Web3 Watch: Marketing for Web3 Projects
Key takeaways from our fireside chat with HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar
In our first fireside chat, which is part of our new Web3 Watch series, Cardstack’s Founding Director Chris Tse and HubSpot’s CMO Kipp Bodnar talked about marketing strategies for Web3. They discussed ways in which Web2 can be used to create more utility for Web3, how financial incentives can further popularize DAOs, and much more.
“In the NFT space especially, nostalgia means that there is a little bit of cultural value, growth, and experience — ‘oh we went through that together when this event happened.’ — Chris Tse, Founding Director of Cardstack
Mass-market adoption of Web3 must be driven by shared experiences and communities. Many newcomers to the crypto world see Web3 only through the popular lens of trading. While that aspect is certainly integral to Web3, it only comprises a small portion of what can be achieved in the emerging space. So how can we better prepare Web3 for mass-market adoption?
We must create meaningful experiences that can be felt and shared across communities. Building communities has always been central to Web3, from membership-oriented DAOs to DeFi-based Discord channels to the unified nature of blockchain technology itself. So, we must find ways to bring the concept of community to the forefront of Web3 and generate cultural value. Just like rock fans brag about having “been there” if they attended the first Nirvana concert, Web3 users will brag about having “been there” when the first Bored Ape was minted or another important event took place. Web3 marketing must begin creating these “I was there!” experiences.
“The real innovation of Web2 was becoming great at programmatic marketing, things like search engine optimization, link-building, referral traffic. All of the things that keep bringing people back to you on a very regular, programmatic basis.” — Kipp Bodnar, HubSpot CMO
Currently, Web3 marketing mostly occurs in campaign-based rather than programmatic ways. For example, many DAOs and dApps frequently use airdrops to bring new members to their Discord servers. This is an effective strategy, but also redolent of the 1950s and 1960s, when soap operas started and companies like Tide funded one-off campaigns.
The key to Web2’s takeover of the mainstream was its mastery of programmatic marketing through SEO, referrals, and more. Web3 needs to generate a perfect blend of campaign-based and programmatic marketing through education, content, and DAOs with the right incentives to keep users’ engagement growing.
“The future wallet in Web3 is going to look way more like WeChat than it does Charles Schwab. It’s going to be a stack of applications, a super-app consortium of things versus a basic financial infrastructure.” — Kipp Bodnar, Hubspot CMO
As of now, Web3 has yet to figure out how to properly market the wallet. And perhaps that’s because the wallet is still in its infancy stage, replicating the interfaces and designs of Web2 FinTech tools like Venmo and E-Trade. The Web3 community has yet to embrace the wallet as a new form, and instead continued imagining it as a basic asset tracker. So, how can we begin marketing the wallet as something entirely new and compelling?
Well, the wallet itself needs to begin incorporating principles of community into design — it needs to think more in the framework of WeChat and less like that of Charles Schwab. Instead of just operating as a financial instrument, it can encompass a multitude of concepts and functions such as identity, social networking, passports, galleries, etc. Perhaps Web3 marketing teams can begin dreaming up prototypes where the wallet can be utilized in more ways than just transferring money.
“Our technology at Cardstack seeks to take the composability of the smart contract invented by Vitalik and extend that to UI and inclusive experiences.” — Chris Tse, Founding Director of Cardstack
A huge problem plaguing the adoption and marketing of Web3 is, of course, usability. Many newcomers seem excited by the technology but skeptical of its practicality and its purpose. “That’s cool, but what can I use it for?” the conversation often goes. So much of the blockchain world seems wrapped entirely in crypto trading and NFT exchange. Not very practical stuff for your everyday person. So how can Web3 marketers begin remedying this blockage?
They can begin by transferring the complex and innovative standards ushered in by the smart contract to user experiences. For example, many projects have developed wallets that users can manage to send payments, but not many have created programs for decentralized tax reports, multi-party agreements, content management systems, and more generalized daily tasks and concepts.
At Cardstack, we are working to bridge the gap between the complexities of blockchain-based composability and the user experience by imagining and building these very tasks and concepts.
Watch the video of our fireside chat with HubSpot CMO Kipp Bodnar — or listen to the podcast!
Podcast:
Want to learn more about Web3 & Cardstack?
Check out the resources below:
Curious About the Future of Web3? Here Are Our Predictions for 2022
Combining Web2 & Web3: The tools we need to make Web3 take off
Exploring the Great Migration of the Internet from Web2 to Web3
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