Due to a newfound interest in the metaverse, companies are searching for ways to monetize their digital content. But how should they approach the unexplored metaverse?
With the rising interest in the metaverse, more and more companies are searching for ways to monetize their digital content and connect with consumers through more immersive experiences. While some brands like those in the gaming and retail industries can create an engaging presence more easily because their products lend themselves more easily to a parallel path digitally, there are still plenty of opportunities for other companies across industries to shine in this virtual space.
In a recent study by Gartner, Inc, an estimated “65% of B2B sales organizations will transition from intuition-based to data-driven decision making, using technology that unites workflow, data, and analytics” by 2026. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play a critical role in making this reality, especially in the metaverse where new data sets will need processing to understand user interactions and engagement.
This data will become critical in extracting the most value from this new virtual selling channel. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will be spending at least an hour a day in the metaverse. While the opportunity is clear, what’s not so easy to determine is how companies can stake their claim in these new virtual worlds.
Focus on your content and target audience
Since the metaverse revolves around the concept of interaction and community, it’s imperative that brands put effort into connecting with their target audiences by creating unique experiences that stay true to their audience’s interests. Keeping this in mind, companies need to think about the continuum of their content.
As the main vehicle for interacting with their audiences, companies should really determine what their goals are from an audience perspective. There are really two ways to look at it. Taking your content into consideration, you can figure out how to transform your current customer base into a digital community that engages with your brand in the metaverse. Another option is growing new audience segments, which might require more out-of-the-box thinking with your content.
Take for example NFTs. They are a hot topic right now with many brands, but what artwork and utility would really activate your target audience? Is it a collectible or a collectible plus something else? Do you want to offer real-life utility or virtual utility? Do you want to move your fan base into an interactive and dynamic discord community? What about placing an experience in-game or in a metaverse world? Do you have enough data on your audience to make a decision surrounding what they would be interested in?
For example, if you’re a sneaker company – then offering virtual cooking classes as your utility wouldn’t make much sense no matter how fantastic the 3D imaging is. On the flip side we’ve seen apparel companies build digital stores and provide digital items that avatars can own, and wear based on real-world items, and it was received very well given that it spoke to their current audience.
Likely adopting a similar strategy would help you achieve your goals of audience expansion. Staying focused on your content and your audience goals will ultimately help you determine where you can start, and then once you have some wind in your sails you can start to experiment some.
There’s no need to be perfect or know all the answers, especially in a space as new and expansive as the metaverse. If you have the budget and the means to test out new campaigns, platforms, and efforts, then test the waters.
As always, you should calculate the risk to the brand whenever executing something new. But if what you are trying to achieve is not a complete departure from the IP you represent, and the audiences most interested in that content, you should not hesitate to try new things in the metaverse as exploring today can mean real business models and revenue tomorrow.
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