The impact of Metaverse on Digital Marketing

Metaverse is one of the most talked about phenomena on social media. People are not sure what impact it would have on our daily lives. With more and more brands accepting metaverse as the new reality, we try to examine the likely impact of metaverse on digital marketing and vice versa.

Metaverse is a digital universe that allows its users to build unique characters and customize these characters as per their liking through the use of virtual reality technology. It comes as no surprise that Facebook, which generates 97% of its revenue through advertising, changed its name to Meta. Facebook’s decision has prompted digital marketers all over the world to look at the metaverse as an opportunity to advertise their products.

This blog will examine the likely changes that may be seen in the world of digital marketing after the introduction of the metaverse.

1. Increase in popularity of NFTs
Currently, the most popular product that can be traded within the metaverse are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). NFTs are cryptographic tokens that represent digital assets that belong solely to the owners. Digital assets such as Amitabh Bachchan’s movie posters and Lebron James’s previously unseen basketball footage have already been traded within the metaverse. An increase in digital marketing of these collectibles within the metaverse will also lead to heightened interest in NFTs among the potential consumers who would want to possess such memorabilia.

2. Increase in the circulation of cryptocurrency
As pointed out previously, digital marketing will increase the popularity of NFTs. Currently, NFTs can only be bought by using cryptocurrency. Ethereum is the most accepted cryptocurrency amongst NFT traders. As a result, it is clear that with an increase in the popularity of NFTs through digital marketing, we will also witness a rise in transactions involving cryptocurrency.

3. New range of products for the consumers
Until now, marketers have been selling products that are tangible in the real world. With more and more digital marketers entering the metaverse, we will see a completely new range of products. These products will be available for use only within the metaverse. An example of this could be fashion products that can be worn by a consumer’s digital avatar within the metaverse. Research shows that nearly 75% of Gen Z consumers have purchased a digital product that can be used exclusively within a video game.

4. Consumers will try the product digitally before purchasing
In a shift from the norm, the metaverse will allow its users to try products digitally before investing in them in real life. For instance, a user can try a fashion product on their online avatar, get a feel for the product, wear it to events, flaunt it to their friends and develop an affinity to the product before buying it in real life. This will force marketers to invest heavily in the products that they launch digitally.

5. Custom advertisements
Marketers in the digital space will have access to a lot of data on their potential customers. The marketers can analyse this data and customize their advertisements to suit the behaviour of individual consumers. This will improve the marketer’s chances of making a sale. Further, by providing unlimited space, the metaverse allows marketers to customize marketing plans in accordance with consumer behaviour patterns.

6. Celebrity marketing
Metaverse provides fans the unique opportunity to interact with the digital identity owned by their favourite celebrities. Fans will also be able to interact with these characters in various online events. Marketers can collaborate with these celebrities and customize their characters to advertise their products. Not only will this provide the product with a lot of eyeballs, but it will also be cheaper and more efficient.

Conclusion
The metaverse will surely be a game-changer and transform how we understand digital marketing and consumer behaviour. However, there is one concern. After the introduction of social media, a lot of small-scale businesses just could not survive. They were not able to adapt to the rapidly changing world of social media. As a result, they got left behind.
The world of metaverse seems to be even more challenging. It remains to be seen if all the companies will be able to adapt to these changes. Another question is, will people embrace the metaverse? Would they really want to move away from the reality and live in a make belief world? Only time can answer these questions.