In one of my articles about Marketing in the Metaverse, I wrote; “I am not sure what will be left about meaningful human interaction if a substantial part of our day-to-day life will be conducted virtually. That will depend on whether virtual reality is better than reality.
But since we now care about nothing else other than profit-making, the metaverse has mouth-watering promises to businesses”.
“Being in the real world is very important, but the metaverse is about making quasi-real in the virtual world, and I can’t see the point of doing it,” he said
You would rather be a polished avatar instead of your real self? That’s essentially no different from anonymous messageboard sites. Headsets would isolate you from the real world, and I can’t agree with that. Headsets are simply annoying.
Ken Katuragi
He especially finds the idea of wearing VR and AR headsets in order to experience the metaverse “simply annoying”. The 71-year-old Kutaragi believes that people would rather have tech blend in with the existing reality.
I agree with him. If our agreed mantra is to be “realistic with oneself”, then the metaverse may not be such a good idea. Because it separates you from reality.
What do you think of the Metaverse? I personally think each one of us will have to wait and find out whether a “polished avatar” of you is better than “the real you”.
The introduction of Facebook Shops could be the end of e-commerce websites as we know them. On Tuesday, May 19, 2021, Facebook launched Shops. A new e-commerce feature aimed at helping small businesses create shops on Facebook and Instagram where they can upload their catalog.
This will bring an Instagram shopping tab, shoppable live stream, and more.
The shops will be powered by third-party services such as BigCommerce, woo-commerce, and Shopify. It is clearly Facebook is aiming to turn the social network into an all-in-one shopping destination.
In a Facebook Live, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “We are seeing a lot of small businesses that never had an online business get online for the first time. He also added,” if you can’t physically open your store or restaurant, you can still take orders online and ship them to people.
This innovation has come at a perfect time where there is a surge in internet use with people looking for things to buy online while staying at home.
What does this mean to e-commerce websites?
It’s obvious that Facebook is eyeing big on e-commerce by bringing dawn to social shopping. The platform comes with features to enable a user to complete payments within Facebook without the need to leave the platform.
Could this be the death of e-commerce websites? If people will be empowered to shop and engage with their friends within one place, what will happen to classified platforms and other e-commerce sites? The competition will take an entirely new heightened level.
But here is the thing, while shops are free you’ll probably need to spend a few dollars to push your products to reach more buyers. In this case, you probably still need to list your product on other established buy and sell platforms.
Reaching people on Facebook isn’t free anymore, you can prove that by observing the dwindling engagement in Facebook pages.
Facebook Shop has begun to roll out in the USA, expecting to reach other users sometime this summer.
In 2022, Google will eliminate third-party cookies from its Chrome browser. Something which Safari and Firefox have already done. But what does this mean for marketers?
Third-party cookies have been key drivers of the advertising economy for the past two decades. At Tanzlite, we have benefited from a wealth of user information from people visiting our websites and used such information to create personalized content and ads —thanks to cookies.
But with cookies gone, what will be the alternative for the advertising industry?
One thing is clear, that advertising as we know it will change. It will be difficult to personalize ads and retarget users as we used to.
But What Are Cookies?
Cookies are tiny files that are downloaded to your computer or phone when you visit a particular website. Their main purpose is to improve your experience with the website.
The two most important types of cookies;
First-party cookies: These are stored by websites. They enable these websites to remember a user’s settings and they can significantly improve the user experience. These cookies will not be affected by the changes we are talking about.
Third-party cookies: they are created and stored by external sites, and not by the site the user is visiting. They can track the user as they move across domains and retarget them with personalized messaging.
What is Driving These Changes?
As privacy concerns continue to rise in the online community, cookies have caught the attention of lawmakers and regulators. Businesses are now required to keep transparent data records.
According to a study by Pew Research Center,
72% of people feel that almost all of what they do online is being tracked by advertisers, technology firms, or other companies, and 81% say that the potential risks they face because of data collection outweigh the benefits.
Cookies have been enablers of various tracking techniques that have contributed to people losing trust in the online world. This has also led to an increase in Adblocker usage and a shift to privacy-focused browsers like Duck Duck Go.
What Will Happen Next?
Advertising existed and thrived for decades before data technology came into play. This realization gives a relief that marketers will find another way. There is no need to worry.
Besides, tech giants such as Google and Facebook (who rely on advertising revenue) will surely find an alternative.
Facebook for example benefits hugely from personalized ads (retargeting) that are backed by third-party cookies. Google, on the other hand, is already cooking out some privacy innovations that will be effective alternatives to tracking.
Africa’s internet economy is growing FAST! It looks like we are a few steps away from reaching the Africa we want. The new report by Google and the World Bank’s IFC has just foretold that.
According to the report titled e-Conomy Africa 2020, Africa’s internet economy is expected to reach $180 billion by 2025. Which will account for 5.2% of the continent’s GDP.
The booming population, urbanization, improved internet infrastructures, and a growing number of tech talent are among the factors for the promising internet economy in Africa.
Currently, Africa is home to 700 000 developers and venture capital funding for startups has increased year on year for the past five years, with a record $2.02bn in equity funding raised in 2019, according to Partech Ventures Africa.
“The digital economy can and should change the course of Africa’s history. This is an opportune moment to tap into the power of the continent’s tech startups for much-needed solutions to increase access to education, healthcare, and finance, and ensure a more resilient recovery, making Africa a world leader in digital innovation and beyond,” said Stephanie von Friedeburg, interim managing director, executive vice president, and chief operating officer of IFC.
Africa’s Internet economy is transforming development on the continent by fostering economic opportunities, creating jobs, and providing innovative solutions to complex challenges, like access to healthcare, education, and finance.
Have you ever found yourself stuck on what to post on social media? It happens all the time. Finding good ideas to post can be tricky sometimes.
At first, Launching your company’s social media profiles seems like an easy task. Then comes the hard part when you are supposed to be consistently posting engaging content. That is when you realize social media marketing is not easy work at all.
I have worked (and still working) in social media marketing for a couple of small-to-medium companies and organizations in Tanzania for over three years now. I have experienced these challenges myself.
Some days your creative mind will be on vacation. You will procrastinate or will not post at all. And your boss will fire you (let that not happen).
If you want to go beyond the self promotional approach, these post ideas will boost engagement on your social platforms and give value to your followers.
1. Question-based Post: This is a powerful way to start a conversation with your followers. Ask an engaging question that relates to what your business does. You can also conduct market research from this type of posts.
2. Post statistics or industry news: What are the current findings or news in your industry? Be sure to share them with your audience. It will make you part of the industry and not someone who is just there to sell. Statistics are also the best way to support your claim or message.
3. Share your opinion about a trending topic: There’s always something in your industry trending online. You find what it is, share it, and give your two cents on the topic. Again, it is about being part of the online conversations that your audience cares about.
4. Share Tips and How-To post: Educational posts are effective to introduce you as a thought leader in your niche. People always want to know how things are done. Tell them and build trust in return.
5. Thank you Post; Every time you hit a certain number of followers, be sure to thank your followers for helping you grow.
6. Behind the scenes posts: If you were (or still) a Game of Thrones fan, I am sure you have watched a couple of behind the scene videos of the show. And they probably helped you build a human connection with the actors. Sometimes you can post a photo or go live and showcase your office, or store. It helps to show your audience a human side of you and fosters a deeper trust than that of a traditional post.
7. Run Contests and Giveaways: Contests and giveaways can be an instant way to grow your engagement on social media. They can give you new followers and result in increased sales.
8. Post a Meme: Well, sometimes it is not a bad idea to light up things a little. Just because you are a bank, or a pharmacy doesn’t mean you have to be serious and full of jargon every day. But be careful with memes!
9. Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC): Chances are people are already talking about whatever your business is in to. The best way to join these conversations is to share/repost/retweet someone’s post about the topic. It will affirm you and make you part of the conversation.
10. Post Infographics: Don’t let your blog articles rot in your website, try to repurpose them in a visually appealing way. Infographics are ideal ways to summarize a lengthy amount of information in short form.
11. Re-introduce yourself: Once in a while, reminding your followers of who you are and what you do is not a bad idea. Warning: don’t use this repeatedly, you will become a boring brand.
12. Share PDF and White Papers: sometimes a social media post can not say it all. If you have got a lot to say such as case studies, give it to your followers in the form of downloadable formats. Besides, everyone loves takeaways.
Conclusion
Social media can be a waste of time if done without a plan. As a serious business, you don’t want to add up to the social media noise and become a bore to your loyal fans. You need a strategy.
If you need a digital strategy that can bring results to your business, contact us HERE.
