Successful brand evolution begins with a well-designed and executed digital marketing strategy. This strategy is built to ensure that brands are serving relevant content across all digital platforms. And in 2022, digital marketing strategies need to include the Metaverse.
The Metaverse is an emerging iteration of the internet. It is a simulated, connected digital environment where humans can interact and create experiences together, as well as purchase virtual items using NFT, or non-fungible tokens. The Metaverse uses a mixture of VR, AR, and AI to create virtual worlds for consumers. Leading tech experts such as Nick Pringle, the Executive Creative Director of R/GA, underscore the importance of the Metaverse as an interactive, immersive, and social tool that can raise awareness, drive deeper engagement, and create value, all within the essential context of building global community.
How the Metaverse Will Affect Marketing
The Metaverse has the potential to transform the modern marketing industry. By 2028, the Metaverse market size is predicted to reach 814.2 billion, Facebook dove into the Metaverse headfirst by rebranding as Meta Platform, Inc, and Nike recently acquired the virtual sneaker company RTFKT.
While every emerging channel comes with inherent risks, early adopters of this new online world may stand to reap the largest rewards. Updating your brand’s digital marketing strategy now will position you to join and be competitive within the Metaverse as technology develops and consumers engage with it at an increasingly higher level. Allowing consumers to explore and interact with brands in the Metaverse gives companies the opportunity to create branded UX in both physical and digital spaces. The depth and breadth of this access to consumer needs could throw the doors wide open for brands, allowing them to fully immerse consumers in their products and services in a digital space just as easily as in a brick-and-mortar shop.
And the applications for the Metaverse go beyond consumer-facing industries. Harvard Business Review points out that other applications of this technology are being explored, like training of future surgeons, rolling out product demos to retail employees, and conducting simulations to test manufacturing effectiveness.
With potentially limitless options, it can be challenging to weigh the pros and cons of investing in a Metaverse-oriented digital marketing strategy and to determine how to plot your entry into the metaverse on your own.
How to Prepare for Marketing in the Metaverse
Like any other large-scale marketing decision, preparing for marketing in the Metaverse begins with strategy. Developing a digital marketing strategy that includes Metaverse capabilities will ensure that your brand is not only positioned to remain relevant as the Metaverse becomes more prominent, but also to create an enhanced experience for your audience.
Consider the following when designing your Metaverse marketing strategy:
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- Don’t lose sight of your target audience. It can be tempting to get wrapped up in an any new platform, but it’s important to start any strategy by going back to your basics: gathering human insights. Where is your target audience spending time in the metaverse? And how likely are they to adopt it? If your brand primarily serves a younger demographic, you may need to expedite your entry into the Metaverse.
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- Approach the Metaverse with a community-first mindset. This is a space that prioritizes creating inclusive, streamlined shopping experiences for all people, so approach it as the beginning of a conversation with consumers, or embrace new opportunities to deepen engagement with existing audiences. Think about what kinds of enhanced experiences you can provide with these new capabilities.
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- Consider your brand’s long-term goals and value propositions. What can your brand offer in this new digital space that aligns with your target audience and is relevant to their modern needs? Will it require you to divert funds or energy from other important programs that are working? If so, it may not be the right time for your brand to be an early adopter.
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- Focus on connection. Remember that consumers connect with humanity, so don’t be afraid to incorporate playful content and showcase your brand’s unique personality. People will be drawn to the Metaverse for its connectivity, not it’s perfection.
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- Get a second opinion. If you have a relationship with strategic digital marketing agency (like (human)x) or other marketing partner, now is the time to engage them. See if they can help you craft a point of view on how you can enter the Metaverse, and how your strategies align across your marketing ecosystem. Using outside resources can help you scale up to enter the Metaverse faster and help you craft your brand’s first exposure to the platform.
- Don’t rush the process. The Metaverse is still emerging, so now is the perfect time to create a deliberate marketing strategy that can evolve alongside the technology.
Establishing a solid Metaverse strategy can help your brand create a personalized, enhanced experience with you audience at the center. As a data-driven digital marketing agency, we pride ourselves on providing clients with relevant, consumer-focused support, including Metaverse strategy. If your brand needs a partner to help shape or update your digital marketing strategy, reach out to (human)x today.
