Marketing is moving to the blockchain and everyone will benefit
Good content is the cornerstone of marketing: not making it authentic is social media suicide.
One thing is clear, if you want to reach the next consumer audience, accounting for $29 to $143 billion in direct annual US spending, also known as GenZ — authenticity is key. Perhaps this is the reason why older players are having such a hard time catching up. Highly polished, big-budget campaigns feel inauthentic and if anything come across as a bit phoney and crafted. In contrast, word of mouth, which is to say passing recommendations from one person to the next, has been the most effective and authentic type of marketing since the dawn of time. First off, it’s sincere, and secondly the recommendation is encircled with friends that the consumer identifies with and trusts.
Every time someone shares a product recommendation over instant message, group chat or across social channels they are essentially providing free marketing, while simultaneously supplying platforms with data to use for commercial purposes. It isn’t exactly a fair deal, but blockchain has the power to change this.
Fairness matters to GenZ consumers
GenZ care more than ever and are curious about how brands handle social, environmental and sustainable issues. In order to cater to and retain a massive chunk of the market, brands need to take the initiative to actively participate in these conversations. The best way to convey this to a GenZ audience is through social content.
Brands need to create active and compelling campaigns to convey that they are participating in ethical and sustainable trade. Founded in Germany, in 2009, I:Collect (I:CO) created a mission to recycle old clothing and footwear. Over the years, they have built a global take-back system with partners such as Forever21, H&M, Levi’s and Marks & Spencer to collect, sort and process used clothing. One way to create campaigns is through compelling content. For example if you look at H&M’s sustainability page, you can find reports on the working conditions in the factories. This kind of publicity is extremely important as it shows that brands recognize the part they play in creating fairer systems.
Blockchain enables fairer marketing
This fairness should also extend to the way that brands and publishers interact with their consumers. Recent events in the tech industry have highlighted the value of data to the average consumer. The data privacy issues associated with social media platforms has raised concerns among their users. Last year over $40 billion was paid to Facebook, primarily through advertising revenue. The value of Facebook in the market today is over $450 billion. Consumers have grown wise to the realization that their data is a valuable asset and blockchain technology is the key to protecting the integrity and value of intellectual content. By adding content and its origins onto a public ledger, original sources can be tracked, which gives the creators greater control over their content, while also tackling problems such as plagiarism and copyright. It also means that the creators can get fairly compensated for the commercial outcomes of their content.
Blockchain technology creates a fairer and more democratic system, enabling the people creating the content, the brands, and the publishers, to get their fair share of revenue. Brands that now currently distribute a lot of marketing spend into their social feeds will be incentivized to reward the real people creating value. The more people you can get to look at your information, the greater the allocation of cryptocurrency you’ll receive and that’s convertible into money. The content creator will be more in control of who they want to inspire, who they want to be their audience and what their intentions will be. This will encourage brands to become more socially aware, engaging and most importantly trustworthy. Who better to recommend them than the coolest girl or boy in the classroom? Who are GenZ more likely to listen to?
Marketing power to the people
The more that GenZ stop listening to targeted ads and contrived influencer marketing, the more brands will need to step back and allow the power of persuasion to influence their own communities. Blockchain technology will allow both users and brands alike to do this in a fair, innovative and commercially viable way. Ultimately, this will bring the control back into the hands of the user accommodating and rewarding everyone involved.
Find out how the WOM Token is bringing fairer marketing to the blockchain
