The next phase of the Internet – the Metaverse – is coming. There’s a lot of hype and uncertainty around how to make the most of the Metaverse. The technology underpinning metaverse experiences are still evolving. For a quick introduction to the Metaverse and what it means for marketing, check out our post “4 reasons the metaverse matters to marketers and what to do now.”
In addition to technology, two factors will drive metaverse success: good content built on a foundation of customer insights.
Why The Metaverse Is Like Fire
Fire was one of the most potent forces in early history. Used effectively, fire helped us thrive in hostile environments, prepare food, and more. Yet, fire can also hurt people and destroy buildings if used poorly. The difference between fire creating warmth and value and disaster lies in planning and skills. Finding success in the Metaverse is no different.
What does this have to do with the Metaverse and marketing, you ask?
Without the right plan, a poorly executed Metaverse virtual world may hurt your brand. Launching an irrelevant metaverse experience that does not speak to your audience’s interests will consume your team’s time without creating much value.
The Twin Pillars of a Successful Virtual World Experience
As a newer technology, it will take experimentation and patience to succeed in the Metaverse. However, random trial and error efforts take far too long. That’s why you need to think
Content
You might object to focusing on content first in the metaverse experience. Indeed, there is excellent value in emphasizing community and connection among your audience. That said, we need to give your audience why they should join your metaverse experience instead of doing something else with their time. Engaging content, therefore, forms a vital pillar of an engaging virtual world experience.
The type of content you create for a virtual world will vary depending on the technologies and scope of your plans. Use the following list as a starting point to create your content experiences.
- Event scripts. You may feature presentations, speeches, and talks in your virtual world. Taking the time to create an engaging script and visual aids will make your event more enticing.
- Worldbuilding content. To create an immersive experience, every facet of the world must be planned. Do you want to create a virtual town experience? Or scale down to a virtual booth at a conference?
- Narrative experiences. Take inspiration from the successful video games experiences that feature virtual worlds. Users have the experience to act out stories and interact with other characters. This storytelling approach is another way to use content in your company
- Gamification ideas. Gamification means using video game mechanics (e.g., experience points, in-game rewards, leaderboards, etc.) to drive engagement. Your virtual world may use these types of mechanisms to encourage people to spend time in the virtual world.
Customer insight
The other pillar of a thriving virtual world is customer insight. Without this insight, you might create an entertaining world that fails to speak to the needs of your audience. A customer data platform is a virtual resource to inform the creation of virtual world experiences. Assuming you have collected data for at least a few months, you will be able to validate your virtual world content ideas.
Here are some helpful questions to sort through which virtual event experience ideas are worth pursuing.
- What is your customer profile?
Ideally, you want to have quantitative (e.g. age, gender, location) and qualitative insights (e.g. what ideas and concepts get them excited).
- What questions do customers ask most often?
Check your; live chat platform and staff to see what questions come up most often. For example, you may notice that a large percentage of your customer base asks technical support questions. In that case, your virtual world experience should start with a high degree of technical support.
- What digital content has driven the highest engagement and conversions?
When possible, look for content linked to conversions (e.g., purchases or lead generation). If this information is not available, look for content that has driven the highest engagement in user time, likes, and similar metrics.
If you lack robust customer insights, get started today with the Arena customer data platform.
Using your customer data platform in the Metaverse
There are several ways to use your customer data platform to create and optimize virtual world experiences.
Plan and create a virtual world
A customer data platform can give you valuable insights about the kinds of content your users have enjoyed the most in the past. Based on this information, you can plan more successful metaverse experiences. For example, if your customers like virtual events that emphasize networking, then you can plan a virtual event with a focus on virtual events
Run a virtual world
A customer data platform can support running a virtual world. For example, you may use tracking links and discount codes to track purchases back to metaverse experiences. Tracking customer behavior is especially important when you offer large virtual worlds with many different experiences. Without tracking, you will not know which experiences and content resonate most with customers.
Optimize a virtual world experience
Once a customer leaves a metaverse experience, they will continue interacting with your brand. They might share feedback about what they liked and disliked in response to a survey or mention it during a live chat session. With a customer data platform, you can keep all of these forms of feedback organized.
Get Started The With Arena Customer Data Platform
Before investing time and effort in a virtual world, you need to understand your customers first. To keep your staff organized, install the Arena customer data platform. Once you have the application installed, you will have a single place to view customer activity. You can see the entire customer journey – website chat sessions, interactions with the sales team, and purchases – in one place. Get started today by learning more about the; Arena customer data platform.
