than 12.3 million concurrent players enter the game. These astronomical numbers simply cannot be matched on any other platform.For example, the most concurrent viewers on Twitch stand at 2.47 million. On Instagram Live, the record is 3 million, while YouTube’s record is 1.4 million. Scott’s live audience is nearly double that of all three platforms combined.
Experiential marketing continues to prove its worth in the virtual world and change the face of in-game advertising. Instead of using static pop-up ads, you can violate the laws of physics to create whatever immersive experience you want your customers to have.For example, skate shoe brand Vans has created a Roblox’s entire skate parkwhile Adidas goes all out NFTs and virtual land in the sandbox. Everyone is testing experiential virtual marketing and revenue in a virtual world.
related: Metaverse: Game-Changing Innovations for Entrepreneurs
Join the metaverse
The Metaverse is the next step in connected technology, with many densely populated worlds under construction that you can fit into. However, your every movement must be clear and conscious. To get started with correct virtual feet in the metaverse, apply the following three strategies:
1. Long-term investment
Don’t just throw your money at the metaverse and hope for the best. Intentional application of metaverse marketing. Make sure your audience fits and fits within the desired budget. Perform due diligence to understand which audiences are using which Metaverse platforms. These open digital worlds may look similar, but they attract completely different demographics. Make sure you find the right audience in the right virtual world location so you don’t waste money.
Large media and advertising agencies such as WPP and Horizon Media are expected to enter the space with other large agencies around the world. They are already thinking about metaverse inventory because they want it to be the new internet.Internet ad spending today has surpassed traditional ad spending and is in the hundreds of billions of dollars. If we combine the same trajectory with the compounding effects of technology in 30 years or less, it’s fair to say that more and more budgets will shift to virtual worlds as popular adoption accelerates.
2. Make your team consciously creative
The Metaverse is a living, breathing world.if you join Meta’s Horizon Worlds Platform on Oculus, for example, you’ll be greeted by real Oculus employees who provide customer service, virtual tours, troubleshooting, and more.Start conversations with your customers or internal teams today to Brainstorm how your business can realistically live in a virtual world with all the necessary resources. If you need help getting started, just write your thoughts on the whiteboard. There are no bad ideas at this exciting stage.
For example, in the late 1980s, people probably hadn’t thought about putting the Yellow Pages online, and the company didn’t survive the Internet transformation. So if you want to transition to metaverse early, think creatively. Establishing a half-hearted presence can be worse than not showing up at all.
3. Improve through trial and error
Bloomberg Intelligence Predicting the Metaverse as an $800 billion market opportunity and the next big tech platform. The first person to enter and master the space usually sets the rules. You need to have an open mind and think creatively in this new environment. People who create new things get the attention and excitement of the community – and eventually they go mainstream. Be fluid and willing to go in any direction while maintaining brand authenticity.
Test to learn because you can always scale to what works and stay away from what doesn’t. Also, make sure you have the least amount of money to use to identify these opportunities or weaknesses.
related: 6 Ways to Prepare Your Small Business for the Metaverse
The metaverse will continue to be popular as technology develops. Younger generations are already looking for ways to incorporate it into their way of life, just as they have done with the internet and gaming. I have no doubt that we will see the next FAANG company emerge from the metaverse in another decade.
