Due to the fast-paced nature of the crypto community, marketing for blockchain startups can feel like an overwhelming experience. Startups need to build an active presence on different social media platforms, consistently engage with followers, and prove to the general public that their project has value.
For this reason, we’ve come up with 7 tips designed to make your marketing campaign easier and more effective.
Whether you’re preparing for an ICO or you just want to generate more buzz around your project, here’s how you can do it:
- Find a Problem Worth Solving
Ultimately, the goal of your blockchain project shouldn’t be to make money — it should be to solve a common problem that people experience in their day-to-day lives.
One of the biggest challenges that we experience in the blockchain community is finding value in projects. There are countless innovative projects that are currently in development, but only a handful of them actually highlight how their project will make life easier for everyone. Projects like OPEN Platform and SuchApp enjoy successful ICO marketing campaigns, partly because they promote themselves as problem solvers by focusing on the needs of the greater population rather than specifically targeting the blockchain community.
- An ICO Isn’t Your Only Option
A lot of time, money, and manpower goes into building a successful ICO. Team members work around the clock to finely tune their marketing campaigns, improve their project, and come up with incentive programs for onboarding new members. ICOs are resource heavy, and startups can end up spending as much as $80,000 just to set up and run their ICO efficiently. In fact, running an ICO doesn’t guarantee your project success, and vice versa.
For example, Dogecoin never had an ICO, and doesn’t even bring that much value to the crypto community, but it successfully capitalized on a trend and was able to build its own following as a result. The lesson we can learn from Dogecoin, CryptoKitties, and similar projects is that ICOs aren’t the only way to promote your blockchain startup.
- Build Your Community
Have you noticed that most blockchain projects maintain an active presence across multiple platforms? It’s not uncommon for a startup to engage with people over Reddit, Telegram, Twitter, Medium, and Discord — just to name a few. While it may look like startups are spreading themselves way too thin by being active on that many platforms, they’re actually leveraging social media to build a bigger following.
The modern customer doesn’t want to be sold something — they want to be engaged. Producing content across multiple platforms lets blockchain startups engage with people from different segments of the market, allowing them to build a bigger, more diverse community interested in using or investing in your project.
- Run an Email Marketing Campaign
Mailing lists are still one of the most effective digital marketing strategies around. Email marketing campaigns connect you directly with people interested in your project, making it easier to keep followers updated on your project. This creates an open channel of communication between you and your key audience, which helps build trust and loyalty over time.
- Reward Your Loyal Users with Bounty Campaigns
Another great marketing tool that many blockchain startups are currently benefitting from is bounty campaigns. Great for increasing support and building a larger following, bounty campaigns encourage supporters to participate in promoting your blockchain project by rewarding them with airdropped tokens. Bounty programs are perfect for turning your supporters into representatives for your blockchain project, encouraging them to onboard new members, promote your startup in the media, and help you reach out and connect with new demographics.
- Retarget Your Audience as Much as Possible
Things are constantly changing in the crypto space. It’s not unheard of for people to be interested in your project one month, only to completely forget about it the next. News travels fast, and many investors are constantly on the lookout for the next Bitcoin, instead of the next innovative blockchain project.
To prevent your project from being left behind the next time a new fad appears, you should always reconnect with your existing audience. Engage with them over social media, in apps like Telegram, and through email marketing. Remind them of your services, what problems you solve, and how they’ll benefit from supporting your blockchain project. That way, they’ll be more likely to support your startup in its early stages, rather than investing months down the road after the latest hype surrounding other projects has calmed down.
- PR Builds Credibility
Press releases are important for building a grassroots following. Along with providing updates about your blockchain project as a whole, press releases are great for attracting the attention of potential investors, as well as legitimizing the value of your project. Moreover, strong press release writing can leave a lasting impression on your target audience, creating more interest in your project as a result.
Want to learn how to build the perfect marketing campaign for your blockchain startup? We’re happy to help. ICOSuccess has helped countless startups optimize their marketing campaigns in the months leading up to their ICO. Visit our website today to see how we can turn your startup into the next big venture.