The Metaverse: A Digital Marketer’s Paradise?

The concept of the Metaverse, a collective virtual shared space created by the convergence of the internet and the real world, has been evermore present in the digital marketing world and has never been more relevant as it is today.

Despite the Metaverse still in its relative infancy, as technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality continue to advance at lightning speed, the Metaverse will likely become an everyday addition to our lives, and will indeed have significant implications for digital marketing in metaverse as we know it.

An immersive experience

One of the key impacts of the digital marketing in metaverse is the potential for more immersive and engaging experiences. Just think about it, in the Metaverse, brands and businesses would be able to create virtual environments, such as virtual stores, events, and product demonstrations, that customers could experience in a more immersive and seamless way from wherever they are in the world. This could be especially useful for industries like retail, entertainment, and tourism, where experiential marketing is already a key part of their strategy.

For example, during the COVID19 pandemic, despite there being an inability to travel due to strict lockdowns, social media users flocked to travel-based accounts, looking for their travel ‘fix’. A simple 2D experience from a handheld device ultimately filled the urge to travel for millions across the globe and allowed them to experience a land far away from the comfort of their own homes. Now imagine that the metaverse and digital marketing was fully up and running with the same user base as Instagram has- think of the experiences they could have had then. Would it ultimately increase user happiness? Could it have mitigated the negative mental health impact that the pandemic had on the global population?

Don’t get us wrong, though there’s always going to be demand to experience the real thing. In our opinion nothing will ever beat experiencing the Great Pyramids of Giza or Machu Pichu in person!

Now it’s personal

Another impact of the digital marketing in metaverse is the potential for more personalized and targeted experiences. In the Metaverse, people have a single, persistent online identity, and this would enable brands and businesses to collect more detailed data about their customers and their preferences. Right now for example, you may have multiple social accounts, multiple email addresses and maybe some ‘burner’ accounts that you use for lurking. In the Metaverse, accuracy of identity will be ever-present, giving marketers much more information to tailor their ads and content to, allowing for more personalized and targeted marketing campaigns, as well as more relevant product and service offerings.

A challenging environment?

All of this may not be such an amazing thing though. The super fast and accurate development of the Metaverse also raises some potential challenges and concerns for digital marketers. For example, the metaverse and digital marketing would likely be a highly competitive and crowded space, with many brands and businesses competing for attention and engagement. This could make it more difficult for marketers to cut through the noise and reach their target audience, especially smaller independent companies that lack funding and expertise in the Metaverse’s ever-developing state.

Where do we go from here?

Overall, the Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize the world of digital marketing and create new opportunities for brands and businesses. While there will be challenges and hurdles to overcome, the potential rewards make it worth exploring and embracing the Metaverse as part of a comprehensive digital marketing strategy involving multiple different online and traditional platforms. One caveat though, is that even though there’s rapid development in the space, the full experience may be years away as hardware procurement and user habits may take time to adjust to a new platform. In reality, it may take the next generation of digitally native humans to fully adapt to it, Gen Z- we’re looking at you!

At GTECH, we’re super excited about its arrival and adoption, we think there’s a limitless set of opportunities to explore and can’t wait to get stuck in on them! If you need help with your online digital marketing strategy, contact us today, even though you may not need the Metaverse right now, we’re sure you’re likely going to need SEO, website building, social media marketing and more!