Remember Neil Armstrong? Of course, you do. The first is always remembered and celebrated. The same is the case with Lil Miquela, the first Virtual Influencer who made her Instagram debut in April 2016.

There is a Universe, and then there is Marvel’s Multiverse. However, the latest one in technology is Metaverse, a place where the Real World amalgamates with Digital. With the advent of Metaverse a decade back and Mark Zuckerberg replacing Facebook with Meta, doors of new opportunities opened up for digital marketers. Famously called the “Future of the Internet”, the market of Metaverse is said to reach USD 800 billion by 2024.

Metaverse (a science fiction word) is a virtual reality space that allows its users to interact, collaborate and celebrate with each other. This phenomenon, at present, lets its users get hold of real-time 3D software to create/attend virtual meetings, conferences, and concerts and buy land. Also, the introduction of NFTS (Non-Fungible Tokens) in Metaverse is revolutionising the internet like nothing before.

A remarkable Metaverse feature that is shaping the future of Influencer Marketing is designing digital Avatars. The influencers can design avatars on their own and carry on with their promotional events in the Metaverse only.

The phenomenon of influencers has been in the run for a long time now. It became even more famous during the pandemic. The market of influencers was a tremendous hit then, and it continues to be. Now, with the coming up of Metaverse, the influencers’ success has been guaranteed in the virtual, augmented, and even the real world. Presently, the influencer market is worth USD13.8 billion and is said to close at USD15 billion by the end of 2022.

Influencers are conventional people, living around common beings. So, when they advertise a certain product, they are selling it to their followers. Digital marketers these days are excessively aware of the power of influencer marketing, therefore, they try their best to collaborate with famous influencers who would leave a positive impact on their target audience. With evolving technology, brands these days are trying to stick to the game of following the latest trends. Such is the case with luxury fashion brands like Gucci, Burberry, Prada, and Balenciaga. They are moving forward with the Metaverse approach by launching their avatars as they are the future of influencer marketing.

The opportunities to be offered by Metaverse for every business are limitless. However, the Industry most benefitted is that of Influencer Marketing by garnering the dynamics of the influencers, audiences and brands.

The Era of Virtual Influencers

The dynamics of influencers with their followers/audience will see a positive change with Metaverse. The future of influencer marketing lies in Virtual Influencers. These influencers are not humans, but CGI designs who act like humans, and have likes & dislikes, and emotions. The creators sustain an ideal environment in the Metaverse where their avatar lives, keeping in mind the target audience. Some renowned brands already have their avatars. For example, Prada has Candy, and Yoox has Daisy. These Virtual Influencers are of immense success for the brands. The brands have complete freedom to design their avatars to the liking of their end customers.

Advanced Monetary Structure (NFTs)

Influencers must make appearances to engage audiences. However, with Virtual Influencers, making virtual appearances will be like a walk in the park as there will be an already existing environment in the Metaverse. By organising events like workout sessions, concerts, conferences, etc., virtual influencers can use NFTs as tickets to enter their events, like what Travis Scott did. These NFTs will act as revenue generation for brands to boost brand recognition and Influencer Marketing.

Mass Collaborations

Influencers and brand promotions go hand in hand. The practice works by brands gifting products to the influencers and influencers in return use their products and market them through their social media platforms. By entering Metaverse, influencers and marketers can work cohesively in an integrated environment where they can create impressive 3D events, thereby engaging more audiences. This will take influencer marketing by storm by increasing efficiency.

We have seen the revolution of Influencers and how victorious it turned out for the Marketing Industry. Now, it's time to see what value Metaverse is going to add to the benefit of Influencer Marketing. Brands can now create digital influencers/avatars that match their brand expectations. These avatars when put in the metaverse are highly profitable in terms of marketing for businesses. They can even make use of NFTs to increase brand image, and value and eventually lead to increased revenues. Influencer marketing is soon going to take over the Internet and it would not be erroneous to say that Metaverse is the Future of Influencer Marketing.