The metaverse: Understanding where your brand fits into the future of the Internet

The metaverse: Understanding where your brand fits into the future of the Internet

The metaverse is all over the news (and internet) nowadays. According to Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, it’s the future of the internet – the next generation of technology. The metaverse is essentially an immersive internet. Just imagine that inside of logging on or opening the app on your computer or phone, you could just snap a button on your Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality glasses and venture into a completely virtual world. It may seem like something out of a movie, but believe it or not, in the next few years this fantasy is about to come to life (at least according to Mark Zuckerberg it is).

Along with socializing and working in the metaverse, one of the main things that we’ll be doing is shopping and making purchases. Similar to how social media is a major engine for consumer purchasing, with global estimates for social sales now reaching $560 billion annually, the metaverse will be a place where commerce rules. People are calling ecommerce in the metaverse “icommerce” or immerse commerce.

So what are the ways that brands can connect to icommerce before it becomes a thing?

Getting involved on metaverse platforms

We’ve all heard of product placement, but in the metaverse, this marketing concept (which began in theaters back in the day) is going next level. Brands will market their products and services both directly and indirectly in the metaverse space, and they should also look to create both physical and digital products or services. Brands can sponsor a game or give people discounts for taking part in their metaverse experiences. There are tons of options for brands to recreate themselves in the metaverse; they only need to get creative.

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Connect between social media presence and future metaverse presence

This step may actually be easier said than done. In social media spaces, we are used to influencers, which is a good thing because they give brands opportunities to reach many more new communities and consumers than they could with traditional advertising. In the metaverse, though, brands will have to work harder to get people’s attention because there will be so much going on and so many niche communities. That’s why brands that are smart will start connecting between their social media accounts and the kind of engagements they anticipate to have with their followers and consumers in the metaverse. This could be promoted through influencer campaigns, and it could help to get influencers on board with your brand’s metaverse messaging.

Launch a NFT

Aside from metaverse, the most Googled world on the internet might be “NFT”, or non-fungible token. These tokens stand for something completely authentic that can’t be copied or faked, and which represents something unique. Some brands, like Coca Cola are launching NFTs to support certain charities and impact efforts (like one NFT for brand merchandise that raised $500,000), while others are connecting with artists and designers to create really awesome stuff for the metaverse. While it’s not easy to launch a NFT (a strong backing of funding is required) and it looks like only major brands are engaged with the trend at this time, it may get easier for smaller brands in the future once NFTs hit the mainstream.

Coca Cola

While these are only a few of the things that brands can do to connect to the metaverse trend, it’s worthwhile keeping your eyes peeled for new technology and information that could put your Web3 strategy ahead of the pack.