Roger Wigington: How B2B Brands Can Embrace The Metaverse, BeReal, & Other Developing Social Channels

How B2B brands can embrace emerging channels woman opening curtain image

Should B2B brands embrace the metaverse, BeReal, and other developing social communication channels, and if so, when is the right time to start becoming involved? Part of what keeps the online world indispensable for marketers is the fact that social media platforms are forever either being created — in the form of new ones — or seeing their flames dim and eventually extinguish, in the case of those that don’t make it. The web graveyard is littered with the digital skeletons of so many formerly promising social platforms, including some that were once seemingly poised to rise to the echelon of the most-used forms of online communication. This social media platform churn is also what helps keep the web interesting and alive, yet there’s no doubt the turnover has made it harder for B2B marketers to invest in new and developing social channels. The most frequently heard social channel of the future has over the past several years been the metaverse, while other new platforms have already taken off in earnest, such as BeReal, which recently supplanted TikTok as the most-downloaded mobile social media app. Let’s take a look at how B2B marketers and brands can best assess new social channels, and in particular what they need to know about the metaverse and BeReal.

1 — BeReal: Enhancing The Human Face of Brands

BeReal — the mobile social media app that recently overtook TikTok as the most-downloaded among users worldwide — features posts that simultaneously capture front and back camera photos that are published at differing times each day on the up-and-coming platform. One element BeReal offers that could prove particularly useful for B2B markets is its inherent aim of showing the more slice-of-life human side of its users — something brands have increasingly sought to reveal. B2B marketers can consider utilizing B2Real in efforts that take advantage of the platform’s humanizing element, with just a few examples being:

Behind-the-scenes double-image looks at company team-members, from corporate executives to freshly-hired interns.
Candid looks at how customers are using a firm’s products and services in their day-to-day lives, showing both how they interact with on-screen or other physical elements and how these interactions make customers feel.
At industry events B2B brands can offer up unique daily BeReal looks at conference activity and learning.
B2B influencers and creators have a new canvas on which to share their ongoing efforts in creating and sharing content that answers key questions, in a new format that keeps things different.

Those are only a few of the many ways that savvy B2B marketers can experiment with BeReal content, and as with most rapidly emerging social media platforms, a great deal can be tested out and accomplished with relatively little cost or effort. "If BeReal ends up going the mega-platform route, it could start attracting big-name brands, too," Lizzy Lawrence and Sarah Roach recently suggested for Protocol in "BeReal wants close connections. Can it stay that way forever?" [bctt tweet="“One element BeReal offers that could prove particularly useful for B2B markets is its inherent aim of showing the more slice-of-life human side of its users — something brands have increasingly sought to reveal.” — @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

2 — Marketing Maneuvers In The Dark: Metaverse B2B

The metaverse — a term coined in a 1992 novel — is presently a disconnected hodgepodge of holographic hopes and digital dreams that may or may not eventually reach the sustainable velocity to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of the public and private sectors. A key danger the metaverse faces is falling into the siloed social media platform trap, with walled gardens of many metaverse-like instances each owned by separate entities and all not being able to — whether on purpose or otherwise — talk to one another, or even willfully trying to stop people from leaving their particular slice of metaverse pie. The metaverse — as with a search engine — is lifeless without content, in the same way that social media platforms and web properties would be empty wastelands without the digital lifeblood of the digital information we call content, yet whether B2B brands will make it a staple in their social plans remains uncertain. Brands not quite ready to enter one of the currently available metaverse test-beds can also hold tight and keep tabs on how the technology plays out as we head towards 2023, while keeping potential metaverse-friendly content in mind to eventually begin trying out in the format. While the metaverse is primarily still in its wild west stage, savvy B2B marketers will want to keep on top of the developments it’s currently going through, and keep informed about the changes that it will inevitably see as it evolves. For a closer look at what the metaverse may mean for B2B marketers, check out our "5 Timely Ways B2B Brands Can Conquer Metaverse Marketing." [bctt tweet="“The metaverse is still in its wild west stage, and savvy B2B marketers will want to keep on top of the developments it’s currently going through as it evolves.” — Lane R. Ellis @lanerellis" username="toprank"]

3 — Humanize With B2B Influencer Marketing

Those B2B brands possessing an understanding of the role they want to play in the metaverse will have a strong advantage over those that have taken a purely wait-and-see approach. Similarly, some B2B marketers who are seeking to increase the human side of today's brands are already testing out emerging social media platforms such as BeReal and others. Another way that more marketers than ever are shifting to tap into the people-powered and humanizing side of marketing is through the strength of B2B influencer marketing. “Skeptical of leadership, brands, and conventional authority, buyer perceptions have changed making relationships a critical piece of the marketing ROI equation," Tamara McCleary, CEO at Thulium recently observed. "People make purchasing decisions based on recommendations and perceptions of people (not brands) they respect and trust. Influencers will be essential for humanizing B2B brands in 2022,” Tamara added, as one of many insights and predictions shared in our recently-published 59-page 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Research Report, as we covered in "10+ B2B Influencer Marketing Predictions From Top Experts & Influencers." [bctt tweet="“People make purchasing decisions based on recommendations and perceptions of people (not brands) they respect and trust. Influencers will be essential for humanizing B2B brands in 2022.” — Tamara McCleary @TamaraMcCleary" username="toprank"] Learn more in our all-new 2022 B2B Influencer Marketing Report preview, or jump right in and download the full data-packed report PDF.

Make Time For B2B Marketing Success Today & In The Future

via GIPHY Thankfully, you don't need a time machine to know that great content can be seamlessly adjusted to succeed in virtually any medium or format, so brands that are presently crafting winning content are already poised for doing well in the metaverse or on BeReal — especially when it's specifically tailored for each and incorporating B2B influencer marketing. We hope that you'll find the information and tips that we've shared about BeReal and the metaverse — along with our look at how B2B brands and marketers can embrace new social channels in general — to be helpful in your own marketing efforts. Creating award-winning B2B video marketing that elevates, gives voice to talent, and humanizes with authenticity takes considerable time and effort, which is why an increasing number of firms are choosing to work with a top digital marketing agency such as TopRank Marketing. Reach out to learn how we can help, as we’ve done for over 20 years for businesses ranging from LinkedIn, Dell and 3M to Adobe, Oracle, monday.com and others.