The introduction of martech disrupted the digital marketing industry and AI is disrupting it once again. In the coming years, many changes are expected in terms of employment – new roles will be created, others will remain but will be changed, and others will become obsolete.
The adoption of the Metaverse is one area in particular that is due to create a handful of new job titles. This article reviews what to expect regarding marketing jobs in light of the metaverse, AI, and other emerging trends that are influencing marketing strategies.
Metaverse Marketing Jobs
The Metaverse is expected to revolutionise digital marketing, providing endless opportunities for businesses to reach their target audience in new and innovative ways.
Companies will create immersive experiences that engage customers in ways that were previously impossible, such as virtual stores where they can browse and purchase products without ever leaving their home, or interactive games that promote a brand’s message.
The Metaverse also provides a unique opportunity for businesses to create brand loyalty; by creating experiences that customers enjoy, companies can build a loyal following that will engage with their brand into the future.
Various new job opportunities will emerge as the Metaverse becomes more widely used, requiring individuals with diverse skillsets. Several of these roles are discussed below.
Metaverse Marketing and Advertising Specialists
This role involves developing marketing assets to display to users in the Metaverse, such as virtual billboards. It requires a similar skillset that digital advertising and marketing professionals currently need, a key difference being that the assets will be displayed in virtual environments. This means that these specialists will need to think more from the perspective of how they would target users offline, since ads will be displayed in virtual spaces that mimic a real, offline environment.
Virtual Experience Designers
Virtual Experience Designers will be responsible for creating immersive experiences. They will need to have a deep understanding of virtual environments as well as being able to understand the audience’s perspective in order to create experiences that resonate with them.
Virtual Community Managers
Virtual Community Managers will manage communities within the Metaverse. As with any role involving customer interaction, they will need to have excellent communication skills while upholding the brand’s image.
Virtual Event Planners
Virtual Event Planners will be responsible for planning and executing virtual events within the Metaverse. They will need to have excellent organisational skills and the creativity to plan engaging experiences that promote a brand’s message.
Metaverse Ecosystem Developers and Managers
These roles involve planning the development of communities and working with professionals that build the technical elements of the ecosystem. This is a broader role than that of the Virtual Experience Designer and requires oversight of all the moving parts of an ecosystem.
Potential Ethical Concerns in Metaverse Marketing
As with any new technology, there are potential ethical concerns that need to be addressed. One concern is the potential for addiction. The Metaverse provides an immersive experience that will be addictive for some users; companies will need to understand that this is a real threat and take steps to ensure that their experiences are not promoting addictive behaviour.
There may even be designated professionals that monitor the ethical practises of organisations in the Metaverse, although this is purely speculation.
The Impact of AI
AI will cause some roles to adjust while other new roles will become more prevalent. Since the introduction of AI content creation, for example, the focus is shifting to content curation rather than the traditional practise of content writing.
Discerning whether AI-generated content is usable, valuable, and accurate requires a slightly different skillset compared to traditional writing, and of course, any AI content always needs significant editing. Whether this improves due to the introduction of advanced models such as ChatGPT remains to be seen.
Another area that is somewhat unpredictable is the role of the Data Analyst. Business Intelligence software is becoming more advanced, requiring individuals to have less expertise in order to derive insights from data. As a result, analytics is being integrated with various marketing roles so that any professional can gather insights about their respective area.
On the other hand, Data Analysts that have a cross-functional role and work with various departments may become more important.
With more complex datasets being generated all the time, combined with ever-advancing ML capabilities, it is difficult to say exactly what Data Analysts will be doing in future, but it is likely that they will have higher-level responsibilities. There will also be a greater demand for Data Scientists, as the models are only as accurate as their input.
Another emerging role is the Creative Automation Strategist, which involves exploring the best ways to use AI to create marketing assets while maintaining consistent branding.
In addition, AI is changing paid search and, as a result, the role of content is growing in importance. Advancing search algorithms make content marketing more competitive and companies will need to invest more in content creation in order to maintain their rankings.
Finally, as AI automates more repetitive functions, there will be an increasing focus on roles that take care of the human elements of marketing, such as Communications Managers, Marketing Psychologists, and Customer Relationship Managers.
Jobs that Are Under Threat Due to AI
Several positions are under threat due to AI:
- Telemarketing: The number of open positions for this role is predicted to decline by 18.2% by 2031.
- Proofreading: As automated proofreading software improves, content proofreaders may no longer be necessary. However, the tools have a long way to go until they reach 100% accuracy.
- Market research: Tools like ChatGPT threaten existing market research processes. They are able to respond to requests for information in an instant, vastly reducing the amount of time taken to research.
Roles in Account Based Marketing
With personalisation becoming a major priority in digital marketing, it is expected that account based marketing (ABM) will gain traction in the B2B arena. Not only is it helpful for developing Customer Lifetime Value, it also ensures the alignment of sales and marketing teams. With ABM, individuals would be required to manage the marketing for a handful of accounts, ensuring the messaging is highly tailored for each of them.
Brand Managers
For Gen Z, ethics and trust are two important factors when deciding where they will spend their money, and consumers in general prefer to do business with companies that they perceive as trustworthy, especially when it comes to privacy.
For these reasons, a brand’s image is likely to become more important than ever before, and more Brand Managers will be required to ensure their image is upheld across all channels in order to build trust, stay memorable, and develop emotional connections with consumers.
In fact, brand marketing has been growing in importance for a while, since consumers are now exposed to more competition than ever due to social media. Companies need to go above and beyond to make sure they stand out, and Brand Managers are there to provide oversight.
DAO Community Managers
As web3 develops and blockchain technology takes hold, more Decentralised Autonomous Organisations, or DAOs, will emerge. These organisations have no centralised authority, and their core functions are automated thanks to smart contracts; however, some activities cannot be automated, and that includes marketing.
A DAO is based solely online and is owned collectively by its members, who control decisions through token-based voting. There are many different types of DAOs out there already; some exist for providing services, others are geared towards investments, while others are solely focused on cryptocurrency.
The value of DAOs for marketers is that it brings new community building opportunities and easier access to the Voice of the Customer. These organisations will require Community Managers that will engage with members, reinforce the brand’s culture, and increase loyalty among members.
IoT Marketing Jobs
The Internet of Things (IoT) is creating new marketing roles that specialise in using connected devices to gather data for insights and to inspire product development.
In addition, connected devices are used to enhance location-based targeting through geofencing, so advertising activities will change to accommodate this technology.
There are already a range of IoT marketing roles available, from strategic positions to roles with an analytical focus.
In Summary
Various new technologies are disrupting the marketing landscape. As its adoption increases, the Metaverse continues to create jobs for technical and creative professionals, from Metaverse Marketing Specialists to Virtual Experience Designers to Virtual Event Planners.
AI is shifting many marketing job descriptions as various activities become automated. Content creation is changing due to the introduction of AI content generators and analytics is becoming more accessible to any employee, no matter if they are not technically skilled. In addition, content is going to have an even more important role in future due to the effects of AI on paid search, so roles involving content strategy will grow in prevalence.
These changes have led to the requirement for Creative Automation Strategists that are responsible for implementing automation while maintaining a consistent brand image.
Other trends include the rise of Account Based Marketing in the B2B space, and the increased requirement for Brand Managers, marketing personnel in DAOs, and IoT marketing specialists.
Organisations and aspiring marketing professionals alike must stay up to date with industry changes and develop the skills necessary for thriving in this new landscape.
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