The latest McKinsey research shows that the Metaverse has the potential to generate $5 trillion in value by 2030. It can’t be denied that virtual reality isn’t going anywhere.
The Metaverse is the yet-unsettled Wild West of the digital world. Its potential for brands to reach new audiences in unprecedented ways is unmatched.
It’s crucial that your plans for 2024 include a content strategy in Metaverse marketing initiatives.
The Metaverse unveiled
As of 2023, the Metaverse is primarily used for gaming, but that’s only a fraction of its potential.
In 2024 and beyond, you can expect to see the Metaverse expand to include:
- Entertainment (concerts, premieres, conventions)
- Commerce (cryptocurrency, NFTs, virtual monies)
- Fashion & Luxury (showrooms, runways)
- Education (virtual “hands-on” experiences, virtual field trips)
- Design (building models virtually before physically, testing in digital space)
The first “Metaverse for Business” study done by Sortlist shows that the sectors most aggressively investing in the Metaverse currently are IT (17%) and Education (12%)
As of November 2023, three of the most common Metaverse platforms include:
Roblox: Arguably the largest and most well-known Metaverse platform, Roblox is a gaming and social platform that enables players to create and play their own games. It includes a virtual economy where users can create avatars and buy and sell goods and experiences.
The Sandbox: The Sandbox Metaverse platform currently consists of The Sandbox Game, The Sandbox Builder, and The Sandbox Marketplace. In these environments, users explore, create games and experiences, and engage in commerce with virtual assets using the site’s native cryptocurrency.
Decentraland: Decentraland operates on the Ethereum blockchain and allows users to buy, sell, and develop parcels of land in a virtual world. Users have used it to build art galleries, museums, and conference centers. Here’s a guide simple guide for hosting a Blockchain event.
These platforms are accessed through devices (headsets, glasses, gloves) and operating systems that immerse users in their digital reality.
Changing content landscape
For as long as content marketing has existed, marketers have only had 2D materials to work with. Paper or screen, color or black and white, there was no getting around the flat, unengaging nature of most advertising.
Content strategies in Metaverse’s immersive 3D encapsulation include making your audience a part of the marketing process in a way that’s never been done before.
To create a cutting-edge content strategy, performing a Google competitor analysis is crucial to become aware of your competitors’ evolving approaches and industry trends. Leveraging competitive intelligence tools can be a game-changer in this quest. These tools empower you to delve deep into your competitors’ content strategies, unveiling the tactics that make them successful.
(See below for a list of content strategy and management tools).
Emerging content formats
You’re used to digital marketing in traditional formats — audio, video, and text. The multiverse transforms all the formats we’re used to by adding sensation and immersion in both the physical and digital space.
Here are the content formats most common in the Metaverse.
Virtual reality (VR)
Virtual reality is a fully 360-degree immersive experience in a digital world. Beyond gaming, the automotive industry has been taking full advantage of the benefits of VR in their space for years. From prototyping to test drives, the auto industry is ahead of the curve in utilizing the Metaverse for both the manufacturing and consumer experience.
Augmented reality (AV)
Augmented reality is when technology augments physical experiences. The IKEA furniture placement app is a great example of augmented reality at work in the retail space. Users can use the app to see the furniture they’re interested in placed and moved around virtually before committing to a purchase.
Mixed reality (MR)
Mixed reality takes components from both AV and VR to create a digital experience. An example most will be familiar with are Snapchat filters and virtual make-up applications.
Understanding the new formats is essential to building your 2024 Metaverse content strategy. How can you creatively use these new formats to give the user an incredible experience and elevate your brand?
Imagine, for example, learning how to invest in stocks by walking through a virtual Wall Street, guided by AI-driven avatars instead of plowing through dense articles or complex charts on your own.
In the Metaverse, the understanding of stock investments is gamified and visualized, turning abstract concepts into tangible learning encounters.
Interactive content strategies like this will become the norm in the Metaverse.
Content distribution and engagement
In 2D marketing, “content distribution” typically means slicing content up and publishing it to multiple verticals. A podcast becomes a blog post, which becomes 10 social media posts, and so on.
With the new emerging content formats of the Metaverse, content distribution will mean putting content directly into the hands of users and letting them spread the word for you.
Part of this process will be building communities in the digital multiverse.
Some of the ways you can build a community using content strategy in the Metaverse include:
- Holding and attending conferences in your industry
- Partnering with influencers already established in virtual spaces
- Building worlds and spaces for users of your product to talk and learn
- Be an active participant in co-creation with your users
That last point is particularly salient.
Most of the Metaverse is made up of user-generated content — they are creating their own worlds, their own realities, the places they want to spend their time.
As a marketer, you want to co-create with them in a way that benefits both your brand and the user experience.
Content marketing and branding
So, where do you begin?
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Your first thought may be how much needs to change with your existing approach, and you may not be wrong. But before you throw out the proverbial baby with the bathwater, take stock of what’s already working for you. This is going to be the basis of your Metaverse content strategy. How can you adapt your current wins into more immersive, collaborative experiences?
Let data be your foundation
Regardless of platform or product, any stellar, comprehensive content strategy needs to begin with user data.
What are your consumers saying they want or like most about your product? What are their gripes? What do they wish you’d offer? There’s a ton of survey tools out there, so make use of them to get your hands on consumer insights and build from what you learn.
Become a user
Many marketers make the mistake of trying to market a product or service they have never significantly used themselves. Don’t make this mistake with the Metaverse.
Become a user first. Go into the Metaverse with an open mind and see how it strikes you. What do you notice, what do you wish was there? Allow yourself to be inspired. Some of the best marketing ideas come when you’re not trying to market at all.
Challenges and ethical considerations
As with any new technology, there are concerns about privacy, security, and ethics in the Metaverse.
Chief among them are:
Theft of personal, financial, and identity data due to cyberattacks: The internet has been around long enough for us all to know what a nightmare cyber-theft is. In the Metaverse, it can potentially be more disastrous in scope.
Privacy: The ability to stay anonymous, keeping your “real” life separate from the “you” in the Metaverse.
Cyber “eavesdropping”: The ability to keep your creations, shopping history, conversations, and all other activities restricted to only those you want to share them with.
Protection from virtual assault: In a world where everyone controls an avatar without the consequences of the physical world, how do you regulate things like verbal abuse from other users or assault on your virtual self?
A 2022 survey conducted by Morning Consult reflects these concerns from survey respondents.
Regulatory considerations
Like social media platforms, the primary form of regulation in the Metaverse is an agreement between users and the platforms they are engaging with. This leaves regulatory enforcement in the hands of individual companies.
This can (and should) concern both brands and users alike. Yet, if the widespread use of social media is any rubric to go by, ethics concerns won’t stop using virtual reality.
Still, it may dissuade adoption by demographics who already face discrimination in physical reality. Think about how the content you create for your brand can be inclusive and safe for all users.
Data and analytics
While marketers and developers are starry-eyed over the potential of what VR technology can do, users are more interested in how they can use it to enrich and simplify their everyday lives.
Based on a 2022 research report from Accenture, out of 9,000 people surveyed, 70% wanted simple interfaces that were easy to use. 69% wanted a wide selection of applications to choose from. Only 55% cared about sleek headsets and the ability to personalize their avatars, things marketers might assume users care about.
In the same survey, users were most excited about using the Metaverse for the following reasons:
The lesson in this data isn’t to assume you know what your users want — ask them! Your Metaverse content strategy will be much more effective the closer you listen and implement what your target demographic wants.
Content strategy tools
As you think about navigating content in the Multiverse in 2024, consider some of these tools:
Blender: Blender is a 3D open-source suite of creative tools that allows you to build spaces, experiences, and animations utilizing its traditional sculpting and modeling functions.
Notion: At first glance, Notion looks like a simple note-taking app. However, its content and project management capabilities are staggering. Notion integrates with many apps and technologies, making it worth learning and adding to your tech stack.
Babylon.js: Babylon.js is an open-source browser-based rendering engine that allows you to create immersive and collaborative spaces using a rich library of JavaScript source code.
Many AI tools allow you to build the brand experience that’s right for your company and user base. As new tools develop, you’ll discover the best for you and your team.
Future-proofing content strategy
Every new shift in technology has come with a few bumps, scraps, and growing pains. This is previously uncharted territory, and it’s normal to feel out of your depth at first. However, history has repeatedly shown that the difference between brands that survive and brands that don’t is their ability to adapt.
When it comes to future-proofing your content strategy, invest in Metaverse-ready technologies.
For content, this means preparing to create in 3D. Invest in training and software that makes this possible. Adobe, Unreal Engine, and 3D Cloud are good places to start.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, brands that embrace the shifting landscape will be poised for success, while others risk being left behind.
The Metaverse is a vast, interconnected space where users can engage, interact, and create content in ways previously unimaginable. It has already begun to revolutionize how we consume and produce digital content and will continue to do so in unprecedented ways.
Whatever feelings you may have about it, the Metaverse is the future. As you plan your content strategy for 2024, keep your eye on the creative, and don’t be afraid to break barriers.
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