Imagine a virtual world where people can talk, work, and shop with each other without leaving their homes. It’s called the metaverse. Since Facebook changed its name to Meta in October 2021, people have been discussing the vague idea that led to the new name.
At the time, the company said it would spend $10 billion on technologies over the next year to build the metaverse and find more opportunities in the domain.
Even though the metaverse for business is still in its early stages, it has the potential to change everything from social media to eCommerce to real estate.
At a CAGR of 47.6%, the global metaverse market is expected to grow from $100.27 billion in 2022 to $1,527.55 billion in 2029. This growth is because more people are playing video games online and shopping for products online.
Why is the metaverse important for your business?
The metaverse is getting increasingly important because it gives businesses a new way to talk to and work with users from anywhere in the world. It also helps run a whole virtual economy where people can build real businesses.
For example, you can build a place where people can come to play games and make money. You can also open a VR clothing store. If you offer a building or digital creation in the metaverse, you can make money with your building skills.
Also, the business has made it easier to set up a conference meeting/room in Metaverse and training sessions in an age when people work from home. With a VR headset, you and a coworker can sit at the same table and talk about important things in a fully immersive environment. You can take off your headset and return to the real world when the meeting is over.
In short, the metaverse lets you be anywhere and with anyone in a real setting. This benefit can lead to better ways to communicate with customers and make it easier to work with others.
How to Move Your Business to the Metaverse?
Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, said that it could take between 5 and 10 years for the popular parts of the metaverse to become comm onplace. But some parts of the metaverse do exist right now. Even though not everyone can use them, ultra-fast broadband, virtual reality headsets, and digital worlds that are always online are already up and running.
Every brand, no matter how big or small, can enter the virtual world and benefit from having a presence there. If you want to be one of the first people in the field, here are the steps you can take to move your business to the metaverse or look for business opportunities in the metaverse, along with examples of how they can be used what they can do for you.
Find the Right Platform
If you want to know how to get into the metaverse, you first need to find the right platform. At the moment, a lot of media could be thought of as versions of the metaverse. There are many different focus areas in these digital worlds, such as real estate, gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), etc. Roblox has more than 49 million active users and is one of the most popular platforms.
Roblox is aimed at younger people and lets them play various games and do other fun things like go to music concerts. This is the same model that has helped Fortnite do well. People can hang out there and go to shows inside the game. Travis Scott, Ariane Grande, and more are among the artists on the album.
Many well-known brands in the metaverse have started working with Fortnite on content marketing, public relations campaigns, and events they sponsor. Popular fashion houses like Gucci and Valentino have begun to move into the metaverse. Others like Nike and Adidas have opened virtual stores where people can buy NFTs of real-life sneakers and sportswear.
To reach younger people with platforms like Roblox, you need to focus on entertainment, authenticity, and creativity as your main selling points.
This strategy also makes sense in Decentraland, where the people are older and more experienced. This virtual world isn’t so much about games as it is about building digital infrastructures powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Here, people can do real-world things like buying virtual land, planning events, and making (virtual) things. Many well-known brands, like Samsung and Sotheby’s, have already set up shop in Decentraland.
Before you choose the platform, research the top metaverses and learn about the people they attract, the products or services that are most needed there, and how your business can fit into a virtual world.
Make Your Online Presence Stronger.
Most businesses already have an online presence, whether a website, a social media account, or a place to sell their products. Before you look into business opportunities in the metaverse, you should look at your online presence and branding strategies again.
Before you enter the new world, make sure you have a strong online presence and know the basics of the online market. The same rules will apply.
For example, if you want to start a virtual reality (VR) business, you must make a good website and work on growing your social media presence. A website is important if you want to take advantage of all opportunities and make your customers mad when they can’t find the information they need. Make sure the information is also current.
Develop AR/VR Apps
To grow your business, you should make augmented and virtual reality tools or at least think about using them. Since the metaverse is where VR, AR, and AI all meet, you should learn more about these technologies before moving your business to the virtual world.
A recent survey found that 75% of business leaders plan to use AR/VR by 2023. By 2025, global spending on AR/VR is expected to grow by a factor of six. So, if you want to get used to this new reality, it’s a good idea to make an AR/VR app that lets your customers get accustomed to the metaverse’s features.
Start by trying out VR headsets and other technologies to help you get started in the metaverse and get a feel for what it might be like to move your business there.
Several brands in the metaverse have already begun to try AR/VR features. Zara, for example, ran a very successful campaign that let people shop with the AR app. The app enables shoppers to hold their phones to store windows or sensors inside stores to see models wearing the brand’s clothes come to life on their screens. They can even buy the goods right from the app. Later, brands like Chanel and Gucci took the idea and ran with it.
Focus on Your Target Audience
When starting a company to make metaverses, the next most important step is to choose the right audience. If you try to reach the right people, your product or service can sell itself. Customers will have a good time this way and keep coming back.
It would help if you didn’t try to get everyone’s attention in the metaverse. Instead, you should focus on the needs and wants of the people you want to buy from you and market to them.
For example, suppose you want to build a blood pressure monitoring solution for your metaverse business. In that case, you should focus on older people who are more likely to have abnormal blood pressure.
Focus on the Experience
Customers and clients who go into the metaverse want to do more than look at things. Doing your business in the metaverse is a fun time for your users. When opening a store, ensure the items can be seen from more than two angles. The controls should be like real-life actions if you want to make a game.
Figure out what your audience wants to feel when they enter the space. Based on how people think, you can give them a great experience. This will also get them back to your store faster. And if people come back, they’ll spend more time and money. Also, customers are more likely to stick around if they have a good experience, so you should try to make that happen.
Don’t Abandon Traditional Ways too Quickly.
When moving your business to the metaverse, it’s important not to rush into doing everything all the time in the virtual world. There are a lot of ways to get started in the metaverse. It does sound interesting, and some of your clients might be ready for it. But meeting customer needs has always been the most important part of running a good business. And most customers are still at the point where they’re ready to launch.
So, even if you set up your business to be ready for what comes next, don’t forget the old ways too quickly. They are the best way for most of your clients. Make it possible for your audience to interact with your brand through more traditional methods.
Remain Adaptable
Only when the metaverse becomes clearer can right or wrong decisions be made. Doing business in the metaverse is mostly trying things out and seeing what works. This means that your business needs to be able to change as virtual worlds do.
But this can be a great chance for the metaverse’s community to help you test your product virtually. This will help you figure out what people might want and put you on the right track to predict future trends and innovations. Accept the chance to grow in ways you didn’t think were possible before, and start getting ready to move your business into the metaverse today.
We hope that this article helped you find the answer to the most important question: how to join the metaverse or get ready for it. At the end of the article, we’ll discuss some statistics about the future of the metaverse and how it will affect businesses. So, let’s talk about it.
Future of the metaverse
Metaverse will continue to change into something amazing. It will change how people interact with each other and make different parts of society more efficient simultaneously.
Many blockchain-based metaverses are working on virtual reality (VR) technologies and augmented reality (AR) mobile apps that let users interact with their surroundings. Statista says that the AR and VR market will grow from $28 billion in 2021 to $250 billion in 2028.
Google, Microsoft, and Facebook Inc. have put money into cloud computing and VR companies in preparation for the growth of the metaverse development.
This is a clear sign that the metaverse’s potential and many opportunities are about to be unlocked in the next few years, especially for those curious enough to start exploring the space early.
So, if you want to explore the metaverse universe, you can get in touch with a metaverse platform development company that builds them. They will help you learn everything you need about doing business in the metaverse and make it easy for you to get started in this field.
Also Read: The Healthcare Metaverse: What is it and why does it matter?
