What is Metaverse? Why Does it Matter to Marketers?

To hear Facebook’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, talk about the Metaverse is like living in 1975 and hearing someone talk about the internet. What is the Metaverse? Is it the new digital reality? A video game?

The Metaverse is tough to explain because it does not exist. It is not like Disneyland, where you can take a trip and see it for yourself. It’s a lot more complex than that because there’s nothing tangible about it.

What is the Metaverse?

The metaverse has been a hot topic recently, thanks to Facebook and Microsoft staking their claims. It is a convergence of virtual reality and a digital second life. These ideas have been around for years and explain the shift in how we interact with technology.

The 1992 science-fiction novel “Snow Crash,” written by author Neal Stephenson first introduces the term “metaverse.” In this novel, Stephenson envisions a life in virtual reality, with life-like avatars and realistic 3D buildings.

Since then, technologists have been making huge leaps to try to make this a present-day reality in the digital landscape. Pieces of the metaverse already exist in online gaming worlds like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. This kind of digital experience may become even more common as we progress into the years.

Eventually, technologies that make up the metaverse can include virtual reality, characterized by virtual worlds that continue to exist even when you are not there. It will also use augmented reality to combine digital and physical worlds. It will even translate into a digital economy, where users can create, buy, and sell goods. In more idealistic versions of the metaverse, it is transactional, allowing you to take virtual items like cars from one place to another.

Right now, most virtual realities like Fortnite or Roblox have virtual identities and avatars that are only tied to one platform. However, with the expansion of the metaverse, you’ll be able to take your avatar from one social platform to another.

How Does the Metaverse Effect Marketing?

Many brands have started using virtual and augmented reality to sell their products or services. For example, Volvo created an app where you can virtually test drive a car. The North Face offered customers an opportunity to hike through Yosemite National Park. You have probably already experienced this kind of technology through marketing, and it’s only getting bigger.

Moving into an immersed digital environment, the metaverse is the next step in our connected world, making it important for marketers. Bridging the gap between virtual reality and consumer experience will be crucial for brands if they want to evolve with their customers.

Implications on Marketing

The metaverse will likely require a few shifts. Marketers will need to become world builders. We’ve already been connecting real-world interactions with virtual interactions with experiential marketing. Marketers will have to parallel worlds by creating messaging that is fully cohesive with real-world and digital-world experiences. Marketers will also have to keep a watchful eye on consumer behaviors, and document how people engage in new digital spaces.

The Metaverse is Coming Soon

Even though the metaverse is in its early stages, we are already well on our way to living as a digital society. How you adapt as a marketer will be crucial in your success once we make the shift to the metaverse.

To read more about Facebook Advertising, check out How do beginners run Facebook Ads? article.