Facebook became one of the most prominent platforms with its recognizable blue and white logo in the past decades. However, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, recently announced his vision for the future and rebranded the company as “Meta.” He’s set in the direction of building a “metaverse.” This composite universe will meld virtual, online, and augmented worlds that the users can easily traverse.
What is Meta?
Zuckerberg chose the name “Meta” for his company “Facebook” to echo his vision for the future. Facebook, itself is not changing its name. It’s the parent company that oversees Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus, and upcoming apps.
Meta is represented by the “metaverse,” a kind of online 3D virtual space that tech companies hope to create as the future of the internet. As for the Metaverse is the virtual world that you can plunge into and do almost anything.
“In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parent’s living room to catch up,”
– Zuckerberg
In a nutshell, it will be a virtual space where you can interact, create and work from your home. Zuckerberg believes it to be the successor of the mobile internet. This is going to be a game-changer for businesses.
It’s all about the “first-party data”!
The move that Zuckerberg is making is to have first-party data. Right now, the way Facebook works is that the brand owners who advertise on Facebook or any platform install “pixel” on their website. That pixel sends signals back to Facebook, where Facebook can optimize. For instance, who to show the ads etc.
The ads platform is one of the top ways that Facebook makes all its money and as a result, they have to protect it at all costs to stay profitable. With Apple introducing their new privacy, it is difficult for Facebook to receive information as Apple privacy blocks it.
Facebook wants to have access to first-party data to overcome this obstacle, which is very powerful. Why is that? Because Facebook will track anything that happens inside the Metaverse.
With the iOS 14 changes, all the platforms took a huge hit. Facebook was affected as it faced difficulty in receiving and processing conversion events from the pixel. Now with Facebook or Meta moving into hardware such as their virtual reality goggles, they’re controlling the hardware as well. There will be nothing blocking that data from going back and forth.
How will this be a game-changer for people who own brands or do digital marketing and advertising?
Facebook metaverse is the next marketing channel. With it, Brand owners, Entrepreneurs, and Media buyers can leverage this whole new virtual world as all the data will be at our fingertips.
Suppose you own a store on platforms such as Shopify. So, the way it works right now is that somebody searches the address, goes to your store, and lands on the product page. This is where they can see all of your offerings.
Now picture this! What if your store is in a virtual reality world in a virtual Mall. Anybody can just walk into the store and look at the products.
Take the example of Fashion items like T-shirts or dresses. You can walk in your avatar and try on the clothing to see what it looks like on you. As a result, the purchase decisions will be much smoother. Businesses that struggle with showing how their products are better because they are at the beginning of the product life cycle can benefit from reaching the target segment virtually.
There’s going to be a first-person view of items you’re going to buy inserted inside the virtual reality world. So you can see what it looks like before you buy it and ship it to yourself. It is going to take your brand to the next level.
On top of it, Metaverse will have its economy that is its “digital currency.” When you own a digital asset, that digital asset is yours. Imagine as a brand owner you offer a t-shirt, and then you offer to include the digital asset, such as the non-fungible token (NFT), with the T-shirt. As a result, the average order value will go up because you’re creating two products out of one design. So now you have two worlds where people can take advantage of your products.
What does the Metaverse mean for our ads platform?
Since the Metaverse will be an infinite virtual reality world combined with augmented reality, more placements will be for your ads!
Facebook already came out with a pair of Ray-Bans that are for augmented reality. You can go to a virtual town. You can see empty buildings and billboards. As an advertiser, you can put up ads on these digital billboards. That can be a placement for your ads where people can convert. When there are more placements for the ads, you get a lower CPM (cost per 1000).
If you think about the placements for ads that you currently have, they include:
- Newsfeed
- Feed on Instagram
- Messenger
- Audience Network
- Reels, etc
However, when you have different virtual galleries in virtual worlds, it’s endless! The availability of placements for your ads is going to be endless. Coming back to Zuckerberg’s vision, this is all going to be the first party-tracked data.
Facebook has been taking incremental steps towards this vision. First, they created the shops inside the Facebook pages.
Imagine the power that Metaverse can give to the brands. For instance, they can see that you’re wearing a black T-shirt with a black hat. Now they know that you prefer that because they can tell how often this person wears his hat and black T-shirt inside the Metaverse.
So guess what, they’re going to offer you products that are just like it because you’re most likely to purchase those items. Think about it! With their currency inside the Metaverse, they’ll be able to track what you spend your money on.
They will know how much you’re willing to spend on certain items. This is not just how much you spend on average and on what day of the week. In addition, they will be able to track the time of the day and when you’re most likely to pull the trigger? That is so powerful!
So what do you have to do moving forward as a brand owner or media buyer?
If you have a vision, and you know what’s coming, you start preparing for it. Keep up with the technology, keep an eye on what the company is working on.
Furthermore, if you haven’t started digital marketing and advertising, then now is the time. Start by upgrading your website, implementing SEO, and conquering those social media channels. In this way, it will be easier for you to adapt rather than plunging into the Metaverse in one go.
At Be Eminent, we equip you with the best digital marketing solutions that broaden the reach of your business. So contact us today to take advantage of what we have to offer and take a step towards the future!