Three insights on what the Metaverse means for businesses, now and for the future

There has been a lot of buzz about the metaverse in the last few months: What is it? When can we expect to experience it? And most importantly, how can I be a part of it? It’s exciting to see so much conversation around the future, and we want to help businesses and marketers prepare for this next phase.

Over the last few weeks, we heard from two Meta executives on how businesses can start getting ready for the metaverse. Vishal Shah, VP, Metaverse, spoke with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) about the opportunities ahead. Meanwhile, Nicola Mendelsohn, VP, Global Business Group, spoke with VOGUE Business on how fashion is already embracing the opportunities today as the industry prepares for tomorrow.

We’re sharing three insights from these talks to help businesses and marketers on the road to creating in the metaverse.

The metaverse will be built with the power of partnership.

One of the defining characteristics of the metaverse is that it is not built by just one company. Vishal underscored the importance of how the metaverse will be built with the power of partnership: "The entire premise of the metaverse as we see it is that the experience people will have will not be built by us alone. The metaverse is about co-creating."

We’re already hearing incredible stories of brands that are partnering across fields and industries to take early steps toward the metaverse. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sephora worked with Meta’s Creative Shop to launch a new fragrance while its shops were closed. The beauty brand wanted to trigger the sense of smell normally experienced while shopping in shops – all from people’s phones. By partnering with a neuroscientist creator and 3D animation designer, this ambition was able to shift from a simple concept to something actually implemented. Using Meta’s augmented reality (AR) platform Spark , the team combined colours, animations and graphics to bring to life the smell of the fragrance on Facebook and Instagram, garnering fantastic results.

Commerce opportunities in the metaverse continue to grow.

While we may have some time until the full metaverse is actualised, we are already seeing glimmers of how businesses are utilising its current state for commerce and digital sales. Vishal reminded the IAB audience that people already spend billions every year on digital goods in video games and how there are potentially greater metaverse-based opportunities for businesses of all sizes ahead.

"People in the metaverse will be able to buy apps and worlds to enjoy. And within those worlds, there will be things to buy – both digital and physical – as well as services and experiences," Vishal added.

Recently, Meta shared how it partnered with the NFL to bring American football fandom to avatars. In the weeks surrounding Super Bowl LVI, fans had the chance to celebrate their favourite teams by wearing Super Bowl LVI and team branded clothing on their customised avatar.

Take some time to play!

While exploring the business opportunities provided in the future by the metaverse, the most exciting thing about this new technology is that it’s fun!

"Ask yourselves: Have you spent time…playing around with AR filters? Have you played Beat Saber or ventured into VR?" As Nicola Mendelsohn shared during her talk with Vogue Business, that’s the best way of learning.

The metaverse will be a continuum of experiences ranging from a 2D video call with a friend, to AR, to entirely immersive 3D VR worlds all stitched together to form the next iteration of the internet.

Businesses can get a jumpstart now by experimenting, such as by building Spark AR effects. We’ve already seen creative use cases from companies using this technology to help enrich the shopping experience, boost buyer confidence and increase sales. For example, you can explore new lipstick looks from Charlotte Tilbury’s Instagram store or try on Ray-Ban sunglasses from wherever you are

We’ve already seen companies like Wendy’s even create a virtual restaurant in Meta Horizon Worlds, offering new opportunities for fans to interact with the company, its food and even each other, and we’re excited to see innovation from more businesses in the future.

By consistently experimenting and building deeper connections with customers using today’s tools, you will be well-positioned to understand how the metaverse will ultimately be able to help you accomplish your business objectives. The metaverse will unlock new opportunities, and like these brands that have already taken the leap into the fold, you too can experience how leveraging current and future technologies can positively affect your own business and its bottom line.

Looking for more content? Watch Connect 2021, which captures more of Meta’s vision for the metaverse, here .