Consumer Data, (De)Coded.  

9 Insights from Social Media about the Metaverse in Beauty

Provides analysis of social media conversations about the Metaverse and how consumers talk about it in relation to product types, brands, and other topics.




1. While the Metaverse is new, underlying concepts are more established.

Metaverse conversations on Instagram started to ramp up around October 2021, around the same time when Facebook announced that they would be rebranding to Meta. Still, the term had a small presence on Instagram in the months leading up to that point.


Activity (ppd) How many posts is the topic mentioned in per day - avg. over 3 months?

 

Though the term Metaverse is relatively new, individual components associated with it have been familiar to consumers. Instagram conversations about virtual reality preexisted those about Metaverse but have seen growth in daily post volume that is in line with the growth of Metaverse conversations over the past several months.


Activity (ppd) How many posts is the topic mentioned in per day - avg. over 3 months?

 


2. Has the Metaverse lost some steam?

Total Instagram conversations about the Metaverse have steadily risen over the past several months and nearly doubled from November 2021 to February 2022. However, the total monthly post volume about the Metaverse in the Beauty declined for the first time in March. Total metaverse conversations dipped by about 5% from the February 2022 total.
This could be indicative of a few different possibilities. Perhaps there has been stalled progress in the Beauty industry's foray into the Metaverse. Maybe consumers' interest in the topic has peaked for the time being. It could also just be a small blip with no long term implications.

Monthly Post Volume of 'metaverse' on Instagram


Interpreting the visual: The image above shows the number of posts mentioning metaverse on Instagram in a given month.


In contrast, total Twitter conversation volume about the Metaverse jumped in March 2022, signaling a continued interest from the Beauty industry. Considering Twitter is the social media platform that delivers the industry's latest news, this trend may indicate increased Metaverse-related announcements from Beauty brands.

Monthly Post Volume of 'metaverse' in Instagram (blue) vs. Metaverse in Twitter (gray)


Posts about NFTs have followed a similar path to those about the Metaverse in both Instagram and Twitter. Conversations have steadily risen since this time last year, with dramatic increases over the past few months. However, post volume for March is projected to decline by more than 10% from February on Instagram. This could be due to diminishing consumer interest, right-sizing of the conversational market, or just a natural fluctuation. Nonetheless, it is crucial to monitor ongoing conversational trends related to the Metaverse as Beauty-focused companies invest in it.

Monthly Post Volume of 'NFT / non-fungible token' on Instagram (blue) vs. Twitter (gray)



3. Twitter conversations about the Metaverse are driven by special events.

Two of the most frequently mentioned topics in Metaverse conversations for the month of March were Estee Lauder and fashion week. The prominent cosmetic and skincare product manufacturer was mentioned in almost half of all metaverse tweets in March, while fashion week was mentioned in more than a quarter of them. What would cause these two objects to be so prominent in Metaverse conversations for just one month?
The answer: a virtual fashion week on a prominent interactive platform within the Metaverse. Decentraland, a popular interactive virtual world in which consumers can create digital avatars and purchase digital merchandise, created their own fashion week from March 24-27. They partnered with Estee Lauder to be their exclusive beauty partner. During the fashion week, attendees in Decentraland could purchase Estee Lauder-branded NFT's and interact with other digital artifacts. Partnerships like these could provide a blueprint for how Beauty brands could effectively invest in the Metaverse.

Topics in Metaverse conversations - Twitter


Even though the topics of Estee Lauder and fashion week had not been prominent in Metaverse conversations through February, they both dominated conversations on Twitter in March. This suggests that Twitter conversations about the Metaverse are more likely to be related to news and special events. It may also indicate that truly unique and commercially relevant ideas will create active discussion on social media.

Topics mentioned in Metaverse conversations - Twitter

Raw Penetration % How frequently was the topic mentioned in metaverse conversations?

 

Oct 2021Nov 2021Dec 2021Jan 2022Feb 2022Mar 2022
gamesRaw Penetr.7.097%7.143%9.353%5.808%5.708%1.582%
Estée LauderRaw Penetr.N/AN/AN/A3.283%1.37%48.66%
fashion weekRaw Penetr.N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A25.55%
Visualizer chart Topics mentioned in Metaverse conversations - Twitter data     expand / shrink     download data


4. Metaverse conversations are becoming increasingly focused on NFT's.

Over the past three months, consumers are increasingly associating the Metaverse with NFT's on Instagram. Interestingly, they are mentioning some of the digital infrastructure associated with Metaverse at a declining rate. Animation and games are down significantly in Metaverse conversations, as are topics like experience and augmented reality. This may indicate that within Beauty, consumers may now be less enthralled with the experience-related artifacts within the Metaverse and see it more as a unique way to interact with and purchase NFT's.

Growth/decline of topics in Metaverse conversations - Instagram

X-axis: Raw Penetration chng Has the topic grown or declined in metaverse conversations over the last 3 months (rel chng) - avg. over 3 months?
Shading Color: Raw Penetration chng Has the topic grown or declined in metaverse conversations over the last 3 months (rel chng) - avg. over 3 months?

 

This is further magnified on Twitter. While topics like digital avatar, games, and experience are down significantly in their penetration of Metaverse conversations, NFT's are up significantly more than they were on Twitter. Mentions of NFT's within Metaverse conversations on Twitter from Q1 022 are up nearly 50% relative to their penetration of those posts from Q4 2021.

Growth/decline of topics in Metaverse conversations - Twitter

X-axis: Raw Penetration chng Has the topic grown or declined in metaverse conversations over the last 3 months (rel chng) - avg. over 3 months?
Shading Color: Raw Penetration chng Has the topic grown or declined in metaverse conversations over the last 3 months (rel chng) - avg. over 3 months?

 


5. Consumers associate the Metaverse more with commercial touchpoints and fashion than individual Beauty product types.

Looking at how various topics are associated with Metaverse, many of the most over-indexed topics are more related to the methods with which consumers are engaging with virtual commerce. Over-indexed topics include fashion week, store, and launch. Ecommerce and experience are also over-indexed in those conversations.
Notably, product types do not have as much of an association. Cosmetic and hair are normatively indexed in Metaverse conversations, while nails are significantly under-indexed. This indicates that consumers, at least up to this point, are talking about the Metaverse more in the context of how they interact with it, and less with its association to certain products.


X-axis: Penetration Pctl (1-100) Is the topic over or under represented in metaverse conversations relative to similarly categorized objects in Beauty - avg. over 3 months?

 

Visualizer chart Products and Consumer Touchpoints in Metaverse conversations data     expand / shrink     download data     IDs to Clipboard     load in CFL


6. Community, Culture, and Luxury play significant roles in the Metaverse.

Using Themes/Meta Topics within the Social Standards infrastructure can help to better understand what larger ideas and concepts are most significant to the Metaverse. Looking at the Themes most significant to Metaverse conversations, Culture and Community are the most prominent. These Themes are also significant to conversations about NFTs and Cryptocurrencies, so it makes sense that they would also be important in relation to the Metaverse. As Beauty companies continue to leverage the Metaverse, establishing unique communities may be paramount to successful investments.


X-axis: Penetration Pctl (1-100) Is the topic over or under represented in metaverse conversations relative to similarly categorized objects in Beauty - avg. over 3 months?
Shading Color: Object type Unique color for each object type

 


7. Consumers talking about the Metaverse are older than one might think, but they're getting younger.

While we might be inclined to think about the Metaverse as an avenue to reach the younger consumer, Instagram conversations about the topic have largely been driven by a somewhat older audience. More than half of all posts within the Beauty vertical have come from consumers over the age of 30 since the Metaverse became a prominent topic of conversation last Fall.
Metaverse conversations also skew more Male than other Beauty topics of conversation. While they only account for 1/3 of total metaverse posts related to Beauty, that share is significantly higher than Male consumers typically have in Beauty conversations.

Demographics of 'metaverse'


Read as: About 35.56% of those who talk about metaverse on Instagram are identified as Male for the three months ending February 2022. This contribution rate ranks in the 84th percentile, meaning that only 16% of similarly categorized objects in the Beauty vertical have higher levels of contribution from this cohort in comparison.


While consumers aged 30-44 account for more than half of all Metaverse conversations, that share has declined steadily over the past several months. Conversely, those aged 21-29 have become a larger presence in metaverse conversations during that same timeframe. Their share of the space was under 20% when the topic first came to light in October but is now approaching 40% just a few months later.

Share of Metaverse conversations: Age 30-44 (blue) vs. Age 21-29 (gray)



8. Products related to nails and hair may be best positioned to succeed in the Metaverse.

In a previous insight, the data showed that consumers are more likely to talk about the Metaverse in the context of commercial touchpoints rather than individual product types. Still, it is interesting to look at which product types are most frequently and significantly mentioned in Metaverse conversations within the Beauty vertical.
Cosmetics is not only the most frequently mentioned product category in Metaverse posts within Beauty, but is also the largest product category in all conversations within the Beauty vertical. Additionally, it includes other product types in this set, such as Lipstick and Nail Polish. Still, even Cosmetics is under-indexed in Metaverse conversations, indicating that it is less associated with the Metaverse than it is with the average Beauty topic.


X-axis: Raw Penetration % How frequently do those who talk about metaverse talk about topic - avg. over 3 months?
Y-axis: Penetration Pctl (1-100) Is the topic over or under represented in conversations by those who talk about metaverse relative to typical Beauty consumer - avg. over 3 months?
Circle Color: Object type Unique color for each object type
Circle Size: Topic Prominence Number of posts/conversations related to the topic in Beauty vertical

 

Removing Cosmetics from the set of objects, we see that Nail Products and Hair Care are the most frequently mentioned product types in Metaverse conversations. A few smaller product types are normatively indexed, such as Nail Art and Foundation, though most are under-indexed.


X-axis: Raw Penetration % How frequently was the topic mentioned in metaverse conversations - avg. over 3 months?
Y-axis: Penetration Pctl (1-100) Is the topic over or under represented in metaverse conversations relative to similarly categorized objects in Beauty - avg. over 3 months?
Circle Size: Topic Prominence Number of posts/conversations related to the topic in Beauty vertical

 

Over the past three months, Nail Art has exploded in its penetration of Metaverse conversations. The frequency with which Nail Art is brought up in Metaverse posts has increased by more than 200% relative to that of three months ago. In addition, Hair Care and Hair Styling products have also become more prominent in Metaverse conversations over that timeframe. Interestingly, Lipstick and Lip Products have declined in their presence in Metaverse conversations.

Topics in Metaverse conversations - share vs. growth/decline

X-axis: Raw Penetration chng Has the topic grown or declined in metaverse conversations over the last 3 months (rel chng) - avg. over 3 months?
Y-axis: Raw Penetration % How frequently was the topic mentioned in metaverse conversations - avg. over 3 months?
Circle Color: Raw Penetration chng Has the topic grown or declined in metaverse conversations over the last 3 months (rel chng) - avg. over 3 months?
Circle Size: Topic Prominence Number of posts/conversations related to the topic in Beauty vertical

 


9. Brands like Estee Lauder, Fenty, and Kylie Cosmetics may be best positioned to leverage the Metaverse.

With the Metaverse still being such a new topic in the Beauty space, there is limited conversational overlap between Metaverse topics and individual Beauty brands. Still, that is not to say that Beauty customers aren't talking about the Metaverse. Through a User analysis, we can see which brands have the highest percentage of their consumers talking about the Metaverse on Instagram.
Brands with the highest percentage of Users also talking about the Metaverse include Estee Lauder, Fenty and Mac Cosmetics. Other brands' whose users are over-indexed in talking about the Metaverse include L'oreal Paris, Chanel, Kylie Cosmetics, and Pat McGrath Labs.


X-axis: Raw Penetration % How frequently do those who talk about metaverse talk about topic - avg. over 3 months?
Y-axis: Penetration Pctl (1-100) Is the topic over or under represented in conversations by those who talk about metaverse relative to typical Beauty consumer - avg. over 3 months?
Circle Size: Topic Prominence Number of posts/conversations related to the topic in Beauty vertical

 

Using the same process to analyze consumers who are talking about NFT's, Fenty and Estee Lauder consumers are both over-indexed. Kylie Cosmetics and Skin Illustrator consumers are also over-indexed in talking about NFT's.


X-axis: Raw Penetration % How frequently do those who talk about NFT / non-fungible token talk about topic - avg. over 3 months?
Y-axis: Penetration Pctl (1-100) Is the topic over or under represented in conversations by those who talk about NFT / non-fungible token relative to typical Beauty consumer - avg. over 3 months?
Circle Color: Object type Unique color for each object type
Circle Size: Topic Prominence Number of posts/conversations related to the topic in Beauty vertical

 


Methodology

Social Standards is a comparative analytics platform transforming billions of social data points into benchmarked insights about every brand, product, feature, and trend consumers talk about. Innovative brands and investors use our data to make strategic decisions around product development, competitive differentiation, investments, and M&A opportunities so they can get ahead and stay ahead of the competition.



Appendix


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