Meta (Facebook) is Reportedly Planning to Launch Retail Stories to Sell VR, AR and Other Digital Connection Tools

According to The New York Times, “Meta has discussed opening retail stores that will eventually span the world, said people with knowledge of the project and company documents viewed by The New York Times. The stores would be used to introduce people to devices made by the company’s Reality Labs division, such as virtual reality headsets and, eventually, augmented reality glasses, they said.”

The big idea is that to guide users towards Meta’s vision of the ‘metaverse’, an immersive digital world of endless possibilities, Meta will have to get more of these tools into more homes. Subsequently, physical stores may be a better way to establish direct-to-consumer supply chains, while also enabling new showcase opportunities to generate more sales.

Currently, you can purchase Facebook’s products in retail stores, but they’re stacking the shelves alongside many other competing devices and options. If Facebook wanted to invest more into direct marketing, and highlighting its next-level plans, it would be best to do so via its own, dedicated promotion and product displays, which it could directly control within its own stores, built specifically around its offerings.

On November 1, 2021, Instagram officially launched the 'Add Yours' Sticker to facilitate more engagement in stories. This feature enables users to prompt others to respond to their Stories content, in order to create more engaging reply to threads to Stories posts. When users respond the sticker, they’re added to the profile bubble listing on the sticker, which, when tapped, enables users to go through all the other responses to the thread, building a response chain within Stories that can help prompt more engagement.

How to use this new feature

Step 1: Once you’ve captured or uploaded a photo or video in Stories, tap the Stickers icon at the top of the screen.

Step 2: Tap the “Add Yours” sticker.

Informational/educational and those that tried to replicate a tradeshow floor with virtual exhibitors are the two categories that virtual corporate events have fallen into during the pandemic. Of the two categories, educational programming gets a higher number of attendees. When trade show sponsors talk about a hybrid approach to future events, they mostly mention the educational component that the virtual attendees will experience.

Publisher of Airport Improvement Magazine, Paul Bowers, stated that after experiencing both virtual exhibit halls and virtual conferences during the pandemic, he is convinced that virtual exhibit halls do not work, and virtual conferences can effectively substitute for learning in person.

“Virtual trade show substitutes weren’t a complete waste, but I’d be hard-pressed to ever exhibit at one again,” Bowers said. “There is no return on my investment. On one I participated in, I paid the same amount that I pay for the in-person conference, and it was a waste of money. The seminar part can be done well virtually. I’ll spend money to send our editor to attend a virtual conference, but I won’t spend to exhibit virtually.”

Investing in customer service is a powerful marketing strategy as loyal customers will help you acquire new customers, free of charge, by convincing prospects to interact with your brand. Their positive testimonials will be more effective than any of your current marketing efforts — and cheaper, too!

Most people relate to each shopping experience by having either recommended stores with good experiences or complaints about the ones they didn’t like. Therefore, your customers’ experience should be number one on your list of priorities. Of course, not everything will always go according to plan. However, when there’s an issue, ensure to turn your problems into opportunities and solutions.

In addition to good customer service, you can keep customers happy by providing incentives and getting them to feel invested in your brand. Here is a list of ways to gain some goodwill from the community that keeps you in business.

 Give customers a reason to come back. If you can capture customer data, send an email expressing your gratitude or text along with a coupon. You may also encourage them to return sooner rather than later by making the coupon time bound.

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Micro management is not the answer to effectively managing your company, it has more cons than pros. As a manager, you have to determine when and how to micromanage. Here are some results of micromanaging your company. 

1) Do not be a Helicopter boss - Hovering over your staff after they have been given an assignment, does not give your staff a sense of freedom to do the tasks assigned to them. People tend to be more creative when they are given more autonomy, they feel able to make the best choices needed to complete a given task.

Train staff to be managers instead of workers, let them think like a manager as if they own the company, this will build their competencies, let them learn from the mistakes they make. Focus on what only you as a manager can do and do those tasks.

2) Breakdown of relationships is one of the result of micromanagement - Staff will feel that you can't trust them, that's why you keep such a close eye on them. Their sense of self will be greatly affected, and they will end up not liking you as their manager.