What is Metaverse?

The metaverse is a virtual world where people can socialize, work, and shop without leaving their homes. Since Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021, the metaverse has become a hot topic of conversation. Meta has pledged to invest $10 billion in developing the metaverse and exploring its potential.

While the metaverse is still developing, it has the potential to revolutionize social media, eCommerce, and real estate. The global metaverse market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 47.6%, reaching $1,527.55 billion by 2029 from $100.27 billion in 2023. This growth is fueled by the increasing popularity of online video games and consumers’ preference for online shopping.

Why is the Metaverse Important for Your Business?

The metaverse is gaining importance as it provides businesses with a new way to interact and work with users from anywhere in the world virtually. It also facilitates a virtual economy where users can engage in various activities like establishing a real business.

For instance, one can create and monetize an entertainment area where others can come to play games or open a virtual clothing store. Users can also earn money by utilizing their building skills to construct architectural structures or digital creations in the metaverse.

Moreover, the emergence of the metaverse for business has simplified the process of conducting virtual meetings and training sessions in the era of remote work. With the use of a VR headset, you and your colleagues can sit around a virtual table and engage in discussions in an immersive environment. Once the meeting is over, you can simply remove the headset and return to the real world.

In short, the metaverse allows for realistic settings that enable individuals to be present anywhere and with anyone. This advantage can lead to improved customer engagement and smoother collaboration with others.

How to Move your Business to Metaverse?

According to Mark Zuckerberg, it may take 5 to 10 years for the popular features of the metaverse to become mainstream, although certain aspects of it are already present. Virtual reality headsets, high-speed internet, and constantly-connected digital worlds are currently in use, but not available to everyone.

Businesses have the opportunity to enter the virtual world and leverage their presence there, regardless of their size.

To become a trailblazer in this field, businesses can take steps to transition into the metaverse.

1. Find  the appropriate metaverse platform: To enter the metaverse, the first step is to find the right platform. Currently, there are various digital worlds that can be considered versions of the metaverse, each with different areas of focus such as real estate, gaming, NFTs, and more. Roblox is one of the most popular platforms, with over 49 million active users.

Roblox caters to a younger audience and offers a range of games and entertainment offerings, including music concerts, similar to the successful model of Fortnite. In-game concerts with featured artists like Travis Scott and Ariana Grande have become a virtual venue for people to hang out.

Many reputed brands have started collaborating with Fortnite on content marketing, PR campaigns, and sponsored metaverse events. Some popular fashion houses, including Gucci and Valentino, have begun exploring the metaverse, while others like Nike and Adidas have opened virtual stores where users can purchase NFTs of real-life sneakers and sportswear.

To target a younger audience on platforms like Roblox, businesses should focus on entertainment, authenticity, and creativity as core selling points. This strategy also applies to more mature audiences in Decentraland, a virtual world that places less emphasis on gaming and more on creating digital infrastructures powered by Ethereum blockchain technology. Users can engage in real-life activities such as buying virtual land, organizing events, and creating virtual objects. High-profile brands like Samsung and Sotheby’s are already establishing a presence in Decentraland.

It is recommended to conduct comprehensive research on the leading metaverse platforms before making a decision, in order to gain an understanding of their respective audiences, identify the products or services that are in high demand within each platform, and determine how your business can effectively integrate into the virtual world.

2. Enhance your online visibility: Prior to exploring business opportunities within the metaverse, it is important to reassess your current online presence and branding strategies, as most businesses already have an online presence through websites, social media accounts, or product selling platform.

It is crucial to have a strong online presence and gain a basic understanding of the online market before delving into the new universe, as the same rules will apply.

For instance, if you plan to establish a VR business, it is imperative to develop a high-quality website for your business and put in efforts to grow your social media presence. Maintaining an online presence is essential to avoid missing out on potential opportunities and risking frustrating customers who are unable to locate the required information. Additionally, ensure that the information provided is up-to-date.

3. Create AR/VR apps: Expanding your business may require you to consider using augmented reality and virtual reality tools. As the metaverse business opportunities intersects with VR, AR, and AI, it is important to have a solid understanding of these technologies before transitioning your business to the virtual world.

According to a recent survey, 75% of business leaders plan to incorporate AR/VR by 2023, and global spending is expected to increase sixfold by 2025. Developing an AR/VR application can help customers become familiar with metaverse features and prepare for this new reality.

To begin, experiment with VR headsets and other supportive technologies to gain experience with the metaverse and understand what it might be like to move your business into this realm. Numerous brands in the metaverse have already begun experimenting with AR/VR features. Zara, for instance, launched a highly successful campaign where users could utilize an AR app for shopping. The app allowed shoppers to use their phones to view models wearing the brand’s merchandise come to life on their screens, through store windows or sensors in physical stores. They could even purchase the items through the app. This concept was subsequently adopted by other brands like Chanel and Gucci.

4. Focus catering to your target audience’s needs: When establishing a metaverse development company, it is essential to focus on your target audience. By targeting the appropriate audience, your product or service has the potential to sell itself, resulting in a positive customer experience and repeat business.

Rather than attempting to appeal to everyone in the metaverse, concentrate on meeting the needs and desires of your intended customers and directing your marketing efforts toward them. For example, if your metaverse business aims to develop a blood pressure monitoring solution, target older individuals who are more susceptible to blood pressure abnormalities.

5. Focus on the experience: In the metaverse, users want to do more than just see things – they want to experience them. To create a successful metaverse business, focus on providing an immersive experience for your users. If you’re running a store, showcase your products in multiple dimensions. If you’re developing a game, use controls that simulate real-life actions.

To create a great experience, you must identify the emotions that your target audience is seeking when they enter the metaverse. Then, you can offer an experience that satisfies those emotions, which will make users more likely to return to your business. Providing a great user experience increases customer retention, so it should be a top priority.

6. Don’t abandon old ways too quickly: When transitioning your business to the metaverse, it’s important not to hastily abandon traditional methods. While there are numerous opportunities to dive into the metaverse, it’s important to prioritize meeting customer expectations, as this is at the core of good business. Most customers aren’t quite ready for the transition to the metaverse, so it’s essential to provide them with the option to engage with your brand in more traditional ways.

Even as you position your company to embrace what the future brings, it’s vital not to disregard the old ways, as they are still the best approach for most customers.

7. Be adaptable to change: As the metaverse continues to evolve, there are no hard and fast rules for doing business in this virtual space. This means that your company must remain adaptable to the changing nature of virtual worlds.

However, this presents a great opportunity to test your product in a virtual environment with the help of the metaverse community. This will not only help you gain insights into what consumers might be looking for, but it could also put you on the path to predicting future trends and innovations. Embrace the potential of expanding your business in ways you never thought possible before and start preparing to move your business into the metaverse today.

We hope this article has been helpful in answering the most important question of how to get involved in the metaverse or how to prepare for it. To conclude, we will provide statistics related to the future of the metaverse and its impact on businesses. Let’s delve into that.

Exploring the Top Metaverse Platforms: Decentraland, The Sandbox, Crypto Voxels, and Somnium Space

The metaverse is divided into two types – centralized and decentralized. In a centralized metaverse, a business owns and operates the platform, and users have control over their assets and information. On the other hand, in a decentralized metaverse, users interact with the platform using a public blockchain wallet, and there are no single owners.

1. The Sandbox: It is a sandbox game developed by Pixowl, available on mobile phones and PC. It is an Ethereum-based gaming metaverse that allows users to create, use, monetize, and sell their virtual reality NFTs. Its in-game economy is powered by a native crypto token called SAND, and companies and celebrities have purchased digital land to develop experiences or own digital real estate.

2. Decentraland: It is a 3D virtual world where users can buy digital plots of land using the MANA cryptocurrency, which is based on the Ethereum blockchain. It allows users to purchase and sell digital real estate, play games, and interact with other users in the digital space. There are two different tokens used for interactive apps and in-world payments.

3. Crypto Voxels: It is a virtual world powered by the Ethereum blockchain, where users can buy and sell art galleries and develop stores. The metaverse has a building infrastructure and streets that users can create and purchase. They can rent land parcels, embed video, audio, and images, and add or remove blocks.

4. Somnium Space: It is a customizable and programmable VR experience in a connected world. It is an Ethereum-based metaverse that owns the NFT marketplace, where users can buy, sell, and trade game-based assets. By integrating blockchain technology, users can monetize their VR experiences and build a world.

These blockchain-based metaverses operate on VR and AR technologies that enable users to interact with the virtual space. They have transformed how humans interact, resulting in increased efficiency in various business sectors.

Future of the Metaverse 

The metaverse is set to continue its remarkable transformation of human interaction, increasing efficiency across various sectors. A number of blockchain-based metaverses are currently developing VR and mobile apps to enable users to interact with virtual environments. According to Statista, the AR and VR market is expected to grow from $28 billion in 2021 to $250 billion by 2028.

Major brands such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook Inc. have invested in cloud computing and VR companies in anticipation of the metaverse industry’s expansion. This suggests that the metaverse’s potential is set to be unleashed in the coming years, offering numerous opportunities, particularly for those who explore the space early.

If you’re interested in exploring the metaverse universe, consider contacting a metaverse development company to help you understand the world of the metaverse for business and enter this domain with ease.