Marketing in Crypto
Learn about my experience as a marketer in the crypto industry.
The cryptocurrency market is growing rapidly, and so are the job opportunities available. As the industry matures, the role of marketing has become increasingly important. I have been fortunate enough to recently started working for a company in the crypto industry, which I’m truly passionate about. Now at almost 6 months into the job, I’ve noticed some characteristics that I’d like to share with those interested in pursuing a marketing career in this exciting, but intricate, ecosystem.
I work for stakefish, a validator for Proof of Stake blockchain networks. If nothing from the last sentence makes sense, this article may not be for you just yet. You won’t find the common industry terms defined here, but rather you’ll read about some aspects that would be useful to know, particularly to be successful in a marketing role. That being said, I do encourage you to do some further research before even applying to a position if you’re completely unfamiliar with this space.
There are many types of companies in crypto, from blockchain operations to decentralized finance (DeFi) applications, but the following considerations, I believe, are practically universal.
Prioritize education
Although it’s growing fast, the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is still in its infancy, similar to the internet in the late 90’s. This means that there is still a huge part of the addressable market that may need to be educated on this space. Your current user base may already be crypto savvy, but unless you want to remain stagnant, education is a must. Your competition will surely create educational content and will be happy to take the slice of the pie that you neglect. You’d probably want to focus just on what you offer, but from my experience, covering the basics, such as what is a blockchain or the difference between proof of work and proof of stake, is a good idea. It is also a great way to engage with your users; a key component that I discuss in my next point.
Engage with the community
Passion and engagement are definitely not attributes that are lacking in the crypto community. Like the fast-paced technology they follow, the people in this space are lively and are no strangers to communicating with the leading industry innovators and organizations through social media channels. The most prominent channels in crypto are similar to those that technologists frequent, like Twitter, Telegram, Reddit and Discord. It’s a good idea to have an established presence in these, including a team of community managers engaging with your followers around the clock. It’s not enough to answer questions or reply to comments, it’s also important to have a communication strategy on each channel. Typical announcements, like product launches and seasonal themes, are table stakes; be bolder and more authentic. My recommendation is to act like a follower. Create campaigns that encourage people to participate, show appreciation to the movers and shakers in the market, follow up on conversations with your most active followers, and, as you’ll learn from my next consideration, tapping into your sense of humor will be important.
Don’t be too serious
This subject may be serious, but its community certainly isn’t. Bitcoin’s original adopters were known as cypherpunks, which advocated for privacy-enhancing technologies and preferred to operate outside the traditional system. Although today’s adopters are less politically charged, that free spirited mentality that derived from cypherpunks remains and is charged by one of the internet’s most influential creations, the meme. The internet meme became so powerful, that it even led to the birth of a new category in investing, meme assets (i.e. meme stocks and meme coins). The crypto community naturally gravitates more towards a comedic spirit when engaging with content. After all, most people that venture into this space seek to break free from traditional institutions, which they may associate with overly serious tones. So, try to stay away from traditional “corporate speak” when communicating with your audience and feel free to joke around, at least sometimes. If you’re having trouble being a part time comedian, it’s always best to research the content your audience likes in the typical social media channels they interact in.
Learn the slang
If you’re a veteran follower of crypto content, you know that there are particular colloquialisms that emerged from the active community in this space. The slang has become so broad that a “normie” or “no-coiner” may think that crypto enthusiasts having a conversation are speaking an entirely different language. If you’re unfamiliar with the typical idioms, like HODL, FUD or FOMO, take the time to DYOR (Do Your Own Research). A quick Google search should do the trick. As with internet memes, don’t be afraid to play around with these terms when communicating with your followers. They probably are already expecting you to speak the lingo, so be sure to get a head start.
Get comfortable with technology
If technology is not your forte, don’t just get a surface level understanding of what your company offers; go deeper. At the end of the day, you are working in the tech industry. Join the development meetings with the engineers, take the time to understand what they discuss and get more familiar with computer science. Why is this important? Because as a marketer you need to truly understand your product or service and why you’re better than the competition. It’s also a good idea to speak the same language as the product developers when you’re thinking about how to best communicate the features and benefits that you offer to your users. I myself needed to be a bit more tech savvy, and these are a few things I went through that were helpful. I took an Udemy course on typical programming languages, including Python, CSS and Javascript. I learned how to do a Pull Request on Github, a common practice in a product development flow. Google search was also a great resource as I was expanding my horizons. You’d be surprised at what you can learn yourself.
Be a thought leader
The crypto industry is chuck full of innovations, new solutions and technological advancements. You can probably stretch your arm and find a great opportunity for you to demonstrate your expertise in the space. As I mentioned before, you should constantly create educational content. There are plenty of crypto-focused media companies that can help you spread your content. Don’t hesitate to reach out to groups or organizations that may be a great fit for you to work with. Most are pretty open to have a conversation through direct messages in social media channels. Make the effort to go to the most important conferences in the year. Don’t just have a booth, leverage your internal experts to speak at these events. Also, consider donating to grants for challenges or hackathons. Personally, it’s a great feeling to know the company you work for is contributing to the advancement of the industry. It definitely helps your brand and likely helps position your company as a thought leader.
Expect a changing marketplace
It’s no surprise that the cryptocurrency industry is full of regulatory uncertainty. Most jurisdictions don’t even know how to legally define crypto assets, much less how to regulate it. Regardless, regulation is coming and with it, new laws about how companies in this space are allowed to operate. The landscape can even change overnight. So, you will need to be nimble in your efforts. It will be common to have to make significant changes to the way you communicate and connect with your audience. Be sure to be in touch with your company’s compliance representative before launching campaigns and consider having different plans in case you’re caught off guard.
As the cryptocurrency industry grows, more career opportunities become available. Marketing roles are certainly in high demand and they will likely increase over time. Most crypto companies are start-ups and they are looking for marketing professionals in traditional industries that can bring their skills and expertise to help them grow their presence. Hopefully, you learned something from my own experience and it helped you prepare before joining this exciting new space. So, enjoy the ride and don’t hesitate to share what you learn along the way.
Daniel Riojas is a Blockchain Marketer at stakefish. The views expressed in this article are solely his personal opinions and do not reflect those of stakefish.
