The metaverse is a virtual world where users can enjoy immersive experiences without the limits of real-world constraints. In the metaverse, users can purchase virtual goods, interact through avatars, play games, and socialize. A Gartner poll predicts that by 2026, 25 percent of people will spend at least an hour of their day working, shopping, and taking classes in the metaverse.

Today’s emergence of brands in the metaverse is similar to the emergence of marketing through social media platforms around 2008. While it may take another five years or so to fully implement all the possibilities the metaverse offers, many big brands are already setting up immersive phygital experiences for consumers to explore. Whether you’re trying to figure out the best ways to get your brand’s foot in the metaverse door or are just curious about the direction brands are headed, this guide outlines the top metaverse trends for today’s brands.

Creation and Implementation of Immersive Experiences

Today, the metaverse and brands go hand-in-hand. With the metaverse market size forecasted to grow by over $677 billion between 2021 and 2026, brands will continue experimenting with new ways to use immersive experiences and virtual environments to reach out to their audiences. Using AR, VR, XR, AI, and other emerging technologies will assist brands in strengthening their bonds with customers by improving the overall customer experience. Below are some of the top trends that brands in the metaverse are using to build these experiences today.

NFTs

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, are critical to metaverse marketing. This new form of digital currency enables brands to build their communities in innovative ways while providing customers with a unique way to pay for virtual goods. Brands can use NFTs to create digital collectibles that tell their unique stories and generate excitement around product launches or special events. Investing in this metaverse marketing strategy is a simple process that will help solidify your brand’s presence by allowing users to keep something specific and unique that they can remember your brand by.

Use of Virtual Storefronts

Brands are seizing the opportunity to engage users in immersive, visually entertaining ways by imitating real-life shopping environments within the metaverse. These virtual experiences provide an inclusive way for a wide range of individuals and groups from all over the world to experience a brand in one virtual area, linking them together through shared experiences.

Gaming Platforms

Marketing in the metaverse is all about creating immersive experiences, and one of the best ways to do this is through gaming. Many of today’s top trending brands are utilizing gamification to engage users, providing them with fun and rewarding ways to interact in the metaverse.

The best thing about this trend is that you don’t have to be in the gaming business to develop a game in the metaverse. Brands can simply gamify user interactions by offering points, rewards, and other incentives for different types of interactions.

Native Advertising

It’s a well-known rule in modern marketing that aggressive and intrusive advertising must be avoided, and marketing in the metaverse is no exception. However, brands should integrate advertising into their virtual metaverse worlds, which is where native advertising comes into play. Like in real life, brands can place their business insignia on buildings, billboards, and banners and use their logos throughout the metaverse to build brand awareness.

Social Networking Spaces

While the metaverse has the potential to become a giant social media platform in itself, for now, social networking spaces within the metaverse allow users to interact through personalized avatars. The best part is that avatars can be created without using private information. Users are not obligated to reveal their names, ages, locations, or what they look like.

Creating social networking spaces is one of the biggest trends brands use in the metaverse today. When brands create spaces for users to build virtual communities where they can interact, they simultaneously build strong brand loyalty and stronger relationships.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a huge trend in metaverse marketing and is one of the most effective strategies for attracting new customers. The metaverse provides ample opportunities for influencers to connect with brands and businesses, allowing all to establish connections with audiences in innovative ways.

Brands can also collaborate with influencers in the metaverse for NFTs. Brands and influencers can work together to build personalized virtual experiences, create unique merchandise, or put together exclusive experiences that are only offered to holders of specific NFTs.

No matter how a brand incorporates influencer marketing into its metaverse world, the strategy should be genuine and authentic.

Creation and Use of Avatars

The concept of a “virtual self,” or a digital version of a person’s identity that’s created online, is also becoming more popular in the metaverse through the creation and use of avatars. Today’s avatars are much more advanced than cartoon images from years past.

Today, people can represent themselves fully with hyper-realistic avatars. The metaverse uses a combination of virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology to build virtual worlds and avatars. Visitors then use these to engage with others in the metaverse on a deeper level. Brands can also build virtual avatars to use as 3D chatbots that interact with and respond to customers.

As consumers and brands progress further into the metaverse, the emphasis on creating realistic avatars will continue to grow.

Web3

Web3 is one of the newest technologies to emerge in the virtual world. It refers to a new type of internet service built using decentralized blockchains. Since it’s still in the phase of inception, proponents of web3 envision it being used in various ways, including:

• Decentralized social networks

• NFT platforms where users can purchase and sell fragments of digital culture

• “Play-to-earn” games with crypto token rewards

• A middleman-free digital economy

• A place where users can play games, socialize, attend meetings, and engage in other activities together

  
  

Marketing in the metaverse is a modern strategy that all brands need to focus on. The heart of every marketing campaign should be focused on creating immersive experiences for customers. The more immersive the experience brands can provide, the closer they will come to boosting awareness, increasing loyalty, and increasing sales. To achieve this, brands can look to the current trends outlined above to build their future marketing strategies for the metaverse.