Meta Versus Facebook—What Has Changed?

It’s been just over a year since Facebook announced its rebrand as Meta, so we thought it would be an opportune time to review what has changed and assess whether there have been any impacts on digital marketing on the platform. The social media platform is still called Facebook, and its digital marketing options haven’t undergone any changes. So, what gives, and what’s going on with Meta?

What is Meta and Why the Rebrand?

Facebook changed its name to Meta last October, with the rebranding marking the company’s intention “to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.” The rebrand pertains to the parent company—also called Facebook—which owns the Facebook social media platform and the social media apps Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. For now, these entities keep their distinct brands under the Meta brand’s umbrella. This could theoretically change based on how the metaverse evolves.

The metaverse is a work in progress as Meta and other tech companies strive to meld virtual and augmented reality with social media. If successful, the metaverse would allow people to experience social media instead of just passively observing it. As a “virtual environment” you can enter, according to Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, people will “be able to do almost anything you can imagine.”

How the Metaverse—and Meta—Could Transform Digital Marketing

As envisioned, the virtual and augmented reality world of the future social media metaverse could transform digital marketing. For starters, marketing could offer their target audience real-time 3D experiences of their products and/or services. This significantly expands how brands tell their stories and offer customers user experiences and product visualization. Not only will this enhance the ability to capture customers’ attention, but the real-time interaction should help spur conversions. The metaverse could also transform analytics, as the virtual world would provide more detailed insights into customer behavior.

Meta Facing Headwinds in Drive Towards Metaverse

Meta spent more than $10 billion last year on its drive to bring social media to the metaverse and is expected to spend even more this year. However, virtual reality has yet to emerge as mainstream. Virtual and augmented reality headsets continue to have teething problems. And there is no interconnection between existing virtual reality worlds thus developed by various companies.

Meta’s push towards the metaverse is represented by Horizon Worlds, a free virtual reality online video game with more than 10,000 worlds and experiences users can explore. While the app is free, to get the full experience, you’ll need to purchase Meta’s Quest Pro, which will set you back more than $1,500. While Meta claimed the platform had more than 300,000 monthly users earlier in the year, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that it has less than 200,000 monthly users, noting that “an empty world is a sad world.”

Other issues affecting Meta that could hinder its drive to the metaverse include:

• Facebook user growth has stalled, with Meta reporting its first-ever drop in users—500,000—in last year’s first quarter.
• The company is facing significant competition from Google, TikTok, and other tech companies.
• Government regulators may be poised to initiate antitrust actions against the company.
• It’s unclear how many billions of dollars it might take to make the metaverse a reality.
• The question of how companies with potential competing interests might interconnect on the metaverse.

Meanwhile, Facebook CEO Zuckerberg remains optimistic about the metaverse, recently stating that it will take a longer “five-to-ten-year horizon” to bring to reality.

Turn to Moxxi Marketing for Your Digital Marketing Questions

We trust that this clears up any confusion you may have had about Facebook and Meta. As suggested, nothing has changed with the digital marketing landscape at Facebook, and we recommend continuing to run effective marketing initiatives on the platform. To maintain our online marketing expertise, we will continue to monitor Meta for any operational changes that might affect its digital marketing options. If you have any other digital marketing questions or want to learn how the online marketing experts at Moxxi Marketing can help you mount an effective marketing campaign, contact us today at 239.330.6236.