The Metaverse has been the talk of the real and virtual town for a while now. There is the idea of virtual reality, starting to take shape, but it is definitely pioneered by Mark Zuckerberg and his social media powerhouse: Meta.
Zuckerberg’s vision is a world existing entirely in a virtual universe. You shop in virtual, you make friends in virtual, you attend meetings in virtual, etc. And with the Metaverse having now finally launched, there is more chance of that becoming a reality.
But, as Zuckerberg puts it, the virtual world is the next step in the internet, which means there is plenty of room to market. Advertising opportunities will be in abundance, and old and new means of marketing will hit with extra punch as the extra immersive means of marketing takes shape.
So, how do you market yourself in a virtual world? We’re looking at the old and new marketing tactics that are bound to be seen in the Metaverse.
Old digital marketing
It’s hard to think of concepts like podcasts being deemed, not quite outdated, but definitely old hat by now. But the good news is that they won’t be considered obsolete.
Virtual reality is merely another platform for a more immersive experience, which means people will be listening to their podcasts, watching their streaming services and video platforms, and consuming everything else you can imagine in a virtual world. This will make for a more immersive experience, which should, theoretically, mean that people will be listening when they are marketed to.
Plus, we’ve got the oldest of old media formats to use when it comes to internet marketing. Namely banners like the ones you sometimes see when playing online casino slots.
The cutting edge stuff
However, there are concepts coming out in marketing right now that are right on the edge of futuristic. One is the upgraded concept of affiliate marketing with influencers. Sure, marketers know all about paying a commission for an influencer to give them a shoutout and drive traffic, but a little-known idea is that there are a lot of CGI and “virtual” influencers out there.
Some of these “virtual” influencers are simply doing their thing with a filter that covers their face, most commonly seen in V-Tubers, which is a mashup of “virtual” and “YouTuber”, and some are entirely photorealistic creations of a brand. You might not be able to even spot a CGI influencer, which is often the point. They’ve got lives, they use products they want to show you, they’ve got partners to selfie with. And often they are simply the Yellow M&M with a different voice actor, if they speak at all.
In a world where everyone has an avatar, it’s likely we’ll see the development of creators that thrive on the platform, but have their face hidden, or even are simply an avatar run by a brand’s marketing team.
The future
Being a virtual world, the Metaverse has a unique position of being a mashup of land and internet, which means you can also implement all the marketing tactics that you physically see out in the world. You can play GTA or Mario Kart and see a billboard for an ad, you can watch or play a game of football and see logos on the strips and banners on the rim of the field, like you do in console and real-world games at the moment. The opportunity to create an immersive world can involve having a more immersive marketing scheme. This will have the added effect that your customers might even take on board these advertisements more readily.
