In the era of new-age technology, technology is rapidly growing and transforming. With the transition to the new era, hitherto inconceivable innovations are taking place. One of these innovations is the Metaverse, a unique immersive virtual environment that is swiftly taking over the internet.

According to a Statista report, India had over 749 million internet users by 2020. The industry is projected to reach more than 1.5 billion people by 2040, showing a large market potential in internet services for South Asian countries such as India. The number of internet users will expand in both urban and rural areas, indicating a dynamic increase in internet access.

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As virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) become increasingly prevalent, metaverses are dominating the internet. It is anticipated that the Metaverse will transform the social media environment, given its power to dramatically revolutionize people’s lives.

Metaverse and Influencer Marketing
The metaverse is a 3D online virtual environment that connects individuals in all parts of their lives. It would connect several platforms, similar to how the internet connects various websites that may be accessed with a single browser.

Influencer marketing is a method of social media marketing that focuses on product endorsements and mentions from influencers—people with a significant social following who are considered experts in their industry. Social influencers have a high level of trust with their followers, and their recommendations act as social evidence for your brand’s potential customers.

Growth Circle
In the last few years, social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok (now superseded by applications such as Moj and MX TakaTak) have resulted in a tremendous surge in the number of niche artists and audiences.

Creators have started engaging with their audiences in new ways, from live chat rooms to interactive story templates like polls and Ask Me Anything (AMA), to regular articles and short-format movies. Audiences can interact with their favorite icons by using features such as comments, tags, DMs, and story mentions.

However, while these creator-audience relationships have grown, the interactions are sometimes limited to the capabilities of a single platform, leaving less room for the two to interact outside their digital profiles. Offline events, which are held just once or twice a year, exacerbate the gap in influencer-fan engagement.

The invasion of new-age influencers: The future of influencer marketing unfolds
Recently, social media has seen an increase in AI influencers across sectors. The influencers were created by prominent robotics and machine learning businesses and have amassed a sizable social media following. In the future, such AI influencers or meta-influencers will coexist with their human counterparts in the metaverse, allowing customers to engage with more personalized and relatable brand tales. Brands across the marketplace are tapping into the potential of the metaverse and the marketing benefits it offers.

The metaverse is the sum of virtual worlds. It’s a collective virtual space created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and persistent virtual space. However, there are other digital marketing platforms available on the market. India is yet to leverage virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. As the country transitions to a digital user base in the future, there will be more opportunities for companies to grow their markets and develop their worldwide appeal via the metaverse.

This section is rapidly expanding. With AI-generated material, it will become more popular and interesting; not just as an influencer; we may be entering an era in which AI will be a part of the metaverse’s growth, and with the preexisting types of models and influencers, they can be a part of the community as well.

The highest level of engagement in the metaverse provides influencer marketing with a digital representation of the brand, giving it the life they desire, allowing it to be present, interact digitally, and create a world the community desires.

(Drafted with inputs from Mr. Amol Roy – Founder, Brand & Beyond)