Reading Time: 5 minutes -

If you are new to terms like ‘the metaverse’, don’t worry — a lot of marketers and business owners are in the same boat. In this article, we explore whether metaverse social media marketing is a trend to watch in 2022? Before that, we have written a beginner-friendly article about the metaverse outlining the basics.

Once you’ve checked that out, you should be pretty clued up on most things relating to the metaverse.

Firstly, it is important to know that Meta and the metaverse are two separate things. Meta is the name Facebook has chosen to go with after their rebrand, and the metaverse is a virtual world for social, gaming or collaborative interaction.

With the popularity in metaverse experiences increasing at an impressive rate, will businesses start to incorporate the metaverse into their social media marketing? Additionally, how long will it be before we start to experience social media 2.0 that exists within metaverse worlds?

Social media marketing and augmented reality

Companies such as Nike are already including the metaverse in their social media marketing campaigns. Nike recently partnered with RTFKT who specialise in augmented reality experiences in order to create one of a kind sneakers and digital items.

A future where you could try on sneakers within the metaverse, or try them on via AR is definitely something we will see more of. An example of this from RTFKT shows off AR technology that allows someone to try on a digital representation of sneakers.

Welcome to the family @RTFKTstudios

Learn more: https://t.co/IerLQ6CG6o pic.twitter.com/I0qmSWWxi0

— Nike (@Nike) December 13, 2021

We can expect other clothing companies to get involved with XR in the coming years due to it having tangible benefits. For example, your sneakers might not always be in stores, but you can always try them on via technology similar to what RTFKT offers.

With this being generally quite affordable and accessible, it’s only a matter of time before we see companies offering sunglasses, prescription glasses or even jackets and shirts in AR form.

You don’t have to be one of the big players in order to get involved with these experiences, smaller companies can get involved with creating their own assets for use in many metaverse worlds. It just requires a bit of brainstorming and planning if your business type is something that could benefit from the visual and interactive elements made possible through VR and XR.

What would social media 2.0 within the metaverse look like?

When we look at the fundamental basics of social media, it’s clear that the purpose is to connect people. With the metaverse and virtual reality experiences, we aren’t limited to just sharing text, images and videos, we can actually occupy the same digital space as our online contacts.

Previous social platforms such as Playstation Home were, in many ways, ahead of the curve. The Playstation Home platform was released in 2008, which was way before talks of metaverse worlds.

This platform allowed users to interact and socialise in a virtual 3D world where users could own their own apartment, and meet others at set locations. The platform closed down in 2015, much to the disappointment of its large following.

The fact that a huge portion of Playstation’s audience were pushing for alternatives or a Home reboot shows that there was, and still is, huge demand for these types of experiences.

It is worth keeping in mind that this was before VR was available on games consoles meaning none-VR metaverse-type experiences still draw in huge amounts of users. VR would certainly enhance that as long as it is implemented as an option rather than being a requirement.

What about metaverse social media?

Metaverse social media could function using AR which would allow for some exciting and unique experiences.

It’s easy to imagine a photo that you have taken on holiday being uploaded into the metaverse, and serving as a portal. You could then walk through it which brings you to the location where the photo was taken.

Sound far-fetched? It’s surprisingly easy to do. When you take a photo, meta data containing GPS coordinates get stored with that photo.

If the metaverse can work with Google Maps type integration, that GPS data can be pulled from the image, input into Google Maps, and then viewed in VR via Google Street View resulting in the effect described. This could be a great feature for a metaverse version of Instagram too where users could revisit the locations from where their photos were taken by just walking through them.

Metadating — could the metaverse even transform online dating?

Metaverse social experiences could also transform online dating.

Online dating is now used by millions of people, and can connect users from different regions, areas and even countries. Could these experiences be enhanced via the metaverse? We think the answer is yes.

Online dating in its current form certainly has its problems. For the most part, users only have access to brief and limited dating profiles and a few pictures — not exactly the best way to judge compatibility.

With the metaverse, online dating could bring users together based on interests and other preferences, and then host a virtual date.  Of course, this won’t replace the real-world physical dating experience but can be a great first step in judging compatibility when meeting new people online.

This could also be a great solution for long-distance relationships where a partner is working overseas for example but has access to a portable VR headset with an internet connection. You could still feel as if you are close to your partner through the use of a digital avatar that is being controlled by them.

This would enhance the level of interaction when combined with voice and digital representations of each participant.

Conclusion: is metaverse social media the future?

Metaverse social media marketing is a trend that is certainly important to be keeping an eye on. This goes for both in-world marketing, as well as more conventional marketing which promotes metaverse experiences.

Many other companies and organisations are starting to experiment with the metaverse and associated technologies.

Football clubs such as Real Madrid have started testing the waters with ‘smart tickets’ through NFTs. Is it only a matter of time until clubs allow for virtual tours through the metaverse, or offer virtual meetups with player avatars? Could these smart ticket NFTs also allow for in-world metaverse assets to be redeemed?

We can expect to see more in-world advertising within metaverse worlds letting users know where and how to find new services and meta-commerce stores.

This article is part of our latest series on the metaverse and what this means for businesses. To jump straight to one of our other titles, please feel free to browse below:

• What Is the Metaverse & What Are NFTS? What Does This Mean for Business?
• Are The Metaverse And Virtual Reality The Same Thing? What About XR & MR?
• Is Metaverse Social Media Marketing a Trend to Watch in 2022?
• Is Metaverse SEO (Or Should We Say Meta SEO) The Future of Search Marketing?
• Should Businesses Think About Metaverse Marketing as Part of Their Digital Strategy?
• Leading Metaverse Companies, Projects & Examples: Who Will Win the Race?

What do you think about the future of the metaverse and whether metaverse social media marketing is the next big thing? Is social media 2.0 just around the corner, or are people too jaded from online social experiences? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.