The metaverse is one of the hottest topics in marketing right now, but there are still worries about how privacy, an extremely critical value for users, will be handled in the emerging field.
Marketers face challenges due to a lack of technical background about augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), previously slow-to-move policy regulations, and user doubts.
If the metaverse ever gets to the point of public interest that industries aspire for, they will need to take extra steps to ensure privacy.
Regardless, or maybe because of, these obstacles, the metaverse has the potential to be a game-changer in terms of privacy-compliant online marketing.
Businesses can incorporate knowledge gained from earlier digital marketing initiatives to the development of their metaverse platforms, such as the value of permission or the requirement of listening to a customer community.
With third-party cookies set to be phased out, the space might be a fresh start based on more privacy-conscious monitoring alternatives.
However, history repeats itself, and Meta, previously Facebook, is vying for power in the metaverse, in the same manner, it did on social media.
The fruit of the metaverse could be spoilt for everyone if brands remain passive and the firm or other walled garden giants attract the same amount of user’s distrust as the existing web.
No problem if you don’t have any cookies
The inevitable deprecation of cookies presents a big possibility for the metaverse to become more privacy-conscious.
Considering that the technology is still years away from fulfillment, Google now expects to phase down the tracking mechanism by 2023, a date that will likely align with basic metaverse development.
Since cookies would not be an alternative, the metaverse might become a breeding ground for more secure tracking methods, such as contextual marketing.
Consumers must sign into that service by intentionally joining the metaverse for each session, which for companies check many of the regulatory boxes for a logged-in, direct user.
This technique is analogous to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, which represents a significant advance in privacy compliance over the old presumption that users always supplied authorization.
A fresh privacy concept is centered on the push-pull of consumers who desire personalization not via invasive ways. As the metaverse takes shape, marketers must design data strategies that are both transparent and easy to grasp for users.
Permission and community
Businesses have learned from the past online marketing initiatives that focus on the customer base community in their approach aid to create confidence on the platform.
On TikTok, for instance, marketers have had success with “community-based commerce,” which boosts participation through marketing that appears to be organic.
For a fashion show last spring, for instance, IMVU teamed a number of real-world designers with 3D makers on its platform, and the two collaborated to create clothing lines that could be purchased by IMVU members. Producers from the IMVU community were also enlisted to help advertise the event.
Businesses in the metaverse could gain from maintaining the records of what data they have on consumers, comparable to a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Perhaps when regulatory policy finally caught up to the industry, such a record might assist businesses to gain a head start. In the EU, for instance, a CRM platform has shown to be an effective approach to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which have become one of the most prominent mainstream entrances into metaverse spaces, show how permission management in the metaverse could be upgraded.
Blockchain technology enables more secure transactions in the digital realm, allowing businesses to conduct business in a more flexible and secure manner.
As the metaverse evolves, the same technology that enables secure NFT wallets might also be used to normalize data wallets, allowing users to fully agree to the pieces of data they want to sell for experiences, collections, or other assets.
Another thing businesses can learn from the metaverse is that fenced gardens are inconvenient for almost everyone connected.
While a few well-known corporations, such as Facebook and Google, profit from internet centralization, marketers confront challenges in learning about their customers, and customers will certainly engage with less effective adverts.
As a result, the metaverse may provide businesses with a chance to establish a more decentralized advertising ecosystem.
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