Rachel Karten, Social Media Consultant and creator of the Link in Bio Newsletter, has been in the industry for over a decade and knows quite a bit about the evolution of consumer-brand relations in the social world. She worked for brands like Bon Appétit and Plated and recently worked on the famous campaign at CAVA with Youtube star, Emma Chamberlain. 

Join us on Thursday, March 30th at 1 pm CT for a masterclass with Rachel Karten to learn how to best prepare for this next phase of social. 

You’ll leave this masterclass uncovering:

• Why your old social strategy will no longer work in the new era of social media
• How your brand can optimize social content for engagement
• 3 campaign examples from brands Rachel helped succeed and tactics you can implement now

Your Speakers:

The post Masterclass: How to Prepare Your Brand for a New Era in Social appeared first on Sprout Social.

According to The 2022 Sprout Social Index™, customer-centric brands use social data to inform their:

• Sales strategy
• Product development
• Content strategy
• Customer experience
• Competitive insight
• Market research

By tapping into the ample benefits and business insights social media offers, you can transform the way your entire company operates.

9 ways social media affects your whole business

Here are nine ways social media directly impacts businesses at every stage of the customer journey.

1. Social media transforms customer service

Customer service on social media is a non-negotiable part of an omnichannel support strategy. Consumers tag and direct message brands to resolve their issues across platforms, and hope for swift, helpful and personalized responses in return. According to Index data, more than three-quarters of consumers expect a response on social within 24 hours.

Response rates have serious impacts on customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention. Implementing a seamless support strategy enables you to increase the lifetime value of your existing customers and drive revenue growth. Well-orchestrated customer service efforts also deliver valuable insights about your customers’ experience that help your business evolve.

But it can be hard for a customer support team to stay on top of multiple social platforms. By using a tool like Sprout Social’s Smart Inbox, your customer-facing teams can unify social channels into a single stream to monitor incoming messages, foster conversations and respond to audiences faster.

You can also benchmark and track your support team’s performance to discover new opportunities to improve customer service. The Inbox Activity Report provides a holistic view of your team’s social care efforts, including trends in message volume and response rates.

2. How social media grows brand awareness

Index data reveals consumers prefer brand content that features products or services, or real customers demoing/reviewing products. These stats prove social media is where consumers go to discover brands, which makes it a powerful channel for growing awareness.

Brand awareness is the first step toward gaining new leads, edging out the competition and driving sales.

Social media data also serves as a barometer of your current brand awareness. For example, Sprout’s Competitive Analysis Report reveals how you stack up to your competition via metrics like share of voice, positive sentiment, total engagements and overall conversation volume. These insights are a source of truth that can influence your company-wide competitive strategy—on social and beyond.

For more tips to distinguish yourself from your competitors on social media, check out our list of 12 proven strategies to increase brand awareness.

3. Social media helps your brand stay relevant

Today’s trend cycle moves fast, and social media is where trends are born. To stay alert to emerging trends relevant to your audience, you must keep your finger on the pulse of social.

Trends aside, brands that retire or divest from their social media presence are also at risk of irrelevance and being abandoned by their communities. Social media is the key to building a long-term brand strategy that will help you stay top of mind for years (and decades) to come.

In the face of fierce competition for consumer attention and cultural relevance, it’s imperative to tune into conversations happening around your brand and industry. Social listening enables you to tap into and analyze what people are saying about your company, even if you aren’t tagged or mentioned. With Sprout, you can create a Topic that gathers data so you can observe trends, uncover patterns and gauge emotional responses to your brand, products, hashtags and industry.

4. Social media levels up your sales strategy

Social media is ever-present in the sales funnel. From generating awareness through organic campaigns to supporting transactions with social commerce, social plays a key role in acquiring and holding onto customers.

According to the Index, sales strategy is the number one use case for social data. That’s because social media helps you better understand what your buyers want and need. With their feedback on hand, you can improve and optimize every part of your sales strategy—from social selling to your website to your customer outreach.

Some metrics (like MQLs) simplify attribution and make it easy to define ROI, Others (like engagement) can correlate with revenue gains, but their direct influence is harder to prove.

A tool like Sprout Social’s Tableau BI Connector enables you to analyze data, create custom metrics and merge different data sources. This seamless and customized view gives you a consolidated source of truth for wider business insights and performance, and a clear perception of how social impacts revenue gains.

For example, Stoneacre Motor Group used Sprout to gain essential audience insights to inform their sales strategy. As a result, they delivered social leads worth £1 million in yearly sales.

5. How social media helps build a brand community

Some 41% of marketers agree brands that actively engage and respond to their communities are culturally relevant on social. A brand community is a place for people with an emotional investment in your brand to connect with each other and your company. Remember: there are many people who already love your brand. In fact, your brand community probably already exists on social media—you just need to find it.

Establishing relationships with your existing and potential customers makes them feel valued, which increases brand loyalty and evangelism. Brand communities on social media are especially powerful business tools because they allow companies to hear from and engage with their biggest advocates in real time. Within your community on social, you can easily test new product mockups, source requested features, share content and collect feedback that can improve every aspect of your business.

6. Social media empowers employees to become brand advocates

Satisfied employees want to spread the word about their company by posting on social. With social budgets tightening, your employees are your superpower for expanding your reach without straining your bandwidth or ad budget. It’s a win-win.

According to Sprout’s Employee Advocacy Report, posting company content helps employees accomplish their day-to-day tasks and long-term goals. Employees report that sharing on social can help outside audiences understand their brand’s values, provide new leads and ways to engage with them, expand their potential reach and engagement and communicate important messages internally.

The Advocacy Report also revealed 72% of engaged social media users would post about their company if content was written for them. Sprout’s Employee Advocacy platform enables you to draft message ideas for your employees to share, which makes it easy for them to amplify your content and help you achieve your goals.

7. Maximize your recruitment efforts with social media

Prospective candidates rely on social media to find open positions and research companies. According to LinkedIn, 49 million people use the platform to search for jobs each week.

The staggering figure explains why building a strong employer brand with the help of social media is essential to attracting top talent. To stand out in a sea of employers, your content needs to showcase your unique culture and values, and encourage brand advocacy. For example, creating a meet the team social post series is an effective way to humanize your brand and grow your candidate base.

In addition to having your pick of the talent pool, featuring and celebrating your current employees will boost their satisfaction and reduce turnover.

8. Social media makes customer and competitor research accessible to all

For marketers, social media data is worth more than gold, as it reveals invaluable information about customers and competitors alike. According to a Q1 2023 Sprout pulse survey, 79% of marketers said their use of social data increased from 2021 to 2022, while 83% of marketers predicted their use of social data will increase in 2023.

When shared effectively, insights from social data can enrich an entire organization’s understanding of their customers and competition. For example, as the demographic information from Sprout’s Listening tool illustrates, you can use social data to determine which topics, issues and trends matter most to your target audience.

9. Refine your product development with social media insights

People are talking about your products on social media right now. They’re sharing what they love about them, and the exact ways they want you to improve them. As we mentioned in the introduction, almost half of brands use social data for product development, and for good reason.

When you can turn existing conversations about your products into meaningful insights and share them with your product and development team, you will strengthen your go-to-market strategy. For example, with the help of Sprout, Grammarly regularly shares feedback from social with their product and user experience teams to keep them up to date on trends and opportunities.

How social media impacts different business types

While social media positively impacts all business types, there are a few distinct benefits for companies of different sizes.

The effect of social media on SMBs

For small and medium businesses, social media is an affordable way to access a wide audience and should be an essential part of your marketing playbook. Even with a small social team (or maybe even a team of one), you can design, execute and manage a presence that reaches and engages your target audience.

Read more: How Orkney Library uses social media to grow a global fanbase.

The impact of social media on enterprise brands

For enterprise brands, social is business critical. Through social, you have access to valuable, global customer data that is essential to creating and maintaining a business advantage. Plus, social data makes it easier to measure and attribute the success of campaigns at scale, which can have a large impact on an organization’s big picture. In fact, 82% of enterprise marketers say their social strategy impacts their business’ bottom line, and 85% say social enables them to create new products and services.

Read more: How Vizient uses brand advocacy to triple social engagements.

How will social media impact your business this year?

The future is bright for companies that recognize the power of social insights. Make the most of the business intel gleaned from social by bringing social data to the forefront of your business conversations. Need help getting started? Deliver social listening insights organization-wide with our reporting template.

The post The impact of social media across every part of your business appeared first on Sprout Social.

But the metaverse isn’t a utopia. Major industry players have been under fire for metaverse crimes and safety concerns. If the metaverse is the new frontier of the internet, it currently resembles the Wild West. There isn’t much regulation at the moment, which has led to inconsistent expectations and user experiences, especially surrounding security and privacy best practices.

According to a Sprout survey of 300 marketers responsible for their brands social media strategy, 64% cite data, privacy and brand safety as concerns within the metaverse. Leaders will need to continue identifying and addressing metaverse dangers if they want to scale their metaverse strategy.

Metaverse dangers that exist for brands

Like the promises of the metaverse, metaverse dangers are partly speculation, but there are legitimate concerns about the dark side of the metaverse.

Concerns about circulation of false information and promotion of hate speech just scratch the surface off issues facing the metaverse. Addressing these dangers will require confronting unprecedented technical issues, regulations, education and investment. And with metaverse investments surpassing $120 billion dollars in early 2022—more than double the investment in 2021—brands can’t afford to avoid resolution.

Here are metaverse dangers brands should be aware when joining the metaverse:

Metaverse privacy concerns

Without a doubt, privacy is one of the most pertinent metaverse dangers. As part of Web3, the metaverse has a heavy reliance on the internet and other emerging technologies that will likely increase the amount and range of personal data available to exploit. The more data someone places online, the bigger their digital footprint, which means higher risk of cyberthreats and security breaches.

Along with traditional personal data like addresses and names, the metaverse will also collect new information like biometrics and voice recordings. This type of identifying information is a gold mine for third-party data companies and marketers—and criminals who can collect, abuse and monetize the data.

User data in the metaverse currently includes sensor, location, physiological and social data. For example, extended reality (XR) headsets can record a user’s facial attributes, blinks, movement, surroundings and activities in the metaverse.

What you can do about it:

Data privacy advocates are pushing for companies to share their data collection practices with consumers, whether it’s a requirement by law or an effort for transparency. As with any platform that collects audience data, leaders will need to identify what kind of data they collect and store and define adequate protection to secure it. They’ll also need to consider the legalities, which is also somewhat of a Wild West since there aren’t clear definitions of what is considered personal data information in the metaverse.

Metaverse security concerns

The metaverse has the same cybersecurity risks as modern organizations, like malware, but there are also new vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit. Someone could hack into an account to access personal messages, bank information, photos, avatars, NFTs and other digital assets.

Industry leaders continue to search for new ways to improve security in the metaverse, especially since anonymity throws another wrench into security concerns.

As revealed in a Tidio report, for many, the main appeal of the metaverse is the ability to create an identity that extends beyond physical reality. But anonymity can enable online scams and abusive behavior (we’re looking at you troller without a profile pic!). Metaverse user identities can be spoofed, hacked or taken altogether to steal sensitive information. The metaverse could make this behavior more widespread if not addressed.

Using biometric data during account creation and login is a common way to protect a user’s digital identity. For example, fingerprint scanning and facial recognition will likely become a default step to log into the metaverse.

What you can do about it: 

Leaders will need to confront if their organizations are equipped with the essential tools to detect, contain and eliminate malicious code for metaverse projects. They also need to define what incident response looks like in the metaverse. What would a breach look like? How would the brand communicate and respond?

Leaders need to understand and create frameworks for collaborations to execute incident response efficiently because the answers to these questions will require support inside and outside of metaverse platforms.

Accessibility

The ideal metaverse will converge the virtual and physical world seamlessly. But there are some blockers preventing an inclusive experience that even major tech companies are still trying to resolve.

How will people with disabilities and users with neurodivergent disorders experience the metaverse? How can metaverse creators combat biased artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithms? If these types of issues aren’t addressed, the new digital frontier could create more inequity and discrimination.

Affordability also comes into play, for brands and users alike. For users, metaverse devices like AR and VR headsets and haptic bodywear can be expensive. If you can’t afford it, you can’t participate. For tech companies and brands, the cost of blockchain and AI is top concern, especially when trying to prove ROI in these investments.

What you can do about it:

Embracing phygital marketing tactics that incorporate real-life and digital experiences is a great solution for brands who want to craft an inclusive metaverse activation. According to our survey, both marketers (72%) and consumers (60%) expect brands to continue combining real-life and digital experiences in 2023 (i.e., NFT giveaways, in-experience currencies, etc.).

Metaverse crimes

Vandalism, harassment and assault are growing metaverse dangers. Immersive experiences supported by haptic technology transfers touch from the virtual world to the user in real life. This has raised concerns about respecting personal boundaries, as several incidents of groping have been released.

Fraud and theft crimes, particularly NFT theft and cryptocurrency scams are pertinent as well. To put it simply, the victim pays for an item, but does not receive the virtual goods. Phishing and social engineering scams are also prevalent, luring people into providing personal information. The assailant poses as a major brand and baits users to spend real-life money on non-existent products, services and/or campaigns. These fake personas can create distrust and harm the business due to customer dissatisfaction.

What you can do about it:

Companies will need to consider how they can help protect their audience from scams and how to recoup if a cybercrimnal impersonates their brand. To prevent metaverse crimes, consider using two-factor or multi-factor authentication as a preventative control against account takeovers. Brands should promote proper wallet hygiene for their customers and their organization as well.

How to protect your brand from metaverse dangers

Like with any new technology, more metaverse dangers will emerge as the space grows and develops, but organizations can still take measures for brand safety.

Here are some steps marketing and business leaders can take to address potential threats before joining the metaverse, along with tips to safeguard your brand’s current presence:

Create a metaverse data and security team

Leaders will need to acquire awareness of common cybersecurity challenges. Curate a comprehensive oversight security team to develop protocols and procedures. The team should be responsible for understanding and communicating the different emerging metaverse dangers.

This could even include implementing an AI cybersecurity to flag abuse, misconduct and other negative behaviors. Consider giving users access to platform administrators who can intervene by suspending or expelling members from the metaverse.

Develop metaverse terms and conditions

Whether it’s a short-term activation or a permanent metaverse space, create terms and conditions for building a digital community to protect your brand.

For example, to prevent avatar takeover, consider requiring unique skins or pairing accounts with an NFT to prevent identity fraud. These requirements make it harder for cybercriminals to duplicate identities in the metaverse.

You can also use your terms and conditions to implement proper wallet hygiene. To put it simply, consumers and companies should have multiple wallets. It’s common for consumers to have three separate wallets: a mint wallet, a selling wallet and a vault wallet. All of these wallets should be used appropriately. For example, a vault wallet should solely be used for high value digital assets since it’s not connected to the internet.

For organizations, there are custodial platforms that can customize the wallet experience for corporate digital assets. These corporate wallets also require multi-step authorization and/or signatures. If your brand is creating or sponsoring a metaverse, it’s a wise choice to educate your customers on the benefits of wallet hygiene because it could help facilitate adoption.

Create a metaverse security and privacy policy

Before making metaverse products, services or experiences, provide users with a security and privacy policy to follow. Some of these guidelines may already be a part of the hosting metaverse platform provider’s policies.

Some policies to consider:

• User data. Define the type of data you plan to use and its duration. Also include users’ rights to access personal information.
• Communication. Articulate user rights for solicited and unsolicited communication as it may vary depending on your technology and platform. For example, an AR universe includes virtual-to-virtual and physical-to-virtual communications. In a VR universe, communication is all immersive virtual-to-virtual.
• Ownership. User generated content is a pillar of the metaverse. UGC can vary widely and be monetized, so include rules about ownership of virtual digital goods, avatar skins, NFTs, etc. Use technology like blockchain for asset ownership tracking to manage content ownership.

Create a metaverse moderation team

Craft a moderation team dedicated to active monitoring on your metaverse platform of choice. This team should review and address tone, conversations and reactions to prevent escalation. If you want to go the extra mile, consider implementing a customer service team to walk through the rules of your metaverse activation or act as a live “hotline” for users to connect with in the space when they need help. This will help ensure users are playing by the rules and reduce risk to the platform and other users.

Many metaverse users tend to have a lower guard in virtual environments, especially those used for entertainment. Even brands working in the metaverse have to train employees about security practices. Since users might not be as vigilant about cybersecurity, building security initiatives that teach users to be cautious can prevent abuse and breaches.

Take action against metaverse dangers

The metaverse isn’t perfect, but it is ripe with opportunities we may have never imagined. By taking these measures you can safeguard your brand against metaverse dangers and set your company up for success:

Learn more about how to join the metaverse in our guide so you can expand your brand in the new digital frontier.

The post Metaverse dangers: How to protect brands from the dark side appeared first on Sprout Social.

Developing strong relationships with your customers is the key to both short and long-term success. Relationships drive brand loyalty, and brand loyalty is what keeps your business growing. Social media is built on the kinds of conversations that create deep relationships. You have to be primed to take advantage of that. But social media is complex. Without reliable, top-tier technology, your teams won’t be able to manage all of the complexity of a sophisticated social strategy. A good tech stack is your best friend in social, no matter what department or function you’re working in.

Keep in contact with your audience

Most businesses aren’t ready to accept that social media is the preferred channel for consumers. But over half (54%) of global customers have a more favorable view of brands that address support needs on social media. Even with stats like that, businesses still want to direct customers to support lines or emails. That’s understandable and certainly much easier to manage. Phone lines and emails are channels we have a long history managing and that we can easily direct to the relevant department. Meanwhile in Social, we don’t have that same luxury because we can’t control how, when and where messages come from.

And that’s because your customers don’t see your business as neatly broken up into sales, customer support and marketing teams. They see your business as one entity, and it’s easy to message that entity on Facebook. As business leaders, our job is to understand and meet our customers’ desires, and right now our customers desire a seamless social media support experience.

Just like phone and email technology makes it easier for us to route requests to the people who can answer them, social media tech stacks can do the same. Investing in social media enablement technology makes sure that both your teams and customers have a seamless experience from start to finish. Technology can segment your messages into leads, questions and complaints so the right person is always ready to send the right reply. Technology also keeps track of every message you receive, so every message gets a reply, so you are better equipped to help this customer in the future, and so you can use the data to inform your future decision-making.

Reach out in real time

Social media is the only marketing channel that gives you instant feedback. Every view, like and comment is a data point that can tell you how well your campaign is performing. With those results, it’s hard to see how any other channel could beat it. Any campaign you create with traditional media–whether that’s television, billboards, radio or print–should be supported by a social media campaign so you can see the impact and make adjustments in real time.

Social-first marketing strategies give you the power to be truly data-driven. But you can’t harness that data without technology. Knowing that 10,000 people have interacted with your business on social in the past week is nice, but it doesn’t help you make decisions. You need to be able to drill down into those interactions to find their action items. Your quantitative data–like engagement or post metrics–will show you the impact of your campaign while your qualitative data–like the content and sentiment of the replies or mentions–can tell you where you’re succeeding and where you need to shift the course. Without technology by your side to help you interpret it, they’re just numbers.

Connect through conversations

Any relationship is built through conversations. For brands, those conversations have traditionally been one-sided. But social media gives your customers a voice–and it’s your responsibility to listen and interact. Commenting on, liking and responding to your audience’s content is a key strategy for socially sophisticated brands. By showing you care about the things your audience cares about, you inspire brand loyalty and trust. But once again, scaling this strategy is impossible without technology.

As your social media presence and team grows, it’s imperative you have the technology in place for them to succeed. They’ll need a single source of truth to keep track of comments and interactions with customers. That’s not something they can do natively in a platform or with a less sophisticated social media management solution. Being a leader means equipping your team for success. And as the complexity of your strategy grows, they’ll need a tech stack to simplify it.

React to changing conditions

We’re all feeling the effects of market and consumer shifts right now. It can sometimes feel impossible to know what’s going to happen next. But social media can be a leading indicator of what’s to come for your team–if you know how to use it.

Social data is some of the most powerful data we have access to. It’s an aggregation of billions of peoples’ thoughts, opinions, anxieties and joys. Social data holds the answers to your business’s most important questions. Whether your team is focusing on investor relations, sales, research and development or HR, social data can help them make data-driven decisions in real-time.

Teaming up with technology

When you’re facing economic headwinds, you have to react quickly. You can’t do that without support. Sometimes that support comes from your team but other times, it comes from technology that solves the problems you didn’t even know you had.

Social media represents one of the largest business opportunities of our lifetimes. The relationships it builds–and the dividends those relationships pay–can’t be overlooked. Businesses that are ready to take on the challenges and complexity of social media are primed to win, and businesses that aren’t will be left behind.

Want to learn more about the power of social data? Check out this article on how social data can level up your business in difficult times.

The post Don’t go it alone: Creating social relationships with technology appeared first on Sprout Social.

In this article, we’ll discuss how top brands are approaching metaverse brand activations and industries making the largest strides. We’ll also give you a list of metaverse examples across industries to help inspire your strategy.

Metaverse brand activations: What they look like today

There are a lot of ways brands can join the metaverse, but most metaverse brand activations involve one or more of the following technologies:

• Virtual, immersive environments via metaverse platforms like Roblox or Decentraland
• Mini-games
• Augmented and/or virtual reality experiences
• Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other cryptocurrencies
• QR codes

This isn’t an all-encompassing list, but they’re the most common. Top brands use these technologies to carry out phygital marketing. Phygital marketing combines digital and physical tactics to curate unique experiences for consumers.

For example, Frito-Lay’s FIFA World Cup campaign leveraged the metaverse for a phygital experience. Consumers scan a QR code on a snack bag to join the Pass the Ball Challenge for a chance to win prizes, including an NFT. After scanning the code, users are prompted to take a selfie, which is placed on a digital soccer ball.

Some companies are also considering working in the metaverse, using VR technology for employee engagement and meetings for remote workers.

Industries making strides in the metaverse 

As with any new technological innovation, there are early adopters making strides in the metaverse. Here are a few industries that are already making their mark.

Real estate

In the metaverse, real estate aficionados are trading cryptocurrency. People are buying and selling properties on metaverse platforms including Decentraland and the Sandbox, which is the largest metaverse real estate platform. Some plots even sell for millions of dollars.

EveryRealm, a metaverse real estate investor and advisory firm, paid $4.3 million for land in the Sandbox to develop Fanasty Islands, a collection of 100 one of a kind private island villas.

Fashion

With a forward-thinking, creative culture, it’s no surprise the fashion world was one of the first industries to embrace the metaverse. Luxury fashion brands like Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana have launched exclusive digital clothing and NFTs to establish themselves as trailblazers in the metaverse. Even mass market brands like Pacsun have made heavy investment in connecting with audiences in the metaverse.

Pacsun kicked off its holiday marketing season with the PacVerse campaign. The PacVerse follows the success of the brands presence within PACWORLD on Roblox and Pacsun the Game, which was launched earlier in 2022. The brand extended experiences in PACWORLD with a holiday twist, offering features like a gift shop. Real-life experiences include in-store initiatives and a rooftop screening in Los Angeles.

The holistic campaign stretched across all of Pacsun’s digital and social channels including exclusive content on YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and Discord. The campaign also leans on creator marketing, tapping Brooke Monk, Mathieu Simoneau and virtual influencer Miquela.

Then there’s decentralization autonomous organizations like the Metaverse Fashion Council (MFC) who are actively curating events and cultivating professional networks for the metaverse. MFC founded and hosted the first Metaverse Fashion Week.

Retail

Big-box retailers have also created metaverse brand activations. Macy’s created a virtual version of its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. The event featured five NFT project galleries and allowed users to vote on a parade balloon NFT, which will be turned into a physical one at next year’s event.

Target held several metaverse activations in 2022. In June, they hosted a Pride month activation to celebrate and amplify LBGTQIA+ voices. In October, they brought the viral #GothTarget to the metaverse via Meta Horizon Worlds to celebrate spooky season.

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The retailer also enables users to envision home decor and furniture in their homes with a virtual reality feature on their shopping app.

Alcohol

Miller Lite became the first brand to create a bar in the metaverse, but other brands in the alcohol industry are helping people enjoy a cold one in this emerging digital space.

Corona tapped in on nostalgia for its 2022 holiday marketing campaign by centering its iconic 1990 Christmas ad, “O’Tannenpalm” (below).

The O’Tannenpalm Tree Lot virtual experience offers users a chance to explore a Corona-themed holiday wonderland using augmented reality. For example, users can place a virtual holiday palm tree in their own spaces, along with several interactive features. The beer brand also plans to host giveaways.

But this isn’t the only AR experience Corona has offered. Last year, they launched Plastic Reality to showcase plastic footprints and sustainability tips.

Music and Entertainment

Similar to the fashion industry, the music and entertainment industry was one of the first adopters of metaverse marketing. Popular artists like Ariana Grande and Megan thee Stallion have hosted concerts in the metaverse.

IHeartMedia plans to host several events in their metaverse concert arena. The media company kicked off the launch of IHeartLand with a two-part performance by Grammy-nominated singer Charlie Puth, which was followed by a real life album release party. Beyond concerts, users can snap selfies on a red carpet and play mini-games.

Metaverse examples: Expanding across industry lines

The forward-thinking culture of the fashion and gaming industry has allowed social media leaders and marketers to lead the way for brand activations in the metaverse. However, there is an opportunity for other industries to break into the metaverse as well.

Here are some metaverse examples from brands across various industries:

1. Food: McCain Foods

McCain Foods partnered with Roblox and Bored & Hungry to launch Regen Fries as a part of the #SaveOurSocial initiative. The goal is to educate and engage younger consumers about regenerative agriculture and issues facing the farming community.

With Roblox, the potato manufacturer created the Farms of the Future game, which allows players to grow potatoes using regenerative farming methods. When players apply regenerative methods like planting cover crops or rotational grazing, they are rewarded in the game.

Bored & Hungry is the world’s first NFT-backed restaurant group and provided the real life portion of the activation. In October and November 2022, the restaurant served Regen Fries at its flagship location, along with several pop-up shops in London and Toronto. These limited-time potato pop-ups serve as an example of how brands can merge real-life experiences with the metaverse.

2. Sports: NFL

The NFL and long-term partner Visa created the NFL Zone, a destination within Fornite Creative, a sandbox game. The NFL Zone features two mini-games based on virtual tailgating experiences and other popular Fortnite activities. As an official NFL sponsor, Visa has a virtual stadium in the game.

The NFL has plans to launch a content series with several creators across sports and gaming. The league also plans to leverage the social media following of NFL players to increase awareness.

The NFL Zone is one of many metaverse activities the league has adopted. The goal of this activation is to create a social hub to engage with Gen-Zers and nurture a new generation of football fans—a demographic the league has often struggled to attract.

3. Finance: Mastercard

Mastercard held a multi-channel campaign with Marvel Studios’ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever to spotlight Black-owned small business owners. They launched an immersive experience via Meta Horizon Worlds to connect consumers with small businesses through activities designed to bring their brand stories to life.

This activation builds on Mastercard’s previous diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, including the Strivers Initiative, a platform dedicated to supporting Black women-owned businesses.

4. Footwear: Snap x New Balance

Snap and New Balance released a lens that uses speech recognition and augmented reality to give gift recommendations from footwear to accessories. The Holiday Gifting Concierge Lens has several modes for users to explore. In the worldview mode, users experience an AR unboxing that displays a recommendation.

Although you can’t click a link while using the lens, if you go to New Balance’s Snapchat profile and go to “Shop,” users can view items for sale and receive a link to their website to purchase.

Learn from brands in the metaverse

There are two key takeaways for brands exploring metaverse strategy going into 2023:

1) Prioritize accessibility

Even when targeting niche audiences try to avoid complex requirements to join the brand activation, like cryptocurrency or blockchain technology. You want a wide range of consumers to feel compelled to interact or play.

2) Consider a blended reality experience

What makes phygital marketing alluring is the ability to offer unique opportunities or perks that wouldn’t be typically available. Consider how your brand can merge the digital and physical.

Learn how to create these stand-out experiences with our guide on how to join the metaverse.

The post Metaverse examples: The brands to watch across industries appeared first on Sprout Social.

Founder and VP of Operations of Leadtail, Karri Carlson, and Sr. Director of Agency Sales at Sprout, Willie Mullen, discuss tips agencies can implement to navigate and thrive through uncertain economic climates. Tune in to our fireside chat on building agency resilience to learn how your agency can:

• Future-proof your service offerings
• De-risk agency operations and 
• Set your agency apart from the competition in 2023

The post Building Agency Resilience [Webinar] appeared first on Sprout Social.

The metaverse may have the answers. Consumers are steadily grasping the importance of this emerging technology with 39% saying virtual, artificial or extended reality technologies will play a role in their brand interactions over the next year and 67% of marketers expecting to spend at least a quarter of their budget on these tactics.

But the potential of the metaverse isn’t exclusive to external opportunities. I believe the metaverse could be the next big thing for internal collaboration—and connection.

Connection feeds innovation

In July, we brought the entire Sprout team to our Chicago headquarters for our first annual Mid-Year Meetup. Employees flew in from across the world (and over half of them were making their first office visit). The experience was amazing, but just like anything, there were trade-offs. As Sprout grows, we may not be able to facilitate flights, hotels and activities for thousands of people and we have to stay vigilant about constantly changing health guidelines.

The importance of Mid-Year Meetup wasn’t parties, food or even showing off our office space. It was about connecting with coworkers on a more personal level—a level that traditionally is best achieved face to face. That kind of connection breeds trust that is the foundation for performance and innovation.

The majority of employees (75%) in organizations with intentional collaboration report higher levels of innovation. Our employees are more likely to take the kind of risks that have big pay-offs if they trust the people they work with. The ideas that come out of brainstorming are better when the group has a baseline understanding of each other’s personalities. But as companies increasingly transition to a remote-first approach, it’s getting harder and harder to create those kinds of relationships. Leaders have to find new ways to connect their teams in a remote world. So, can the metaverse help?

Working in the metaverse

Going to work in the metaverse may sound far-fetched but workers are ready for it. Three in five tech employees are interested in using VR headsets in the workplace. Employers need to be ready to provide the experiences they’re looking for.

Connecting outside the conference room

A metaverse meeting is a step up from a routine Zoom meeting, but it’s still not using the technology to its full potential.

Let’s say you’re opening a store in a new city. You could use metaverse technology to “visit” the city with key employees. The immersive aspect of the metaverse experience can spur new ideas and understanding across your team. Or, if you’re onboarding a new cohort of employees, you could use VR technology to give them a virtual tour of your office or other locations that are important to your business to help them feel more connected. Metaverse technology is known for transporting users to a new place. Find ways to use that to your advantage.

Fostering more equitable engagement

With a hybrid work environment, it can be difficult to keep things equitable for your team members that go into the office and your fully remote employees. The “watercooler” opportunity to connect with folks across the org is something hard to recreate virtually. Or is it? The metaverse could help create the virtual version of that experience.

Despite the best intentions, it can be difficult to consistently enforce certain meeting etiquette (e.g., ensuring all meeting participants join video conferences individually, even if some are sitting in a room together). Working in the metaverse ensures that the playing field is leveled for all of your employees and provides team-building opportunities that work for everyone–regardless of where they’re based.

Going where you feel most productive

The metaverse isn’t only helpful for interpersonal interactions. It can also help you get more work done individually. As remote work becomes the norm, many people are choosing to work from anywhere, taking their laptops with them as they explore different locales.

But that isn’t always practical. If your dream workspace is a beach, you might run into issues with sand getting into your keyboard. The metaverse makes it possible to work wherever you want, without the limitations of the space. Allowing yourself to work in the environment where you feel most productive can yield incredible results.

Filling in the gaps

Remote work is no longer the exception to the rule. More than half of employees expect at least a hybrid work arrangement, if not a fully remote position. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to adapt to the new reality and equip our teams with the technology and infrastructure they need to be successful—even if that technology is a VR headset. As the metaverse becomes more prominent, we should be thinking about its values as an internal business tool as well.

Want to learn more about the metaverse? This article lays out everything you need to know.

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In this article, we’ll break down how to determine if the metaverse is the right match for your brand. We’ll also show you how businesses have already entered this trailblazing tech innovation.

Why brands invest in the metaverse

Let’s be honest, a 4D immersive universe sounds intriguing to consumers and companies alike—brands aren’t just selling a product or service, but a futuristic experience. As a pillar of Web3, the metaverse promises technological advances that will transcend the physical and digital realm, decentralize the Internet and transform the society we know today.

According to the Sprout Social Index™ , more than two-thirds of marketers anticipate investing at least a quarter of their budget into metaverse tactics over the next 12 months. Some 33% of marketers believe their brands are ahead of the curve for implementing augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) into their social strategy.

Brands are more likely to jump on board than consumers, who aren’t all the way there yet.

Even Gen Z and Millennials, who are most likely to anticipate using AR, VR or extended reality (XR) to interact with brands in the future, are still in the minority at 46% each. As the metaverse grows and becomes more accessible to consumers, adoption will also increase.

Metaverses offer an entirely new experience for users to socialize, play games, work and even make purchases. Even though consumers have been slower to adapt, the excitement around this new technology has skyrocketed on social media. According to Sprout Social Metaverse listening data from January 10–March 10, 2022, there was a 102% increase in conversations about the metaverse with a positive sentiment of 91% on Twitter.

And many big-name businesses are already taking advantage of the metaverse as a marketing tool, creating brand activations to stay ahead of the competition. Similar to the birth of social media, brands joining the metaverse want to be early adopters who take calculated risks and cash in.

How to join the metaverse: 5 steps to find the right brand opportunity

1. Understand the metaverse

You need to understand what the metaverse is, how it works and industry projections before you join. If you don’t have proficient knowledge of the metaverse, you won’t be able to pitch or execute successful brand activations. You wouldn’t dive into a traditional campaign without any research. Preparing to join the metaverse is the same. You don’t need to be an expert, but you should be able to explain essential concepts like extended reality and interoperability.

The metaverse is an emerging technology which means new developments will arise. Stay on top of online discourses and breaking news because like any other technology, the metaverse will change. And continue to learn about other Web3/metaverse components like cryptocurrency and wearables, because you’re likely to hear about them again.

2. Consider if the metaverse aligns with your target audience and brand

Currently, Gen Z and Millennials are the most active participants in the metaverse, but consider other traits beyond age. For example, an energy drink or gaming rig brand could benefit from a brand activation on a metaverse platform like Fortnite and Roblox (MMOs). Major gamers use energy drinks to stay alert while playing and gaming rigs allow them to play comfortably, so a marketing campaign that engages this audience in the metaverse could work.

Also, think about how your brand aligns with the metaverse in general. For example, many fashion brands have joined the metaverse to sell exclusive digital clothing and NFTs, establishing themselves as trendsetters that offer their clientele an exclusive experience.

3. Brainstorm engaging marketing campaigns

Brands can use metaverse marketing campaigns to boost engagement or sell a product or service. Do you want a solely virtual experience, or will you offer real-life benefits as well? What do you want to accomplish for your brand and how will you meet your audience where they are? Consider questions like these and brainstorm.

You can offer a collectible like a digital outfit or NFT, collaborate with a metaverse platform to create a branded installation or event or use ads on a virtual billboard. These are a few common tactics, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box.

4. Choose a metaverse platform

Once you confirm that joining the metaverse aligns with your brand and audience, pick the metaverse platform that can help you execute your campaign the best. Consider which existing metaverses let you connect with users in a meaningful way.

5. Invest and join the metaverse

Now that you’ve completed the other steps, it’s time to join the metaverse. If you would like to experience the metaverse as an individual first, explore the metaverse platform of your choice. Depending on the platform, it’s as simple as purchasing hardware or downloading software and creating an avatar.

If you’re interested in brand activation, collaborate with metaverse platforms to determine how to bring your vision to life. You’ll need to reach out to a representative from the metaverse platform of your choice and go from there.

Where can I get into the Metaverse?

The metaverse is still in its early stages and interoperability remains a major challenge, so there isn’t a single, universal gateway yet. For now, there are multiple metaverses you can explore.

There are also a few technologies you can use to explore these metaverses. These can include extended reality wearables, PCs and laptops, tablets, smartphones, public blockchains, decentralized autonomous organizations, etc. The list goes on, which is another reason why frequent research, exploration and experimentation is essential.

What do I need to join the metaverse?

Getting what you need to join the metaverse is simple. Your list depends on the platform and the type of experience you’re looking for. Regardless of the metaverse you choose, you’ll need an avatar, which you’ll create when you join the community.

Some metaverse platforms like Fortnite allow you to join via PC, game console or smartphone. Note that smartphones and tablets typically don’t have sufficient processing power for ideal performance—in other words, you might experience slower loading times or occasional lags. Keep that in mind if you’re looking for the best experience.

Some metaverses like Decentraland require a digital wallet. You can get a digital wallet through cryptocurrency platforms like Coinbase. If you don’t have a digital wallet, you can still customize your avatar, explore and interact with other users within the metaverse. You just won’t be able to sell or buy items, participate in events or earn daily rewards.

If you want a fully immersive experience of the metaverse, you’ll need a wearable device like a virtual reality headset. There are a lot of VR headsets on the market, but the most popular is the Meta Quest 2. It allows easy access to VR games, virtual workspace, apps and more. You’ll also need the Oculus Touch Controller, which is basically a joystick you use to interact with objects in the metaverse. Playstation VR and Valve Index are also common wearable devices.

Choosing the right metaverse platforms for your audience

There are a lot of different meteverses to choose from. Here’s a list of popular metaverse platforms you can use:

• Horizon Worlds
• Roblox
• Fortnite
• Decentraland
• The Sandbox
• Axie Infinity
• ​​lluvium
• Virbela

Each one has its own nuances, so remember to explore to best understand how to incorporate your brand.

How major brands join the metaverse

Now that you have access to a list of metaverse platforms, let’s go over a few brand examples to help inspire your own campaigns:

Miller Lite

Each year football fans grab some cold ones while watching the Super Bowl. In February 2022, Miller Lite became the first-ever brand bar to join the metaverse. Meta Lite Bar was hosted on Decentraland and even aired the brand’s Super Bowl ad. The virtual tavern offered 21+ patrons interactive games, a photo booth and more. The beer brand also gave users the chance to win $500 cash to stock their fridges before the Big Game.

More recently, Miller Lite collaborated with international superstar J Balvin to launch a new physical merch line entitled BodegaWear. The clothing line is an exclusive streetwear collection inspired by the bodega scene. All of the proceeds will be donated to Accion Opportunity Fund, a non-profit dedicated to providing resources to Latinx business owners.

Miller Lite launched the collection on their website on July 26, 2022, but the merchandise line was available on Decentraland at the Meta Lite Bar as well. Users can obtain a J Balvin-inspired hairstyle. They can also enter for a chance to win real-life merchandise including a limited edition boombox. Users just have to visit the bar and play a daily mini game for entry.

Miller Lite even created a tutorial thread on Twitter to walk fans through the metaverse:

Target

Target launched its first metaverse project within Horizon Worlds called Take Pride worlds. The project was led by Kelsey Dahlager, Senior Manager, Social Evolution.

As its name implies, the project celebrated Pride month. Take Pride was created by a team of LGBTQIA+ designers and Flutt3r, a world builder for Horizon Worlds. The virtual experience offered three worlds for users to explore, play games and more.

The big-box retailer peaked at #46 on the Horizon Worlds “Hot World Chart” out of over 10,000 worlds. Target is known for its DEI efforts, so taking its annual celebration to a new realm illustrates the brand’s ability to embrace change and inclusion.

NARS

NARS launched a branded experience on Roblox called, NARS Color Quest, a 90-day brand activation inspired by the brand’s popular Laguna and Light Reflecting products. The activation features four virtual islands where players can earn badges and Robux (Roblox’s currency). Players can also customize their avatar’s makeup and snap photos with friends. Who knew beauty, adventure and video games could be the ultimate trio?

Nike

Nike also opened a branded experience via Roblox. NIKELAND, features a variety of playrooms and mini-games. The activation is available across devices so players can enjoy platform-specific interactions too. For example, Roblox uses a smartphone’s technology to identify the player’s movement like running or jumping.

Along with mini-games, players can purchase digital Nike favorites like the Air Force 1 and the Air Max.

This metaverse experience is just one part of Nike’s long-term plans to decrease accessibility barriers and integrate digital athletes and products.

Join the metaverse

Now you know how to determine if your brand should join the metaverse and how to go about it.

To learn more about the metaverse and other emerging technologies marketers are using it is essential to stay up to date with social media trends shaping the future.

The post How to join the Metaverse: The complete guide for your brand appeared first on Sprout Social.

The short answer is yes. The metaverse is projected to become an $800 billion market by 2024 and tech giants are already investing millions to make this dream a reality. Major companies and startups alike are becoming early adopters, collaborating with metaverse companies to create branded activations and more. If you’re reading this article, you probably want to learn more or are already thinking about joining the metaverse. Before you embrace these trailblazing opportunities, you should fully understand what the metaverse is and what it means for the future.

What is the metaverse?

Well, the metaverse is truly the stuff of your favorite sci-fi fantasy thriller coming to life. If you’ve ever watched Ready Player One or an episode of Black Mirror, you’ve probably seen some similarities to today’s metaverse.

To put it simply, the metaverse is an all-encompassing term that refers to immersive, hyper-realistic virtual environments where people can interact via personalized avatars.

The term “metaverse” was coined in the 1992 novel, Snow Crash. The book described the metaverse as a digital world that exists parallel to the physical world, with the ability to visit virtual spaces at will. Talk about life imitating art, right?

The metaverse doesn’t refer to one singular type of technology, but rather a group of technologies that will shift how we interact online. The metaverse is part of web3, which is basically the next iteration of the internet. The internet we know and love today—social media, apps, live streams, e-commerce—is known as web2.

Web3 is also difficult for people to wrap their heads around because it’s complex and comes with its own set of jargon (blockchain, crypto, NFTs, etc.). In short, web3 is the decentralized internet. Instead of tech giants like Google or Apple controlling the internet, everyday users will own, operate and contribute.

Some proponents say the metaverse will mimic the physical world entirely and a new digital economy will emerge. Users will buy real estate, sell and own goods, host parties, educate scholars and even get married.

However, there are several types of tech that currently fall underneath the umbrella term. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Extended reality (ER) – another umbrella term encompassing virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR)
• Virtual worlds created by metaverse users (e.g., Decentraland)
• Massively multiplayer online games (MMOs), like Fortnite or Roblox
• Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs)
• Assets like cryptocurrency and NFTs (although some NFT advocates say otherwise)
• Holograms
• Video calls
• Avatars
• Digital and augmented reality concerts
• Public blockchains
• Photogrammetry – the process of creating digital 3D objects out of photos or video (e.g., Capturing Reality)

Tech companies and enthusiasts have varying visions for metaverse technologies, along with nuanced opinions, because they’re still a work in progress. It can develop into something we can’t completely fathom because we’ve never seen it.

It’s like the early days of the internet and social media—we knew they were impressive innovations, but we didn’t know they would become an integral part of culture and business. These ideas swelled into something bigger than our imaginations and the metaverse is the same way.

Now that you have a general idea of the metaverse, let’s dive deeper into two key aspects of understanding the future: common traits of a metaverse and interoperability.

Who created the metaverse?

Although Meta (formerly known as Facebook) made the metaverse a household name, the tech company did not invent the idea. The road to today’s metaverse—and the one of the future—was paved by several different trailblazers far earlier.

As mentioned above, the term metaverse was coined in 1992 by Snow Crash and it features some spot-on predictions of Meta’s plans. Some technology described in the book already exists too. The main character appears as an avatar in the metaverse, which he accesses through goggles and earphones. That’s reminiscent of today’s augmented and virtual reality glasses/headsets, but there are differences as well.

Hyperlinks, e-mail, messaging, digital photography and video are some of the building blocks that led us to Web2. The metaverse’s foundation includes the birth of Bitcoin, virtual communities, MMOs and extended reality devices. These are some of the building blocks that led to companies announcing their plans for the metaverse in 2021.

What common traits do metaverses currently have?

The metaverse is multifaceted and multidimensional. However, some characteristics define a metaverse. Here’s what they are and what they mean:

1) A metaverse is always active

A metaverse doesn’t pause or end when you exit the platform. In a traditional video game, you can leave and return to where you left off. A metaverse is infinite, the world never stops, even when you go offline.

2) A metaverse exists in real time

Metaverses sync with time in the physical world. Conversations and actions can happen in real time, regardless of where you are in the community.

3) Metaverse users have agency

Users can explore a metaverse at their own free will. They have the freedom to do and say what they want. For example, in MMOs, various players can perform different activities at the same time.

4)  A metaverse exists as its own universe

As a virtual world, a metaverse functions as its own universe, with unique features, frameworks and rules. For example, users can create, sell, own and invest on metaverse platforms. They are rewarded for their life in the metaverse, making the experience emulate the physical world even more.

5) User-generated content is valued in the metaverse

Users on metaverse platforms can create original content for others to enjoy. Remember that decentralization is a core component of web3, so user-generated content goes hand-in-hand with the metaverse. There are also online communities like Decentraland that were created by the users themselves.

6) A metaverse can exist across multiple platforms

Video games like Roblox and Fortnite are great examples of metaverses existing across several platforms. Players can enter these metaverses on a variety of devices such as PCs, tablets and smartphones. In the future, these various platforms will work together seamlessly, which brings us to one of the biggest challenges of the metaverse: interoperability.

The interoperable metaverse explained

Interoperability is a fancy word for the ability to take virtual items, like clothes or houses, from one metaverse platform to another. It refers to the systems, protocols, rules, applications and technologies that enable users to travel seamlessly between metaverses.

The interoperable metaverse is an extension of the vision Meta, Microsoft and others are pursuing to make a reality. However, transferring virtual items from one world to another is a complex task that no company has been able to address for several reasons.

This lends the question: How will we approach user interface and experience in a 3D world that runs parallel to the physical? And how do we achieve that if the technology and computing power required is something no one has ever built?

The metaverse itself isn’t one single product or system, but an interconnected system of technologies, platforms and products that requires a lot of computing and engineering resources. It also isn’t owned by one entity. Individuals and companies across various sectors will have to work together to reach interoperability. Companies will have to work with their competitors like peers as opposed to rivals.

Businesses will also have to consider how to remain profitable in a space catered to decentralization.  Tech companies, in particular, will have to balance profitability with the resources required to reach this ideal metaverse—which could take several years. Meta announced in April 2022 that the groundwork for this to happen will be in place by 2030.

Interoperability is just one of the few hurdles that arise within metaverse discussions. But let’s look at the opportunities that already exist for brands in the near future.

The future of metaverse marketing

According to the Sprout Social Index™, marketers are the early metaverse adopters while consumers aren’t as eager. Overall, marketers are more likely than consumers to anticipate the metaverse and other emerging tech playing a role in their interactions over the next year.

How to invest in the metaverse

Metaverse marketing allows you to tap into a niche audience, expand your brand’s reach and sell products in a new arena. The metaverse is still growing, but early investors are already seeing results in other ways.

More than two-thirds of marketers anticipate investing at least a quarter of their budget into metaverse tactics over the next 12 months, with 33% of marketers believing their brands are ahead of the curve for implementing AR/VR into their social strategy.

The gaming industry is one of the first to take advantage. Fortnite and Roblox are some of the largest metaverses, offering brands the opportunity for impactful collaboration, especially those that target Millennials and Gen Z. You can use these existing environments to engage with your target demographic groups, all the while promoting your brand in an authentic way.

Even though marketers are ready for the next big thing in tech, it’s important to strike a balance between meeting customers where they are and showing them what lies ahead in the future.

How to join the metaverse

There are several ways you can use existing technology to join the metaverse. If you want to experience the metaverse as an individual, consider investing in XR wearables such as Oculus Quest 2, Valve Index VR and Google Cardboard or Glass. These wearable devices offer a range of opportunities from gaming and entertainment to virtual workspaces.

Here are a few ways your brand can get involved in the metaverse:

• Engage on digital platforms such as Roblox, Fortnite, Decentraland and Meta Quest 2
• Connect with customers via metaverse elements such as NFTs and virtual events
• Create engaging content users can unlock through NFTs or mini-games
• Share thought leadership content via avatars on metaverse platforms
• Build immersive experiences for your audience
• Tie your metaverse activations to real-world efforts (e.g., physical merch, prizes)

Many companies are already hosting brand activations in the metaverse, so don’t hesitate to research and explore existing environments to help brainstorm metaverse ideas for your brand.

Brand activations in the metaverse

Here are a few examples of brands who have joined the metaverse:

Gucci

Gucci’s clothing isn’t the only part of the brand that’s fashion-forward. The luxury fashion house has done several activations in the metaverse over the past two years. In early 2021, the brand released the Gucci Virtual 25, a digital sneaker that can be worn in AR or through apps like Roblox and VRChat.

The sneaker release was followed by Gucci Garden on Roblox, where players purchased exclusive designer pieces, like the Gucci Dionysus Bag with Bee. This bag was resold for over $4,100 worth of Robux, Roblox’s in-game currency, surpassing the cost of the actual physical bag. The virtual garden was a complement to a real-world installation called the Gucci Garden Archetypes, located in Florence, Italy.

The brand launched its latest metaverse activation, Gucci Town, in June. Gucci Town is a permanent space in Roblox where players can learn more about the brand, and express their style through virtual outfits.

From a marketing perspective, Gucci is sending a message about their brand: They are trendsetters in every sense of the word. They’re unafraid to reach audiences, experimenting with new ways to meet customers in every space they interact. Gucci is just one of many fashion brands taking advantage of the metaverse. The first virtual fashion week took place in early 2022.

Dolce & Gabbana

Along with Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana is one of the many fashion brands taking advantage of the metaverse. The fashion brand has a partnership with UNXD, a NFT marketplace for digital luxury and culture. In March 2022, Dolce and UNXD announced the highly anticipated launch of the DGFamily NFT community.

DGFamily features three digital boxes that also serve as membership to the Dolce & Gabbana NFT universe. Members receive digital, physical and experiential perks, such as exclusive wearable drops.

The boxes were sold blind, so buyers did not know which box they received until after the NFT was minted. Out of the 5,000 boxes created, 4,835 were launched. There were several notable buyers including Danilo S. Carlucci, CEO of MorningStar Ventures, and Ivan-Soto Wright, the CEO and Founder of MoonPay.

Although this idea of a two-dimensional membership and blind purchasing may seem absurd at first, the online hype illustrates a clear interest. According to data from Sprout’s Advanced Listening tool, from January 1, 2022 to June 30, 2022, the DGFamily NFT community earned 98% positive sentiment and over 848,000 total engagements on Twitter.

Dolce is yet another example of how creative industries will take up space within the metaverse.

Blavity

Blavity became an early adopter of the metaverse in 2020 after the pandemic hit, pivoting away from the media company’s annual in-person professional conference, AfroTech. Instead of canceling the event altogether, the company saw it as an opportunity to address Zoom fatigue and low engagement.

Blavity partnered with eXp World Holdings to create a fully customized virtual space, AfroTech World. AfroTech World featured everything from the in-person conference—prizes, workshops, pitch competitions, guest speakers, performances and expo halls.

The inaugural conference was so successful, the brand decided to continue offering a digital experience. AfroTech 2021 incorporated in-person happy hours and events in several cities across the US.

Between the 2020 and 2021 conferences, the brand experienced a significant increase in attendance and revenue. Not only were people willing to pay more for tickets to the metaverse, but attendance surpassed the 2019 in-person conference. In 2019, about 10,000 people attended while 15,000 attended in 2020. Over 16,700 attended both in-person and metaverse events in 2021. More sponsors advertised in AfroTech 2021 too, so total sponsorship revenue was up year-over-year as a result.

Vans

Vans is a prime example of using the metaverse to truly connect with your target audience. The skateboarding apparel brand created Vans World, a skatepark on Roblox, where players can learn new tricks, buy gear and earn Robux. One of Van’s core demographic is 13- to 35-year-olds, so its metaverse activation is truly a masterclass in collaboration. The virtual skatepark has welcomed over 48 million visitors and the brand is generating revenue from the sale of its virtual apparel.

Megan Thee Stallion x AmazeVR

Grammy-award winning artist Megan Thee Stallion, joined forces with AmazeVR for a VR concert tour titled, Enter Thee Hottieverse. The “hottieverse” is a reference to her fan base, who she calls the “hot girls and boys.” She’s a self-proclaimed nerd known for setting trends and milestones within the music industry, so making the metaverse part of her tour is authentic to her personal brand.

The VR concert featured a half-hour of Megan performing, and was held in movie theaters across the country. The first leg of the tour quickly sold out after it was announced in early 2022. Several other musical artists have dabbled in the metaverse as well, including Ariana Grande and Travis Scott, who hosted concerts in Fortnite. Earlier this year, Fortnite allowed players to earn skins (digital clothing) of Silk Sonic.

Coca-Cola

Coke merged the metaverse and physical world with its limited edition flavor, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Byte, inspired by the digital space and gaming. The soda can is pixel-laden, with designs forming the shape of the iconic Coca-Cola logo.

Zero Sugar Byte was available exclusively online in the US, but some international locations had retail launches. Pixel Point, another space on Fortnite, allows players to experience the drink in the metaverse through mini-games. Fans can also scan a Sugar Byte package to access an AR game.

This multi-dimensional drink is just one of the beverage brand’s many metaverse activations. For example, they also offered an NFT collectible last year.

Limitations and opportunities within the metaverse

These activations are great examples of brand marketing in the metaverse. But there is much more to consider before integrating it into your strategy.

There’s a reason why pioneering sci-fi novelists like Octavia Butler and Isaac Asimov warned us of the woes of futuristic technology. The metaverse comes with a heap of data, privacy and security concerns.

Any new tech innovation requires more security measures, but the metaverse will demand new methods for data privacy and protection. For example, personal verification could require more user data, increasing privacy risks. Some experts are concerned about the metaverse being used as the ultimate surveillance tool. And if something happens in the metaverse, what are the legal ramifications in the digital and physical worlds?

Along with interoperability and privacy concerns, there are also some hardware limitations. Many VR and AR glasses/headsets are bulky and still come with accessibility issues, such as motion sickness. If the hardware isn’t accessible, it will be difficult to guarantee everyone can participate, which defies the goal of decentralization.

However, with limitations comes opportunity. Video games and virtual worlds are easier to build and design, and XR wearables come in a range of price points (so they’re becoming more affordable). By 2024, there will be an estimated 1.7 billion augmented reality user devices globally. 

In a study from the Pew Research Center and Elon University’s Imagining the Internet Center, 54% of experts said that the metaverse will be more refined, immersive and a well-functioning aspect of daily life for half a billion people or more globally by 2040.

The metaverse as a muse

In a way, the metaverse is an emulsion of culture, art, fashion, entertainment and technology. It’s still blossoming, but there’s an opportunity for brands to curate some impressive opportunities. Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment. After all, the metaverse was birthed from imagination. Make the sci-fi pioneers proud.

To learn more about the data behind the metaverse, emerging technologies and the future of social marketing, download the Sprout Social Index™.

The post The Metaverse: What it is and why it matters for brands appeared first on Sprout Social.

Sprout Social has partnered with Reuters to bring you a diverse panel of marketing and social media experts to discuss social strategy.

In this session, you’ll hear from marketing experts about how to extract real business value from social media marketing and how to focus your social strategy to meet your needs.

You will:

• Understand your audience and engage your community:
  Streamline your social monitoring and uncover actionable insights from social data to inform brand and business strategy
• Stand out in an over-saturated digital space:
  Create authentic, personalized, relevant content that cuts through the noise with impactful interactions that inspire and connect
• Measure performance, prove ROI and gain buy-in:
  Identify the key metrics and critical reporting you need to drive strategic decision-making across the business with rich social data and dashboards

Panelists:

• Bianca Shaw, VP of Enterprise Social Media and Digital Brand Reputation at Caesars Entertainment
• Michael Lamp, VP of Digital and Social at Hunter PR, a Stagwell company
• Emily Sly, VP of Global Marketing at Crocs
• Jamie Gilpin, CMO, Sprout Social
• Laurel Mintz, CEO and Founder, Elevate My Brand

The post Supercharge your Marketing Strategy with Social [Webinar] appeared first on Sprout Social.