Amid breaking news of Facebook’s name change to Meta, questions have been raised about how this name change will affect digital media and online businesses. Before we dig deeper, it’s worth noting that Meta is much more than a simple name change; the next iteration of social technology; The future of the digital world.
In this article, we’ll talk about Meta and what its accompanying “Metaverse” is, and outline the impact it has or could have on businesses and digital advertising in general. Let’s look for answers to questions such as why Facebook changed its name to Meta and what changes will happen for businesses and digital advertisers about it.
What Does Facebook’s Change Its Company Name Mean for Advertisers?
While news has recently erupted about Facebook’s monumental name change, businesses, advertisers and users won’t see the impact it will have until early next year, early 2022. First, Meta announced some preliminary changes to its operations and best practices, particularly removing certain digital ad targeting categories and subcategories.
What does this mean? In short, it shows that Facebook or Meta is breaking censorship. What will this look like in practice? While advertisers can currently target audiences based on a large number of keywords across an infinite number of topics, early next year advertisers will be hampered by their ability to target thousands of detailed keywords on health, race, ethnicity, religion, gender, or politics.
As you can imagine, this limitation will have huge implications for digital marketing strategies. What was once free for everyone is now an optional barrier, if you will, a barrier that advertisers must now consider.
When did Facebook Change its Name to Meta?
The realization of the change has recently started to come to the agenda with the emergence of critical news about Facebook. The information leaked by some former employees began to spread various negative impressions, and the news that Facebook is changing the company name to Meta began to be heard. This news proved their reality and Facebook to Meta name change date is 28.10.2021.
In response to one of the many questions of users after this change; Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were told that they would not make name changes. In other words, the change of the company name did not take place in terms of applications and specific platforms. Meta was portrayed as a world that encompasses them all.
What is the Meaning of Meta?
“Meta” comes from the word “metaverse”, which refers to the reality that users can interact in simulated states in three-dimensional virtual environments. Metaverse is a world to be developed and expanded, and Zuckerberg can be said to be giving the news of this with the company name change.
Read more: How To Access Meta Business Suite?
What is the Metaverse?
According to Zuckerberg, Metaverse VR is a simulated world that we will be involved in through helmets. Stepping into another era where holograms are considered a real entity, NFTs are included in the world of consumption.
In this world, users will exist with avatars that look like them. Users who will be able to work with colleagues will be able to have fun in social environments and even participate in festivals. Maybe you won’t need to leave the house for your family meal. If we proceed from Zuckerberg’s definition;
“This future you’ll be able to instantly teleport as a hologram from your commute to work, be it in the office with friends, or in your family’s living room to catch up. This will open up more opportunities no matter where you live. You’ll be able to spend more time on the things that matter to you, reduce the time spent in traffic and reduce your carbon footprint.”
From these words, it is possible to understand that Meta and Facebook are separate worlds and have not yet fully reached the stage where the world of digital marketing and advertising will be concerned. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared. So let’s address another effect of the change now: Facebook changed its name to Meta, and so Meta also announced a plan to number users according to advertisers’ priority.
In the past years and until today, advertisers have been given full autonomy over their ads. However, due to the level of scrutiny, they have received in recent years, they have had to change that largely (whether they accept it or not, although they acknowledge that it is beside the point).
However, from the beginning of next year, users will begin to be given the full autonomy of the ads they want to be shown. Advertisers can no longer infiltrate their audience’s news feed without warning. As you move forward, there will be an extra wall; An additional barrier to entry to reach the same audience, if you want.
