Blockchain technology is transforming businesses—financial transactions, cybersecurity, storing medical records or property rights, creating smart contracts, or even tracking the origins of materials. However, the environments for crypto and blockchain are different and since the technology is still evolving, there are not many precedents in terms of marketing and value proposition. With a diverse group of target audiences including experts, newbie enthusiasts, or stakeholders who accelerate the adoption of technology into the mainstream, you have to adopt digital marketing for blockchain companies.
So, let’s dive in!
Marketing Challenges for Blockchain Companies
Here are some unique pain points when it comes to digital marketing for blockchain and crypto companies.
- Since the crypto and blockchain industry is very dynamic, unpredictable, and technology-driven, marketers may find it difficult to navigate it using traditional marketing strategies.
- There are also certain limitations when it comes to paid advertising. For instance, ICO (initial coin offerings) promotions are restricted on pay-per-click (PPC), Facebook, and Google Ads.
- It may also be difficult to deliver SEO results for crypto and blockchain companies as it requires deep understanding. Black hat SEO practices used by many marketers can result in penalties and involve a substantial risk with no long-term benefits.
- The goals or objectives for such companies may also vary from the traditional ones. Blockchain or crypto companies may instead be interested in ICOs, launching a product, or selling a technology that requires high-impact marketing.
That is why the one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work when it comes to digital marketing for blockchain and crypto companies.
Digital Marketing for Blockchain Companies
The spending on blockchain-based solutions is expected to increase to USD 19 billion by 2024. This means you have to move swiftly and successfully. Many experts believe that digital marketing strategies for blockchain companies need to move beyond websites, pitch decks, white papers, or even Reddit and Telegram. The tenets of the strategy are defined by clearly outlining the following.
- The product or offering: Many crypto and blockchain companies are informing and educating their potential customers and investors about the product as well as the technology. Companies such as Dogecoin, Coinbase, and Binance are sharing content that is a combination of technical, fun, and engagement.
- Value proposition: Blockchain technology is, undoubtedly, complex and the limited real-world applications do not make it easier either to talk about your value proposition. In simple words, be clear on who you are and what you do. In terms of marketing strategy, it means you first talk about your solution—what it can do and then about the blockchain technology behind it.
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- Target audience: We earlier discussed potential target audiences who are usually tech-savvy and rely heavily on data-driven information. Community building is the next step to it. A community of blockchain or crypto enthusiasts who support your product, and may also play a role in promoting and contributing to it can be an added advantage. This is where social media marketing channels and content marketing can play a critical role.
Depending on the above three critical factors, blockchain companies can utilize different marketing channels for outreach. For instance, if your potential customer (B2B) is a business involved in data security, advertising on LinkedIn or PPC can work well. However, if you are looking at ICOs or launching a new cryptocurrency, then you may want to reach out to customers (B2C) directly through channels such as Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc.
For crafting a winning strategy for digital marketing for blockchain and crypto companies, here are a few effective tips and tricks.
Thought leadership articles or guest posts
It’s not been many years since blockchain technology or cryptocurrency came into existence. Many of your potential audiences may still not be clear about what it is and why they need to know about it. You can involve the founders or leadership of your blockchain company to give you those insightful blogs and posts to fill that need on Medium, LinkedIn, or your website. You can also consider writing guest posts for platforms such as TechCrunch, HackerNoon, The Next Web, or The Verge. You can explore platforms such as Steemit and Publish0X for content publication that offer digital payment to creators. This activity will also boost your SEO efforts and brand awareness.
Community of followers
While you can create a community of followers and enthusiasts on platforms such as Facebook, Telegram, or Reddit, you need to watch out for new upcoming platforms like Discord. This space can be utilized for initiating interesting discussions, engaging potential customers, creating a buzz for product launches, and much more among the people in this nice industry.
Advertising platforms
You can explore niche advertising platforms such as Brave which is popular among crypto and blockchain enthusiasts. This platform is a favorite because of its privacy, crypto advertising, and unique reward system that offers Basic Attention Token (BAT), the cryptocurrency from Brave in exchange for viewing ads.
TikTok
Interestingly, some crypto and blockchain startups have found success and a following on TikTok. Since millennial and Gen Z is more interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies, their presence on Instagram and TikTok cannot be ignored. For instance, Square ran an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok that led to over 136 million video views.
Case studies
You can utilize case studies in the form of blogs, email marketing, or videos. These may also help to develop real-world use cases. You may also consider promoting these to your target audience in the form of white papers as well.
Product hunt
Digital marketers can also explore new this new community-based platform that enables people to collaborate on new product development and testing. It offers a new way to build followers, increase product awareness, and also get feedback.
Final Words
Blockchain technology is being adopted at an increasing rate across industries. This means as customers and investors show interest, they need to be educated and informed to improve the adoption of technology in the mainstream. Above discussed strategies in digital marketing for blockchain start-ups can be a good starting point as you showcase your product and technology to the masses.
