How Valuable Is the Metaverse Strategy?

The Metaverse topic is getting hotter and hotter, day by day. But Metaverse is just a tool (like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and other socials) and it needs to be used properly with strategy. 

We will focus this article based on our experience in two industries that we are working with, Commerce and Entertainment.

What is a Metaverse or THE Metaverse? - Understanding Metaverse.

When you ask the average person on the street “What is Metaverse?”, most of the answers will be similar to “This thing that Facebook is doing, right?”. And when their answer is not 100% wrong - because Facebook has changed their name to “Meta” and they introduced Metaverse called “Horizon Worlds” - Meta’s metaverse is not the most popular as of today (June 2022).

Although, there are a lot of Metaverses that are way more popular than Horizon Worlds. There is NOT and there probably will NOT be one Metaverse.

The definition of Metaverse, based on Oxford Languages, is “a virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users”. This is a completely accurate definition, maybe except of the fact that it has to be in VR. This is a space where communities, users, customers, and people, in general, can interact and be a part of something. 

In our opinion, Metaverses are what the internet was in 1994. Some people do not see the value of that for now but when the time comes, everyone will be using them.

But, when someone gives you only theoretical information, it doesn't quite work all the time. So to completely understand and experience it, you will have to join in one of the Metaverses.

Different Metaverses and their advantages.

Speaking of the Metaverses. Which one to choose? When you type in google “Metaverse”, you will find tons of different websites and articles.
Here you can find a couple of the most popular (based on how many users are there and how many big brands and famous people promote them) and you can find our favorite one.

Decentraland:
One of the first Metaverses out there. Based on blockchain Ethereum.

They have their own in-game currency called $MANA. Recently there was big Metaverse Fashion Week.

The Sandbox:
One of the Metaverses which is competing with Decentraland. Because of very similar style and usability. They also have their own in-game cryptocurrency called $SAND. A lot of people who heard about this Metaverse before, think about Snoop Dogg because he created a lot of events and promotions in this metaverse.

Roblox:

Probably everyone heard about this game Roblox. This is another Metaverse that is on the top. Mostly because they have their own mobile version and the fact that you can play millions of different games there - created by developers.

When you join all of those Metaverses you will notice that their style is very cartoony and looks like it has been created for younger users. If you want to develop or create anything there you will have to be really strict about what the community puts on you.

MONA:
One of the fastest-growing Metaverses that we saw. And one of our personal favorites to work with and create. They have a really big and open-minded community. The spaces that people create there are not dependent on one particular style. You can create and develop anything there. We’ve noticed that it is the fastest and the smoothest metaverse with the biggest opportunities.
They are always developing and it is really pleasant to work with. And their community is always helpful if there are any issues.
In our opinion, it is worth checking the spaces that the community of builders created there. 

What is Metaverse Strategy?

As with any type of marketing solution, which Metaverse or Web2 social media are, you can’t just jump in and think that everything is going to be alright, without a strategy on how to use those solutions.

The Metaverse strategy is different than the “social media strategy”. There has to be more than “just photos or videos on your profile”. The metaverse strategy is based on engaging people, gamified experiences, and giving more to the community which you’ve created (or you are creating) around your brand/person.

When you are creating Metaverse and you want to engage as many people as possible. Creating “just a space” is not enough. There has to be more. There has to be something that people who will come over to the space will engage with. They have to remember that they came to your space and got something back and this experience stayed in their minds.

Because the Metaverse strategy is new and only a small amount of companies have experience in this, there is a lot to explore and create. Just don’t focus yourself only on what is going on in the space.

And a very important note, when you will be creating a metaverse strategy you HAVE TO think long-term. You have to understand that this is not ONLY creating the space “and let’s call it a day”. There always will have to be maintenance, there always will have to be more to engage with and to experience.

The look of your Metaverse.

As we all know, every brand and every community has its own style, look, design, and visual feeling behind every part of its business. When you are creating a strategy for your brand or business it always comes with a thing called “brand identity” (logos, colors, copy etc.). The same situation is with Metaverses.

We told you before that every Metaverse around the World has its own unique style. And choosing which one will suit your target audience can be tricky - especially when it comes to very developed brands with a long history.

Our advice when it comes to the style of your Metaverse is to deeply discuss what type of customers you really want to reach out to. As you can see, for now, most of the Metaverses look “playfull and cartoony”, which doesn’t suit every brand.
But there are a few examples of Metaverses where you can literally create your own style of the space and you are not limited to one style - the best example for that is MONA.

How does it impact business?

Unfortunately, for now, it is not so easy to analyze the full value of Metaverses. But we know it is very high. A lot of brands, entertainment companies, or people want to know “how much will I gain from it?”, which is totally understandable. But we don’t have enough statistics yet (as of June 2022) to share.

The most important what we know, for now, is that the Metaverse Market is growing like crazy. Statista.com estimated that the value of this market by 2030 will be over $670 Billion.

The impact which can be assured, for now, is that the brand will be getting into the newest technologies out there and they will be way closer to their community, they will be early adaptors, and they will be able to create stuff that hasn’t been possible to create until now.  

Statistics about Metaverses.

As we already mentioned, the estimated value of Metaverses by 2030 will be $670 Billion. But there are a lot of statistics that surprise people about the current year (2022) and past years. Here you can find the most important ones which we found.

As of July 2022: According to Emegen Research, the market value of Metaverses is over $100 Billion and it is still growing! A very noticeable thing is that the demographics of the metaverses are relatively young because according to Statista.com the majority of users are under 20 years old (in our opinion, mostly because of games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite, which are very popular among this demographic). But after them, a significant amount of users are between 21-35 years old.

Who invested the most money?

According to the articles online and makeuseof.com, there are a few tech giants which invested a significant amount of money in Metaverses. For example, Microsoft invested around $70 billion, Meta invested $10 Billion, and Google did a very interesting thing because they invested $39.5 Million in a private equity fund. We, of course, can not forget about important technological companies without which the metaverses (mostly) couldn’t exist like Nvidia, Unity Software, and Roblox.
We’ve learned that Shopify is also investing in Metaverses’ commerce side, but mostly for AR commerce.

But to give you an overall view about it, you can see how the market is growing. In 2021 the market value of Metaverses was over $63 Billion. (source statista.com), and in 2020 the market value was over $46 Billion (source: earthweb.com)

Examples of brands or entertainments that already used the Metaverse strategy.

Here you can find the major things that happened in Metaverses, which in our opinion are worth following:

Adidas: https://www.adidas.com/into_the_metaverse

LVMH - Fashion Week in Decentraland: https://decentraland.org/blog/announcements/metaverse-fashion-week-is-here/

Atari Casino in Decentraland:
https://www.psfk.com/2022/03/atari-casino-decentraland.html#:~:text=Video%20game%20company%20Atari%20is,Asteroids%2C%20Space%20Invaders%2C%20Ms.

Gucci: https://medium.com/coinmonks/gucci-enters-the-metaverse-with-the-sandbox-dc7056f447cc

Metaverse concerts of famous artists like Travis Scott and Marshmellow or Justin Bieber:

https://youtu.be/p6fr0UFhLjA

There are many many more brands in the Metaverses.
For example, when you go to TheSanbox Metaverse’s Map you can see that there are tons of logos of different brands which already have tried the Metaverse strategy.

What technologies can be connected with Metaverses?

As we told you before, the Metaverse is not only about the space or only about you. It is about your customers, the community and how they engage with you, and what experience you are giving them.

There are tons of technologies that even small businesses are using on their websites or in their brand strategies to create a better experience for their customers.

You can connect the metaverse to multiple technologies, from creating super custom physical products which will be connected to the metaverse to even small AR experiences that you can create by combining the metaverse and your Instagram/Snapchat profile.
Possibilities are endless. You can use the technologies like AR, XR or gamification in your metaverses. Whatever will be fun, accessible, and remembered by your community and audience. And you can do everything surrounded by your brand!

How can you implement it in your company or for your own clients?

If you have enough time and financial resources you can start right away!
Finding agencies or people who are taking care of stuff like that on the internet is not a problem. There are a few agencies out there that have experience in this field and already have their own tips and tricks.

In MPMTeam we are already working on a couple of Metaverse strategy projects. We are already helping brands get into this space and gain as much value as possible.

BUT! Hiring an agency is not the only option. If you want to learn 3D animations, 3D environment creation, marketing strategy thinking in metaverse, and complex coding, you can find a lot of tutorials online. Or hire people internally!

Thank you for taking your time in reading our article. We hope we helped you a little bit in understanding the Metaverse Strategy.

If you ever need any help with this type of strategy, we are always here to help and advise!

Why animation is essential for your product marketing?

If you are reading this article, you probably have some type of product or SaaS product that you want to sell or present to the World. And probably you saw that your competition or companies that you admire already have an animation of their stuff. Probably you are asking yourself questions like: Why is it crucial to have this animation? How does it help? And is it really worth it to spend my precious money on it? In this article, we will help you to understand the advantages of having “moving content” for your product.

Why animations are better than photos or “still content”?

According to the statistics, you can learn that animated or in general moving content is over 60% more effective than just photos. And there are a lot of reasons why.

First of all, 65% of people are visual learners. And when we see an animated video we will understand more about the subject and we will remember more than for example when we see photos with a lot of text.

Through animated content, you can present more information to them and after watching your content 64% of people will take an action. Ask yourself, when was the last time you watched an animated ad on Tiktok, Facebook, or Instagram and you clicked it? You can notice that when the animated content was well prepared for you (as a target), you felt like you should take an action.

When you are watching an animation you use two of the most important senses: sight and hearing. When both of them are well activated we remember way more information. Also, an additional part of those senses are emotions that you can feel. With animations, you can create emotions that will be activated almost instantly.  And that’s what your potential customers should feel when they are experiencing your brand.

Keeping viewers' attention. If you are working with a good quality agency that takes care of animation for you. They will make sure that the viewers’ attention is as long as possible, and when you get into statistics you will see that the viewers were really interested in it. Keep it in mind when you are choosing an agency because creating beautiful stuff is one thing but more important is when the viewers will engage with your content.

How animated content differentiates you from other brands?

Every brand, every influencer, and everyone wants to differentiate themselves from the crowd. The World is a big place, especially the internet. Everyone is fighting to get as many viewers, customers, or leads. As we mentioned before, the animated content will keep your viewers’ attention and is way more eye-catching than still content.

If you have a stable brand identity (BI) and you know exactly what type of marketing materials you need to put on your socials or TV, the animation will just be a cherry on top of it. Because creating animations, their styles, and story shouldn’t be hard for you. But how does it differentiate you from the other brands? Animation in general should be created in your own style, and you should rarely change it. The moving content will keep your brand sealed in together!

When you think, for example, about Apple, what visual do you see in front of your eyes? Probably, a very modern, clean, sophisticated style of moving animations or videos, but with some additional colors and playfulness which differentiate Apple from other “tech brands”. Marketing people who work at or for Apple know exactly how to use those guidelines, keep the style but still keep them fresh and new.

Different example.

Coca-Cola : Most people when they think about them see the red logo or the color red in general and some sparkles. Weird right? No. Their approach to moving content is to make you feel comfortable, in a way that you want to grab their product and enjoy it. (don’t you feel that those sparkles that we just mentioned remind you about holidays, new years eve or any other celebration?)

Creating good animated content differentiate you in a way that your customers and leads will always remember about you and they will have some feelings accustomed to you!

Different types of animations and their purpose.

When you understand how animations are impactful for your brand, now you have to understand what type of animation will help your brand the best. If you are working (or will be working) with an agency and you will be creating the “creative brief” most likely agency will provide you options on which one to choose and which one would be more suitable and profitable for your brand. But if you want to hire freelancers on your own, you need to understand what type of animation would be the best.

Explainer videos:

Those types of animations are the best when you are launching a new product and you need new potential customers to assimilate with your brand. According to our experience, they work very well on TV, or YouTube Ads, or websites. Thanks to those types of animations you can present your product in the best way and you can show how easy to use it is.

“Reminder animations”:

 We call them reminder animations for a reason. Those are types of animations that are quick, short, and effective in a way that your actual or past customers would watch to remind themselves about you. They are mostly super clever and work as a perfect outbound advertisement.

3D or 2D animations:

Everything depends on what type of product you have.
Most small businesses these days are still using 2D animations. And they are still really good. You can create whiteboard animation or typography animation (kinetic typography animation), they are relatively cheap to make now and there are a lot of inexpensive tools which can help you create one on your own.

If you have bigger budgets and you want your brand to really stand out, you would need 3D animations. Creating 3D animation takes much more time than creating 2D animations but the final results are outstanding! We always recommend creating 3D animations for brands that want to grow faster and want to show in their advertisements their worth.
You can create an amazing story with 3D product animations and they are statistically way more eye-catching than the 2D animations.

Animated Pitch:

We create these types of animations for start-ups that want to grow and show their potential investors how amazing is their product. According to our experience, when you have a product that you want to present to investors and you want to gain some capital, it is way more effective when you show them a video that explains it from top to bottom. Because you can show the reality of the product.

When we talk about animations like that we always say to our clients “Show. Don’t tell” - very common quote in the filmmaking industry.

Why is the style of animation important in product marketing?

We talked about differentiation and the different types of animation.
It is time to understand the styles and their impacts or feelings behind them.
Here you can find a couple of examples.

Let’s say that your brand is boutique and luxurious. The style of your animation has to be clean. And by “clean” we don’t mean that there has to be only your product on white background. The style of your animations has to be prepared in a way that your potential customers will feel like they just entered a spotless place. And luxurious doesn't always mean that there has to be a lot of gold.
This style is going to make your potential customers feel like they will have a white glove service and they will be a priority for you.

Bright, colorful, and playful animations. Those types of animations are for “cool brands”. Brands that want to grow with their customers. Brands that understand current trends and are a little bit “flashy”. If you want to make your potential customers feel like you are for everyone and you help them improve something in their life, this style of animation would be perfect for you! They will remember how fun you are and they will want to share it with everyone else.

If you are a tech brand or very modern brand, very often you will need to go with a mysterious and dark, and sophisticated style. For example, when Samsung is advertising their products you will notice connections among their animations. Most likely, you will see that the products that they advertise/animate are in space, or any other abstract (dark and mysterious) place.
This style of animation will make your customers feel like they have to be more curious about you, your technology, and your products. And if well made, this will not turn them off.

The style of your animation has to be created based on your customer target. As almost everything that we’ve mentioned in this article. Your brand and your products define what style should have been used. There should be a lot of deep creative conversations before you start thinking about creating animation - remember about this!

Where to show them and how?

Alright. Now you have an amazing animation. And that is not the end!
If you created it properly and you made it special for your target clients, now you have to promote it. Because “having the best running shoes doesn’t make you the best runner”. If you were working with a good animation agency or marketing agency, they should be already taking care of it.

But if you are taking care of stuff like that on your own, you need to promote it.
You need to know which media you should choose to promote it.
Is it YouTube? Is it TV? Is it LinkedIn? Is it TikTok?
If you understand your target already, you will know exactly where to post this video and how. And we really hope you know!

For example, when you are working on add for TV or as an Advertisement before the movie, you can give yourself more time and those animations can be slower. No matter what, people will watch them because they are waiting to watch something that they’ve been wanting to see. And your video has to be prepared in a way that they don’t feel interrupted but they will want to buy your product and they will remember it, even after a 2 hours long movie.

Social Media, like LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, and others are a completely different story. When you are preparing 2D or 3D animation of your product/SaaS you have to remember about 4 seconds rule. If potential customers or leads won’t be interested after 4 seconds of watching, they will most likely not care about you. We know how harsh it sounds, but this is the reality that most marketing/animation agencies are facing daily. There is a very famous quote “good movie/ad has to start with an explosion”.


If your animations are prepared in a good way, now you are good to go and you can promote them! We hope that this article was helpful for you!
This topic is really broad and as always it depends on your situation, your products and what you are trying to promote. If you need any help, we are always here to help you!
At MPMTeam, we’ve done a lot of different projects like that and we’ve been working with tons of different clients, so for sure we will know how to help you create your dream animation.