When developing a crypto project, the most formidable obstacle is not the development itself but all the marketing that comes with it. Since the initial emergence of blockchain technology, many new crypto projects have been introduced to the space. With more choices, buyers are now pickier about the projects they invest in.
Therefore, businesses must be prepared to commit time, resources, and creative marketing strategies to promote their project. This is especially important where the objective is to earn confidence in their cryptocurrency initiative and turn them from one-time customers into devoted brand community members.
Promoting crypto offerings can be challenging because it calls for strategies that go beyond merely putting banners and ads on various websites. Through crypto marketing, companies can effectively communicate to prospects the use case for their project and how it can help them. As a result, a company’s crypto marketing strategy needs to have a plan. This is actually crucial if they hope to promote their products to their intended audience successfully. Even so, since it requires a specific set of abilities, crypto marketing can be difficult.
In this article, we will walk through the recommended steps for creating a crypto marketing plan. Before we do that, let us look at some common mistakes and some channels and strategies to implement.
What is Crypto Marketing?
Crypto marketing is identical to traditional marketing. It includes a combination of strategies to connect a seller and a buyer and establish a situation where everyone wins.
In essence, crypto marketing is what will make a cryptocurrency project successful. However, project owners must have a marketing strategy before launching any campaigns. Ideally, the strategy needs to include all of the project’s objectives and goals with guidelines on how they will accomplish these. Once project developers have outlined this information, their advertising strategy will take shape naturally.
The techniques used in crypto marketing and advertising are similar to those used in traditional media. Even so, there is more red tape, especially on social media. For example, TikTok prohibits crypto ads in most countries. However, Facebook reversed its decision to forbid crypto ads, but projects need to adhere to certain guidelines.
In terms of cryptocurrency, a project’s marketing efforts can help it grow its community, boost token sales, and attract and keep investors.
What to Avoid in Crypto Marketing
Before we dive into some strategies and steps to creating a crypto marketing plan, it is essential to talk about common mistakes that companies have made in the past.
1) Misleading Messages
Companies should avoid using phrases like “simple and easy,” “trusted platform,” and “risk-free trading.” The main reason is that it makes them visible to regulators that flag crypto ads. In addition, since cryptocurrency is borderless, each country has its own enforcement procedures, and businesses can run into difficulties and possibly get banned if they do not abide by the rules. While investigations and complaints will undoubtedly generate some publicity, this is not the kind of publicity that project developers are after.
The last thing any project developer wants is to appear dishonest in front of their customers. Building trust is just as crucial as developing a brand. For this reason, their marketing materials should not be misleading or socially irresponsible. Companies must make a special effort to educate readers about the possible drawbacks of investing in cryptocurrencies and raise awareness of these difficult-to-understand and volatile assets. Being truthful will help any project developer earn trust in an industry where it’s natural to be skeptical.
2) Irrelevant Channels
According to research, media outlets and social media platforms are where potential customers obtain most of their cryptocurrency news.
While having their company featured on the national news may be challenging, getting local media coverage is not impossible. There are several ways to do so. For starters, direct pitching, actively targeting specific journalists to cover their story, is a smart strategy. Companies should also attend industry events that receive positive PR.
Targeting online researchers is another effective way to go about promoting a cryptocurrency. With the right paid advertising strategy, companies can effectively develop their brand and increase their reputation in this sector. By producing content for online researchers, they can access a wider audience. The best places to post this content is on social media, discussion forums (Reddit, Quora), and their own website blogs.
Using the wrong platforms for content marketing is one of the most common mistakes observed in crypto marketing. Businesses need to determine their audience and choose the appropriate channel before they’ve invested any effort in marketing.
3) All Figures, No Explanations
Many crypto projects communicate abstract ideas with figures but don’t provide context or explanations. For example, if they were to put out a statement saying, “Coin X has a throughput of 5,300 TPS, and a transaction time of 10 mins”, it is improbable that the average person would understand what they are trying to say.
If companies choose to use figures, they should have descriptive tiles and captions that are succinct enough to understand. Additionally, if they use images, they should be simple, accessible, and visually appealing. Ideally, they should include brand colors and design elements. Finally, companies need to choose the right points to highlight. Those should only be facts that have proven relevant and useful to their readers’ everyday financial lives.
4) All Style, No Substance
Those who are “in the know” tend to assess crypto projects cautiously. However, even those who are blissfully unaware tend to evaluate and make judgments on projects and altcoins. To provide value, companies need to have a few key elements. These include a white paper, an “about the team” section, social media profiles, project announcements, and a blog.
A project’s whitepaper is where a company outlines its realistic goals and explains the mechanism behind its project. The company also needs to discuss their team, qualifications, and experience with the blockchain ecosystem. They also need to build a community on social media that supports their cause. Beyond that, they need to keep their community updated on their latest announcements. Last but not least, they must create valuable content that is free and easily accessible to their users.
5) Non-Segmented Strategies
Companies shouldn’t assume that the same crypto marketing methods will be effective with every audience. Failure to tailor the message to a particular audience will result in the message losing its significance and reaching no one in particular. That’s the worst-case scenario. In the best-case scenario, it will only draw the attention of a tiny segment of their target audience.
There are typically five groups of engagement in terms of an audience; active, passive, curious, skeptics, and engaged.
Active owners tend to be optimistic and enthusiastic about the global economy. Many believe that cryptocurrency will eventually overtake conventional fiat currency. These people are more inclined to participate in industry events, start new businesses (like NFTs), and become brand advocates.
Passive owners also have a favorable opinion of crypto. These individuals think that cryptocurrency will perform better over the long run despite market ups and downs. They are apprehensive about financial institutions and wish to have faith in the project’s long-term viability.
Curious owners have done some research but haven’t purchased any crypto products. These people are likely to believe that using cryptocurrency is convenient.
Skeptics are those that have negative perceptions about crypto. Their primary sources of information about the industry are the news and word-of-mouth. To target these people, businesses can share customer testimonials with them.
Finally, the engaged don’t show nearly as much aversion as skeptics – they are quite indifferent to the world of crypto. These people don’t require a unique strategy because they are neither invested in the industry nor averse to it. However, they enjoy more captivating and attention-grabbing content.
Crypto Marketing Channels & Strategies to Boost Online Presence
Now that we have looked at some common mistakes, let us look at some strategies companies can use to boost their crypto project’s online presence.
1) Create an Informational Whitepaper
A whitepaper is a document or page that lays out details about a company’s project. The practice of publishing a whitepaper for a crypto project was pioneered by Satoshi Nakamoto and eventually adopted by virtually all well-known cryptocurrencies. It has since become a crucial part of crypto marketing. It may be the most crucial document for cryptocurrency projects, so it must be appropriately drafted.
A company should fully describe the assets or services they offer in its whitepaper. This is also the best place for a company to highlight its ideas and philosophies, project tokenomics, and so on.
2) Create a Mobile-Friendly Website
Crypto projects are generally online-only businesses. Therefore, the first stage of every company’s marketing strategy should be creating a website for their crypto company. After all, the company website is the first place that people and potential investors will look to learn more about their project.
Companies can present accurate information about their project on their website. Visitors may be delighted by a website that is easy to use, responsive to mobile devices, and contains all the necessary information. For starters, a business should provide links to its social media accounts and information about their team members. It’s also important to include a section of frequently asked questions, facts about their whitepaper, and news about their community.
3) Create an Active Presence on Social Media Platforms
Every social media platform has a distinct audience that visits for a particular purpose. For example, Instagram is better suited for posting aesthetically pleasing content than Twitter, which is perfect for real-time discussions. Therefore, companies should prioritize those channels after identifying the platforms where their target audience is most active. Some important social media platforms that crypto audiences seem to gravitate towards are Twitter, Discord, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Nowadays, trying to be active on all of the major social media platforms at once is a common mistake that practically every crypto startup makes in their social media marketing strategy. While it is true that businesses need to be everywhere to have an online presence, they must only concentrate on the platforms where their audience spends the majority of their time. Otherwise, businesses will be wasting their time, money, and effort.
4) Focus on Community Management
Crypto projects rely significantly on their community for success. Most successful crypto projects have a solid and supportive community that believes in the project. The purpose of a community is for businesses to stay in touch with their audience and to foster two-way dialogue so that their audience may provide feedback on their project.
If the members of a company’s community aren’t participating, there is no point in the community being established. In order to avoid having a disengaged community, crypto developers must regularly engage the community and update them on the project’s progress.
5) Content Marketing
Due to the complexity of blockchain technology, it could be challenging for customers and potential investors to understand a company’s project’s offering. As a result, content is crucial in crypto marketing. Companies can use content marketing to educate their target audience about the features and advantages of their project. Additionally, businesses will probably see an increase in traffic to their online communities and channels if their content is engaging.
Hosting podcasts is an excellent way for businesses to advertise their assets and services, in addition to keeping audiences informed. A crypto developer can host podcasts with members of their team to talk about their project and target audience, or they can speak on other podcasts to promote their project.
6) Influencer Marketing
Collaborating with influencers and content providers is a crucial part of crypto marketing. Influencers are well-known and respected in the industry in which they provide content. Companies will therefore be more likely to get followers and quality leads, as well as favorable feedback from their target audience if influencers promote a company’s project to their audience.
However, selecting the right influencer and launching a profitable crypto influencer marketing campaign can be difficult due to factors like audience, region, and engagement. Therefore, it is essential to have an influencer marketing guide.
7) Increase Organic Traffic through SEO
Search engine optimization has been a cornerstone of digital marketing for a long time, and it continues to be one of the most crucial components of creating an online presence and promoting a business’s endeavor. SEO will continue to be one of the essential components of any online marketing plan as long as customers utilize search engines to find information and products.
SEO is probably the most affordable and efficient avenue of all the crypto marketing techniques covered in this article. However, companies lose out on the possibility of driving traffic to their website if their target market conducts industry-related searches on a search engine and doesn’t find them.
8) Launch Airdrop Campaigns
Airdrops are a component of crypto marketing that involves businesses giving away free tokens to their customers. This is among the best methods for starting a cryptocurrency project and producing initial liquidity. Project developers can easily attract new customers using this crypto marketing method.
This is a great way to thank supporters and promote a business’s upcoming release. In addition, companies can use airdrop calendars, websites that provide information about all forthcoming airdrops, to promote their airdrop campaign.
9) Referral Marketing
Referral marketing is an online marketing tactic where businesses invite members of their existing communities to spread the word about their initiative. In return, these community members receive rewards for their quality recommendations. In addition, referral programs offer current business customers the possibility to get compensation for endorsing a worthwhile concept.
Businesses can also launch affiliate marketing campaigns, where they pay a commission for each successful lead they receive from a specific person or website, in addition to referral marketing efforts. Using affiliate marketing, businesses can increase website traffic. The fact that well-known companies like Binance, Coinbase, and others have been running affiliate marketing programs successfully for a while now is proof of the effectiveness of affiliate marketing.
10) Email Marketing
Companies can stay in touch with their investors, followers, and users through email marketing and keep them updated on any relevant news and developments regarding their cryptocurrency business. However, to keep their audience interested and enthusiastic about their emails, businesses sending emails will need to do more than just write about themselves.
There is a fine line between informing and spamming, so businesses should exercise caution when implementing email marketing campaigns. Email newsletters are a tried-and-true method for keeping an audience interested in a project.
11) Create a Press Release for the Crypto Project
When a company is just launching or introducing a significant update to its project, press releases are an excellent marketing tool to get the word out. In addition, press releases are used by businesses to inform the public about their offerings, improve brand recognition, and create a favorable impression of their cryptocurrency startup.
Companies can boost the legitimacy of their project by publishing press releases on well-known cryptocurrency-specific websites like CoinTelegraph, CoinDesk, CryptoPotato, etc.
12) Paid Advertising
Even if a project developer has come up with the most innovative concept, it will still be challenging to expand the project without paid advertising.
Businesses should set aside money for sponsored advertising campaigns on websites like Meta Ads, Google Ads, LinkedIn ads, Snapchat ads, and Reddit ads. Keep in mind that most of these platforms have strict regulations regarding crypto advertising. For this reason, it is strongly advised that businesses deal with a crypto marketing agency that has expertise in running profitable PPC ads that are in line with regulations
As an alternative, they can place ads on specialized cryptocurrency advertising platforms that already have a community of crypto enthusiasts.
Conclusion
In order to convert potential investors into actual investors, a brand must maximize its internet reputation, credibility, and awareness. Consumers who use cryptocurrencies still have a lot of reservations about buying digital currencies. However, with the correct strategy, businesses can attract qualified leads and build a strong buyer community.