Metaverse Content 101: Types, Examples and Creators

What Is Metaverse Content?

Metaverse content is any piece of an immersive experience created for this emerging virtual world. Creators use virtual reality and other new technology. Creators can also repurpose traditional content types for the metaverse.

Nobody fully knows what types of content will populate these virtual worlds in the coming years. Like the metaverse itself, Metaverse content currently has multiple definitions and is constantly evolving as metaverse technology evolves. Fortunately, content creators and marketers do not need to be experts on the evolving metaverse to take advantage of this new content medium.

For content creation, we can focus on metaverse concepts that most experts agree will feature prominently in our virtual future. Think of the metaverse as a network of virtual worlds housed on the internet with functioning economies. Fledgling versions already exist, such as the Sandbox and Roblox.

In the metaverse, users will have virtual lives that contain elements that parallel their physical realities. We will be able to do anything on the metaverse – go to work, go to a show, hang out, and go shopping. Meaningful, defining experiences will happen in the metaverse, like finding love, forming friendships and learning new skills. Experts call the metaverse “Web 3.0” to signal that it will be the next iteration of the internet. Creators will build these worlds with new technologies like virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality.

That’s how Joe Pulizzi sees it. He’s the founder of The Tilt website and email newsletter.

How you think about metaverse content “depends on how you define metaverse,” he says. “If the metaverse is a place online where users can come together and create community and purchase goods from one another, content could be as simple as a chatting platform to as advanced as a plot of land in the Sandbox where someone builds a Meta Quest to facilitate interaction. For example, Roblox and Fortnite may already be ‘inside’ the metaverse with their communities. Here, users interact with a game (the content) and then buy and sell from each other AND the creator. So, the content is the experience that drives the buy-and-sell interaction.”

In the metaverse, the content medium and the content itself blur together. An entirely digital world means that everything, from the virtual couch your avatar sits on to the interactive virtual world you exist in, will be a type of content. For content creators and marketers, the metaverse represents a unique opportunity to reach and engage people.

These new opportunities are disrupting the current content creation process. The metaverse will undoubtedly change the types of content we interact with and rebuild the systems we use to monetize and market content.

Key Takeaways:

• Content forms the metaverse user experience.
• Metaverse content types will range from traditional media repurposed for virtual use to new immersive and interactive experiences.
• New technologies will emerge to integrate sensations and feelings of presence into virtual reality.
• Metaverse content will coexist with a new creator economy that supports decentralized, user-generated content creation.
• Successful businesses will craft a strategic content marketing plan before entering the metaverse.
• The easiest way to start making metaverse content is to partner with a company specializing in 3D visualization and virtual reality.

Transition from Web 2.0 Content to Web 3.0 Content

As the internet transitions from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, new content will take the form of immersive experiences that link the digital environment with physical sensations. Web 3.0 content will integrate with the entire metaverse environment in the coming years.

This will be quite an advancement from Web 1.0, the first iteration of the internet that enabled users to find information. The advent of the search engine meant that consumers could quickly get answers to virtually any question. Consumer demand prompted an intense wave of content creation focused on transmitting information. Blogs, documents and articles proliferated across the internet.

In Web 2.0, social media shifted content creation strategy. Now, anyone with a smartphone can create and share content instantly. Instead of creating content to provide information, content creators in Web 2.0 anticipated the desires of consumers with high-end analytics. Marketers and engineers built Web 2.0 as a centralized system, meaning that content platforms absorb ownership of the creator’s content and the audience’s data. In short, the platforms profit from the creators.

Now, we are at the earliest stages of Web 3.0, the next iteration of the internet. Web 3.0, which many experts use synonymously with the metaverse, promises to introduce novel types of content alongside a decentralized content culture.

Joe Pulizzi of The Tilt describes the move to Web 3.0 as “decentralized and community-driven.”

“Cryptocurrency and NFTs are all driven by the creator developing scarcity of product,” he says. “And – this is the best part – for the first time, enabling the community participants to actually own something and benefit financially from the process.”

Metaverse experts widely consider content creators to be the foundation of the metaverse. Companies will provide the technology and tools to help us get there, but the individual creators will build the metaverse.

“Content is the backbone of the Internet, whether it’s text, images, video, or audio,” says, a brand builder, futurist and keynote speaker. “Content creation has been disintermediated (with intermediaries removed) so that today we have a thriving creator economy. Social networks, YouTube, podcasts have all built stars or influencers whose job is to produce content and monetize it.”

For Baron, content creation in the metaverse is full of opportunities. “Metaverses will allow creators to be even more creative because they will be able to use new tools and expand their reach. Whether they use VR, MR (mixed reality) or AR, they will be able to add dimensionality and immersive elements to their content so that the user can actually feel like they are in a situation instead of having it described.”

Content in Between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0

Content creation in between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 (the metaverse) uses new technology to bring 3D visualizations to Web 2.0 platforms. This interactive content deepens consumer engagement and has elements of authentic campaigns important in metaverse marketing.

The internet has advanced beyond Web 2.0 but has not arrived yet at Web 3.0. Today’s most novel and exciting content creation sits somewhere in between, limited by Web 2.0 technology but powered by creative ideas enabled by Web 3.0.

Three examples of content bringing elements of Web 3.0 to Web 2.0 include 3D visualizations, integrating virtual worlds in physical stores, and creating non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

1. 3D Visualizations and augmented reality: AR technology allows a creator to place a digital item in a real-world scene. One famous example of a successful AR trial is Pokémon Go, where users try to hunt Pokémon using an app that makes Pokémon appear in live-view scenes of the user’s surroundings. Fans loved the novel AR feature, and the game was an instant success. In 2021 alone, the game reached a staggering 1 billion downloads and earned $904 million in revenue, generated entirely from in-app purchases.State Farm took a similar approach, creating a virtual treasure hunt in which mobile users tried to find more than 500,000 virtual footballs on their smartphones. Players had the chance to win prizes like non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gift cards, and apparel. By using new technology, State Farm communicated its dedication to innovation and customer enjoyment. Top retail brands are using AR technology to give their customers more options. For example, furniture retailers use AR and 3D to develop apps where users can place 3D renderings of popular furniture items in their homes. Users simply point their phones, and realistically rendered, scalable 3D products appear that a user can drag and drop to different areas of a room. Users can also make purchases of the actual products straight through the apps.
   

   3D Cloud’s Makerless Augmented Reality

2. Virtual reality in physical locations: Some major brands have added digital and virtual reality layers to the physical shopping experience. For example, Nike has brought the metaverse to their New York City flagship store. Shoppers can activate a “Nikeland” portal within the sales floor by using their phones and body scanning cameras to play Roblox games.Macy’s also has brought virtual reality into their stores to enhance customer experience. The investment has paid off: VR-influenced sales increased the overall basket size by more than 60 percent compared with non-VR sales.
   

   A customer testing Macy’s virtual reality shopping experience

3. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs): NFTs have gained traction as an easy way to enter the metaverse. An  secured on the blockchain. The term “non-fungible” means that the digital item is one of a kind, unlike “fungible” items, which you can interchange with another thing of its kind (like a dollar or any cryptocurrency token). You can mint any digital item as an NFT, including digital art, writing, and music.

Ubiquitous Content in the Metaverse

Ubiquitous content generally means the metaverse’s common elements. For example, future creators will weave the feeling of presence throughout the interconnected virtual worlds. As you sit on virtual furniture, you will feel like you’re sitting. The concept of ubiquitous content will continue to evolve as technology evolves.

The idea of ubiquitous content arises from an essential feature of the metaverse: the ability to create cross-platform content that travels between virtual worlds.

• Cross-platform content: The concept of interoperability will drive metaverse content creation. Interoperability means that users will be able to transport across platforms to others. Plus, content created in one virtual world will work perfectly well in another. So, a user could seamlessly transport from a social media site straight into a game or vice versa. For content creators, this means that assets and content will be portable.Interoperability doesn’t exist yet on the emerging metaverse, with today’s top platforms still functioning as closed systems. Still, content creators should be ready for this future super-platform that convenes all aspects of our daily lives into one. Interoperability will open the door for creating cross-platform content from diverse media types.
  • Blending content types to create new experiences: The content medium is now the message in the metaverse. The next era of content creators won’t just produce two-dimensional content to be passively consumed. Instead, they’ll create the means through which users interact with the content.For example, a writer could integrate their posts as a part of a virtual library that users can explore. Visitors could pick up – and even feel – the bindings of books that have the most popular blog posts in them. So, the content comes from the blog and the sensations of being physically present in a virtual library. We will see new tools of content available for creators to harness the potential of the metaverse: how far we wade into immersive content will depend on the tools that creators have at their disposal.

The History of Content Creation on the Internet

Types of Metaverse Content

The types of metaverse content start with virtual experiences, such as virtual destinations, events and games. Other content types include virtual beings, such as avatars and virtual products. In addition, we have metaverse NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, including art and collectibles. New content types will arise with new technology.

Current metaverse content types tend to blend to support one another. For example, Sotheby’s and Christie’s opened a virtual gallery (a type of virtual destination) housed on the virtual world Decentraland. Here, avatars (a type of virtual being) can browse virtual goods in the form of NFT-minted art.

As Baron says, “Metaverse content will be everything from live concerts to conferences to product launches — whatever we have in the physical world will be replicated in the metaverse as the blend of physical and virtual continues to take place.”

She continues, “Brands will have many opportunities to reach their customers and build true engagement. Whereas social media opened the door to two-way conversations, the metaverse allows for even more engagement through immersive experiences. Whether it’s being able to try on clothes before purchase or get the feeling of a distant country before booking a trip, the opportunities for creating richer experiences will be limitless, especially as the technology continues to improve.”

Here are examples of emerging metaverse content types.

Metaverse Content Type: Virtual Experiences

Virtual experiences are one of the core metaverse content types. We can split virtual experiences into virtual destinations, virtual events and games.

• Virtual destinations: Virtual destinations refer to digital places created by users that others can visit. Virtual destinations parallel the places we see in real life, like offices, restaurants, and shows.
  • Virtual worlds: The metaverse spreads across many distinct virtual worlds. Today, virtual worlds are major metaverse platforms like Decentraland, Upland, The Sandbox, and Fortnite. In the future, idealized version of the metaverse, these worlds will be interoperable and integrated, meaning a user can instantly travel from one to the other. But, in today’s metaverse, these worlds remain separate.
    

    Dancing in Decentraland’s Genesis Plaza

  • Virtual bars, showrooms, and more: Each virtual world will house its own set of unique destinations and places. For example, Miller Lite opened its “MetaLite” bar where users can hang out and relax. Plus, individual users can open similar locations if they own land on the metaverse.Some virtual destinations cater to specific audiences. For example, Vans has its metaverse skatepark, where users can practice tricks, and Forever 21 has created metaverse stores where users can play the role of managers. Other brands like Nike and celebrities like Snoop Dogg (who has made “Snoopverse” on The Sandbox platform) have also created their own worlds for users to explore.Brands hoping to sell digital and physical products use virtual showrooms to let potential customers try out their latest creations. For example, furniture giant Macy’s has unveiled a virtual reality showroom.
  • Virtual real estate: Our virtual avatars will need a place to live. Most virtual worlds offer “virtual land” for sale. For example, Sandbox recorded 65,000 transactions in virtual land in 2021 that totaled a staggering $350 million. The average transaction rate exceeds more than $18,000.Users who purchase land can populate it with games, assets, and other types of user-generated content. Typically, users mint their content with NFTs and sell them on various marketplaces within the virtual worlds. As in real life, you can rent your land to others, host events, or build a house decorated with virtual furniture and art.
  • Virtual offices and schools: The future of work is digital. Virtual offices where users feel present with their colleagues will replace Zoom calls. Companies like Microsoft and Meta are beginning to offer new ways to communicate with coworkers. Virtual schools, particularly for higher education applications, will also appear on the metaverse.
• Virtual events: Virtual events represent another type of content unique to the metaverse. One key aspect of virtual events is that they garner access to a global reach that traditional events cannot match. Importantly, live streaming is not considered a virtual performance but rather a digital stream of a physical performance. Virtual events in the metaverse will be entirely and truly virtual.
  • Massive Interaction Live Events (MILEs): MILEs represent one of the most transformative and unique content types in the metaverse. In MILEs, content creators engage users in a persistent experience in which the fans determine the outcome. You can think of MILEs as half game, half show. For example, the company GENVID created a 12-week interactive media experience called Rival Peak, distributed on Facebook. Rival Peak takes place on a virtual island where AI (artificial intelligence) contestants duked it out in a Survivor-type competition. The audience could help influence the outcome by completing tasks to support their favorite characters. Rival Peak garnered more than 100 million minutes viewed from over 70 countries – a reach comparable with, if not better than, the most popular shows.
    

    GENVID’s Rival Peak Had More Viewers Than Most Popular TV Shows

    Virtual shows and programming: Virtual events offer unprecedented levels of user engagement. For example, Travis Scott’s highly acclaimed Fortnite concert attracted 30 million unique participants for an immersive, 10-minute show. Scott, stylized in a Fortnite avatar, played in a dedicated event space within Fortnite.  In comparison, the largest stadiums can seat around 130,000 people. Scott used the concert to premiere his new track, which had tangible benefits for him outside of the metaverse: After the show, the track debuted at #1 on Billboard a week later and was the biggest debut of 2020. Scott made the concert free to attend, which attracted millions of people willing to spend money in other ways: The star netted $20 million alone in merchandise.

• Metaverse games: Experts widely consider the gaming industry to be the first group to enter and create metaverse-like platforms. These pioneers include Fortnite by Epic Games, Decentraland, and The Sandbox.These platforms have transitioned gaming away from independent experiences and toward creating a social community. Many of these platforms have adopted a new, popular model called “play to earn,” where users can play for free and make in-game purchases. For example, Fortnite’s free access has allowed the platform to amass a huge audience of up to 125 million. Anyone can continue to play for free, but most opt to purchase items to enhance their experience, like costumes for avatars and accessories that helps users in quests.In 2019, Fortnite made $1.8 billion in 2019 entirely through these types of microtransactions. Metaverse gaming platforms also allow their users to be architects of their own game. For example, in Decentraland and Sandbox, users can create their own “quests” on plots of virtual land they purchase. In this sense, the content can be both the actual quest and, for the user creating it, the experience of using Decentraland’s tool as a form of self-expression. Gaming platforms also facilitate social interactions and connections. Though Fortnite started as a game, now it is one of the most prominent platforms through which performers like Travis Scott choose to host virtual events.
  

  The Sandbox, a prominent metaverse gaming platform

Metaverse Content Type: Virtual Beings in the Form of Avatars

Avatars are virtual representations of people or figures that populate the metaverse. Avatars will have their own possessions, habits and preferences. Some metaverse experts view avatars as a unique form of self-expression that individuals can use to help reinvent their image.

Avatars represent a huge market for future innovation and development because they will be universally adopted by anyone who wants to join the metaverse. Here are two emerging markets for virtual beings:

• Retail clothing and accessories: Users can change their avatar’s physical attributes (hair, eyes, build, etc.), clothing, and accessories like watches, tools, or jewelry. For example, Roblox offers a person-to-person marketplace for avatars and accessories.Also, individual content developers can create and sell their unique avatar ideas. Users can mint their avatars as NFTs to make selling and ownership easy.
  

  Roblox Has an Avatar Creator Catalog

   

• Digital influencers and spokespeople: The metaverse will enable user-to-user interaction with fans and influencers. For example, a travel influencer can take users to virtual lands rather than posting static pictures of destinations on social media. Digital influencers still do not figure prominently in the metaverse, but some companies like Post For Rent, which has “built” a digital influencer HQ in Decentral, are betting they will.Digital figures in the metaverse can also include fictitious avatar brand figures. For example, last fall, the luxury brand Prada debuted a virtual influencer named Candy to promote a fragrance collection. Prada isn’t alone – analysts expect brands to spend as much as $15 billion annually on influencer marketing by the end of 2022.Additionally, brands can capitalize on the fandom and recognition of recognized mascots and spokespeople by bringing these figures to life in the metaverse. For example, fans can interact with insurance company State Farm’s brand ambassador “Jake From State Farm” in the video game NBA 2K22. The game has a social hub, The City, where they can interact with Jake, explore the State Farm store and unlock his signature uniform for their avatar.

Metaverse Content Type: Virtual Products

A virtual product is any digital item for sale in the metaverse. Examples include collectibles, virtual furniture, and avatar clothing.

Metaverse ecommerce represents one of the easiest ways for a brand to engage in the metaverse. Retail in the metaverse will pivot around  strategies, focusing on creating authentic campaigns to build consumer loyalty and trust.

Beck Besecker, CEO of 3D Cloud, stresses that virtual products and retailing will play a huge role in the furniture space. “3D visualizations of furniture can play two purposes,” Besecker says. “They can be a digital-only assets made for use in a virtual space, like a house, or 3D renderings used in hybrid applications. We can integrate these apps with stores, so users can instantly purchase the piece that looks best. In any case, virtual products, virtual reality and 3D visualizations will satisfy the customers of today and tomorrow.”

Metaverse Content Type: NFTs

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, represent a key piece of the metaverse economy. NFTs are digital items secured through blockchain technology. Anyone can mint existing or new content as an NFT and offer an exclusive amount of tokens or copies of the NFT.

In many cases, an NFT is less about the art or product and more about investing in the creator, akin to purchasing stock from a valued company or making a supporter donation.

NFTs come in several forms:

• Art: Digital artists mint their creations as NFTs for sale in virtual auctions and showrooms. For example, top projects from creator CryptoPunk sold for $11.8 million dollars at Sotheby’s. In 2021, Christie’s made a record-breaking sale of a $69 million NFT by the artist Beeple. Average users can expect to make much less, with sales of $100 or less.
  built.ee (loop) from beeple on Vimeo.
• Metaverse collectibles: Like art, rare metaverse collectibles can rake in huge cash for the top creators. For example, a digital-only, collectible Gucci handbag sold for $4,115 on Roblox. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet sold for $2.9 million after Dorsey converted it to an NFT.
• NFTs for membership: Content creators have begun to offer NFTs to fans to support their work. For example, prominent podcast host Gary Vaynerchuck launched an NFT line called “VeeFriends.” Because Gary doesn’t use ads, the NFTs are a way for his fans to show their support. Each digital card sells for $2,000.
• Metaverse audio: Audio represents a vast, largely untapped form of metaverse content. However, some artists have recently ventured into this space. For example, famous rapper Snoop Dogg debuted his first NFT collection, including an original track for over $100,000. Podcast host Dexter Guff announced the first NFT podcast in 2021. However, the NFT marketplace for podcasts has so far underperformed.

New Metaverse Content That Doesn’t Exist Yet

Consider the metaverse of the future. Imagine immersive, sensory content powered by artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality and more.

• AI-powered content: When artificial intelligence (AI) virtual (VR) and augmented (AR) reality and internet processing power (like 5G networks) improve, we will unlock new types of content. We will begin to see content that creates hyper-realistic spaces that pair it with a distinct sense of presence that is unimaginable to most of us today. Plus, tactile and physical sensations like heat, cold, touch and smell will be integrated into the experience. Imagine donning a pair of haptic gloves and virtual glasses to practice guitar while you have an injured finger. Or hop on a treadmill integrated with a virtual track, beach, or trail and feel the virtual wind whipping around you.AI technology will also improve accessibility in the metaverse. For example, automatic translation tools will be hyper-fast and accurate, and the visually impaired will have access to image recognition systems.
• User-friendly content creation tools: Today, creating highly immersive metaverse content requires advanced coding knowledge. But brands like Adobe have announced their investment in designing tools like “Behavior Builder,” which will allow creators with no coding background to create interactive assets.
• Virtual communities: Another milestone in the metaverse will be making the entire space interoperable, meaning that users can move freely between virtual worlds. This vision prompted Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Meta (formerly Facebook), to rebrand his company and invest billions into developing virtual community spaces, like their announced Horizon Worlds.
  
  Pulizzi predicts what might happen next. “Right now, brands create digital wearables inside metaverse environments,” he says. “After that, I believe brands can also create true environments where people can “live” inside the metaverse, like a Jack Daniels community or something for Corvette owners and lovers. The key will be that the participant will have to purchase something (a real or digital good) to gain access to that community. ”Large businesses will likely be the primary builders of these communities. Still, the decentralized nature of the metaverse means that no one authority will be in charge, creating a rich tapestry of cross-platform and cross-brand content. Pulizzi notes that although the platforms are closed now, they will soon merge. “If you look at what is happening inside Roblox and Fortnite, users are creating metaverse content inside those walled gardens. There is a mini-economy already there. In the future, those platforms will be able to link up with other ones. I can create or buy a good in Fortnite and take it with me inside The Sandbox or League of Legends. It’s just a matter of time.”

How Do You Create Metaverse Content?

You can create metaverse content by using the latest tools to fuel your imagination. You’ll find apps that enable you to build 3D visualizations, AI bots, games, virtual reality and more. You also can create metaverse content by minting older content with NFTs.

Metaverse Content Creation Tools

Metaverse content creators have a growing toolset at their disposal. You might try the tools offered by 3D Cloud or build games with platforms like Second Life or Roblox. It all depends on where your creativity leads you.

Here’s a rundown of metaverse content creation tools:

• 3D Visualizations: Almost everything in the metaverse will be built with 3D visualizations. Thus, it’s no surprise that many brands offer tools to create and scale 3D visualizations. Companies like 3D Cloud, Adobe, and Unreal Engine have accessible tools and 3D-creation platforms for individuals and businesses.
• AI-driven simulations: Many virtual worlds and simulations use AI bots and AI voice technologies for social and educational interactions. Platforms like NVIDIA’s omniverse offer some basic tools for users to test and create basic AI applications. AI Natural Language Processing (NLP) models allow writers to use AI as creative muses. For example, writers can prime the AI bot with some text, and the AI will suggest better, more innovative solutions. One popular NLP program is NVIDIA’s GauGAN2.
• Games: Almost all of today’s modern platforms like Second Life and Roblox offer game-building “toolboxes” so users can create quests and adventures.
• Virtual reality (VR): Creating VR content requires a VR authoring tool to combine visual elements with programmed scripts that tell the VR headset what to do when people move and interact in their environment. 3D Cloud, Unity and Unreal engine are among the world’s leading VR tools. Because VR is a relatively new technology, even the most professional developers rely on these tools to create unique content. Some examples of popular VR content include 360-degree panoramas of virtual spaces, like stores.
• Augmented reality (AR): AR “augments,” or enhances, your surroundings by adding digital elements to a live view. Many brands use AR to create apps for their businesses. For example, AR apps allow users to visualize how furniture, clothing, or other items might look. The same companies in the VR space offer AR creation tools, like 3D Cloud’s Makerless, Augmented Reality App.
• Converting Web 2.0 content to Web 3.0: NFTs are the quickest way to convert your old content into metaverse-ready successes. However, you can also use some of the tools described above to repurpose old paintings, photographs, or writing.

Metaverse Content Creators

Some metaverse platforms have already established themselves as top content creators. These companies create content like virtual items, interactive experiences, and augmented reality worlds. Plus, they enable users to make and share their content.

As the metaverse gains popularity and more content creation tools become accessible, we will certainly see more individual creators rise. For now, the major content creators of the metaverse are brands, big-name artists, and a few newcomers.

Here’s a list of five of the top metaverse content creators that encompass a variety of metaverse content types:

• Unreal Engine: Unreal Engine, owned by Epic Games, provides users with applications they can use to build realistic virtual and augmented reality content, along with games and apps. The company has a MetaHuman Creator that can craft highly realistic humans for use in motion pictures or games. You can browse through a rich collection of user content that community members have online.
  
• Decentraland: Decentraland is a virtual reality platform that enables users to create and monetize content and applications. Most users on Decentraland buy virtual pieces of land where they can build houses, apps, or any other type of content.
  

  Decentraland Real Estate

• Dapper Labs: Dapper Labs collaborates with brands to develop highly coveted digital collectibles. For example, it collaborated with the NBA to release NBA Top Shots, a series of digital collectibles that showcases basketball highlight videos. Dapper Labs also runs Genies, a popular avatar creator with an NFT market that allows users to buy and sell avatar clothing and accessories.
  

  Dapper Lab’s Topshot NBA collectibles

• NVIDIA: Computer chip producer NVIDIA has launched Omniverse Platforms, a collection of virtual reality worlds. The platforms provide simulation and collaboration tools for developers, engineers, and designers to create accurate replications of real-life structures for games and simulations.
• Fabricant: Fabricant is a digital-only fashion house that creates fashion pieces for use and trade in virtual reality platforms. Fabricant made headlines when their Digi-couture dress sold for $9,500 in 2019.
  

  Fabricant’s Digi-couture dress

• NFT artists: Many artists have debuted on the metaverse through NFTs. Projects like the Bored Ape Yacht Club, CryptoPunks and Doodles offer coveted collective NFT collections that net millions in profits. Along with these bigger names, the Monet of the metaverse might be among the individual artists creating and posting NFTs on popular peer-to-peer marketplaces. Mike Winkelmann, AKA Beeple, made headlines when he sold an NFT for $69.3 million.
  

  The Bored Ape Yachtclub #320 Currently Valued at 121.01 Weth or $343,526.82 USD

The New Creator Economy

The new creator economy refers to an immense online economy where individuals create content that other users pay for. The metaverse props up the creator economy by providing new ways to monetize, share, and own content.

Our collective valuation of content is nothing new – the internet is full of thousands of bloggers, photographers and performers acting independently and trading their talent for money. However, the creator economy is a relatively new concept arising from the COVID pandemic. Forced indoors, many began creating content to stave off boredom, resulting in a release of creativity that others were eager to experience.

This burst of creation has spawned a robust online economy that allows individuals to earn from their self-expression. This isn’t some side gig for many but a full-time, lucrative job. More than 50 million people consider themselves content creators, and the market has grown to $104 million, with 41% of creators making $69,000 or more annually. Web 3.0 will strengthen the creator economy by providing three new tools: decentralization, NFTs and DAOs. Here’s a look at each:

• Decentralization of talent: One of the fundamental principles of the metaverse is decentralization. Today, platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and WordPress hold some rights over your content and your audience’s data. However, creators won’t have to share their proceeds or intellectual property (IP) rights with centralized platforms in the metaverse.
• Direct monetization and direct audience access: Baron says, “The new creator economy will open up opportunities for creators to use their imagination in new ways. The decentralized nature of Web 3.0, as supported by the blockchain and DAOs, will allow for direct monetization. Whether its payment by cryptocurrencies or access to communities using NFTs, creators will jump on board to both imagine and build new experiences because they will have direct access to their audiences.”
• Scarcity of products through NFTs: The avenues for monetization in the metaverse mimic those of Web 2.0. Users can pay to subscribe to content, pay for content, or reward their favorite creator with donations. But, in Web 3.0, NFTs empower creators to produce a scarcity of their original work while offering fans the opportunity to show their support. NFTs also provide royalties that Web 2.0 does not.Content creators won’t just look to individual audiences as a source of revenue. Businesses recognize the value in the creator economy and hope to tap into it by partnering with content creators.

As Pulizzi says, “In this type of experimental environment, the individual or small-team creators are at an advantage because they have nothing to lose. Brands should be following these creators in different groups and look to form partnerships and, ultimately, if it makes sense, acquire projects.”

Trends in Digital Media Consumer Preferences

Modern consumers seek diverse content built from campaigns they trust. They have lost patience with interruptive communication. Also, most consumers want digital options for most content types. We can use these trends to forecast and meet the desires of new audiences.

The growth of our online lives has fueled powerful and rapid changes in the way most consume content. Additionally, digital natives, young consumers who grew up with the Internet, are poised to quickly enter and revolutionize content preferences, particularly in the metaverse.

The following trends will affect which type of content audiences will want to see in the metaverse:

• Consumers are less patient. Modern consumers have access to endless amounts of content online and can replace any content with an easy click. Some content marketers mistake this trend as a sign of an attention span deficit. However, anyone who has binge-watched “Ozark” will tell you that we lack patience, not attention span. High standards and more choices put pressure on content creators. For brands and content marketers, collaborating with content creators could substitute the need to create a brand legacy because audiences may soon value content over long-term reputation.
• Remote and digital content experiences. Consumers staying indoors due to the pandemic found that they liked having some digital and digital and remote options available. For example, people who value working from home will want improved virtual office spaces. The demand for in-person shows and events certainly still exists, but consumers reward content creators who offer virtual or hybrid options.
• Emphasis on trust and authenticity. Over the last few years, we have seen a rapid increase in misinformation, lowering public trust in most public entities, including mainstream media. Content creators and marketers will need to earn the trust of their consumers before they can expect to profit from the interaction. This trend has taken hold in Web 2.0 but will be even more prominent in the metaverse, where consumers put a premium on authentic campaigns. Content creators must be ready and willing to engage consumers in ways that don’t always follow the traditional purchase model. Some examples include attracting consumer time, attention and loyalty before seeking financial rewards.

What Is Metaverse Content Marketing?

Metaverse content marketing refers to how businesses use content to build brand awareness. Content marketers use content to deepen the consumer-brand relationship. Content marketing should not be used to promote one-time purchases.

Content marketing involves creating online content to generate user interest in a brand. Content marketing that worked in Web 2.0 will not work in the community-driven, decentralized metaverse. Simply entering the metaverse requires a detailed risk assessment and strategy.

Brands will need to ask themselves the following questions:

• How will we find our way into the metaverse?
• Where does our brand fit into the virtual landscape?
• How prepared are we to develop our role and position in the metaverse?
• How will we tailor our content marketing to virtual worlds focused on user-generated content?

Content marketing in Web 2.0 was distanced from product-specific advertisements. This trend will only strengthen in the metaverse. Content marketing in the metaverse will use ownership and user engagement to usher users into a new ecosystem of experiences and deepen their brand loyalty.

Baron defines content marketing on the metaverse as “a race to create the best experiences. Being able to create memorable, sticky experiences will bring about the need to entertain and inform and will lead to more interactions between the brand and customer.”

Baron emphasizes that content marketing should still lead to sales. “Finding creative ways to sell without the feeling of hard sales will be important. Creating frictionless buying experiences will be key so that the user never has to leave the brand’s world in the metaverse. The big question is how to get customers to the brand. As always, it will be about getting attention.”

Metaverse Content Creation and Delivery Is Hard to Do Alone

The content creators and businesses that will thrive will be those who know how to capitalize on emerging technology and trends. Find a partner to guide you through key features like AR, VR, and 3D visuals to succeed.

For all of us, the metaverse can sound both exciting and terrifying. For content creators, the arrival of completely new systems will disrupt the current content creation process. Disrupting any established system can feel uncomfortable and risky.

However, the metaverse will inevitably change content creation, and brands will resist at their peril. Adopting elements of Web 3.0 will undoubtedly be a valuable investment, but it won’t be easy. That’s why large consulting firms like Accenture, Deloitte, Ernst and Young and Dentsu have “metaverse practices” they adhere to when advising clients. If these big names are taking the metaverse seriously, we all should.

Retail brands hoping to enter metaverse ecommerce face the largest obstacles. These brands will need to quickly accumulate new content creation skills and invest in learning how to optimize their content marketing to metaverse trends. Social media strategies, media agencies, and IP experts will be valuable partners for any business hoping to make its way onto the metaverse. However, no partner will be as important as the platform that guides you through the content creation process.

3D Cloud Helps Companies Conduct 3D Metaverse Commerce

Content marketers can build successful metaverse commerce campaigns with stunning, unique 3D visuals. Ensure success by partnering with 3D Cloud, a top 3D visualization platform. Maxent’s sleek and scalable visualizations will always engage your viewers and leave them wanting more.

Beginning your metaverse commerce campaign does not have to be daunting. 3D Cloud simplifies managing, tracking, and deploying 3D content. Create stunning visuals that will have customers in awe as they browse through 3D product catalogs or test out furniture pieces in AR apps. You’ll know they like it because 3D Cloud offers advanced business intelligence and reporting.

With 3D Cloud, scale your content to any platform instantly, whether it’s a mobile phone app, a website, or a virtual reality platform on the metaverse. Embrace decentralization and community ownership early by subscribing to the 3D product content of existing cloud clients, including big name brands like Ashley’s Furniture and Macy’s.

Metaverse commerce doesn’t mean losing out on your current ecommerce campaigns. 3D Cloud offers easy integration with your existing ecommerce platforms and applications.

Finally, 3D Cloud has your back. They know that the metaverse isn’t just scary because it’s new. Security, compliance and data management represent serious risks to any brand. 3D Cloud works with leading auditing firms for regular assessments and ensures its security is regularly updated to meet new standards. For 3D Cloud, customer data privacy comes first.

Join top leading brands like Macy’s, La-Z-Boy and Lowe’s to find your footing in the metaverse today and start creating for tomorrow.