The Influencers Who Believe the Metaverse Is Already a Thing

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Think the metaverse is years away? Not according to social media influencers, more than half of whom already believe they are active within it.

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That’s according to a new survey by influencer-marketing firm IZEA, and it’s not the only surprising finding to emerge. For instance, 70% of influencers believe social media will be replaced by the metaverse.

To be fair, IZEA didn’t define what it meant by metaverse “because the concept is still very nebulous,” IZEA CEO Ted Murphy told Business Insider, so respondents could interpret it in their own way.

The IZEA survey took in the views of 1,000 people, asking them about their behavior and expectations around the metaverse. Sixty-two percent of respondents said they were regular social media users, while 23% identified as “influencers” and 15% said they don’t use social media.

The survey found that 56% of influencers say they currently participate in the Metaverse but only 11% of regular social media users said they were. Top activities of those looking to participate in the metaverse include gaming (68%), exercising (53%), and watching media (48%).

Over half of influencers are actively considering ways to make money in the metaverse and 21% say they already are making doing so.

Making money as a creator in the metaverse could mean a host of things, such as creating experiences that feature brands, wearing or using branded objects, hosting virtual events like concerts or parties, and co-creating and promoting NFTs, IZEA suggests.

Crypto is leading the way for preferred payment options in the metaverse. 49% would like to be paid in Bitcoin if they earned money in the metaverse; another 9% of influencers said they’d like to be paid in Ethereum, and 5% would accept another cryptocurrency. Only 31% of influencers said they’d rather be paid in US dollars.

But it may take at least a decade for this to become a reality, Murphy said. The first step toward this, he added, is making the tech more affordable, as VR headsets currently cost up to $800 dollars.

When asked what is holding consumers back from joining the metaverse, 20% said they are waiting for VR technology to become more affordable and another 12% are waiting for VR tech to improve. 66% of consumers looking to join the metaverse expect to purchase a VR device in the next three years.

Murphy added, “Our research shows that influencers are early adopters of these new platforms and share our excitement around the opportunities available in the rapidly developing metaverse.”