How Metaverse Will Influence The Media Sector

Dr Sanjeev Singh Nov 29, 2022

Metaverse platforms are fast emerging as platforms to enhance social interactions, provide more immersive experiences, and drive media content consumption and visibility across sectors. It is revolutionising the way companies are engaging with their consumers- opening a whole new world of unexplored possibilities. In the media industry as well, companies are quickly adopting the metaverse to establish a presence, gather new and established audiences and increase engagement - ultimately leading to developing well-structured monetisation strategies. As a result, the industry is hiring talent that can help them realise their metaverse ambitions.

The metaverse is ushering in a new internet era, bringing new opportunities and obstacles for investors, marketers, and media professionals. But what exactly is the metaverse? Simply defined, it is the internet as we know it, but entirely immersive and experiential, incorporating virtual and augmented reality. This implies that internet users can consume content in two and three dimensions via a VR (virtual reality) headset.

Users may, for example, wander around a virtual shopping mall from the comfort of their homes and buy clothing from e-retailers who have already established a presence in the Metaverse. They might even attend virtual events like concerts and fashion exhibitions. Users have the ability to create a house and rent it or open a shop to purchase and sell e-commerce items. All transactions in the virtual world use fungible and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and all transactions are recorded on the blockchain.

How does Metaverse influence the media sector?

Metaverse development heralds a paradigm change in the media and entertainment industry. It is slated to change the way we consume or operate on social media platforms. It has been a long journey from text, and pictures to audio, video and multimedia. The current phase consists of developing platforms that provide an immersive and interactive experience. A user may connect with other users through a platform by creating an avatar and using a basic username. It will be almost like doing the things we do in everyday life, except it will happen in the Metaverse.

Additionally, the infrastructure supports messaging, alerts, rating systems, and reputation management. Other platform elements can assist in speeding transactions by allowing content producers to retain rights to their work and receive payment from each sale or exchange of the NFTs.

The metaverse is extremely conducive to the media sector as it offers an entirely immersive platform for generating and managing digital content. The open-source system is compatible with numerous NFTs, allowing it to remain relevant in the media and entertainment industry.

In the media and entertainment business, the role of the metaverse and that of, NFTs in facilitating virtual asset ownership is becoming increasingly important.

There is also more potential when there is more traffic. Exploding user activity along with massive capital injections into the metaverse is spawning new sectors and professions ranging from digital real estate agents to digital brokers. It also opens new avenues for media professionals. Essentially a calibration of our physical and digital worlds using technology, the Metaverse will give media platforms further fillip in terms of user base as well as the technological challenges that come with it.

The metaverse offers marketers the chance to engage customers in entirely new ways while pushing internal capabilities and brand innovation in new directions. Companies are beginning to explore new and innovative ways to promote their consumers in the metaverse, from digital billboards in popular sections of virtual cities to branded installations on virtual streets. Brands should assess the skills they will need in this space, identify which they already have and will need to acquire, and appoint someone to lead the development and execution of a coherent strategy to capture value, just as they would for any new venture. Brands should also aim to collaborate with and learn from others, such as the existing independent developer and creator communities on the platforms.

Metaverse platforms are increasingly used to enhance social interactions, provide more immersive experiences, and drive media content consumption and visibility. Media companies are quickly adopting these platforms to establish a presence, gather audience and engagement, and develop well-structured monetisation strategies.

Finally, beyond marketing, the metaverse has a bright future. Companies must consider the potential strategic implications of the metaverse for sales, operations, production, R&D, and HR to create value across the enterprise. Organisations and brands that plan and execute now will reap the most significant benefits from the metaverse's future.