Minting Your Digital Identity: The Impact of NFTs on Your Brand and Consumers
How Identities Built By NFT Community Ecosystems Are Going to Change, Well, Everything
The lasting effect of NFTs on creating new brand opportunities cannot be understated. If there’s one thing that the team at Mint will hang our hats on, it’s that NFTs (and blockchain, on a larger scale) are not scams — they’re the future. If you need more proof, check out this dedicated AdAge hub that continually lists the latest brands entering the blockchain marketing fray.
Indeed, NFTs are no longer only about getting a big payday from making or holding something rare. The truth is much larger and inclusive — they’re the building blocks to a unique digital avatar that the average person can use to become part of something bigger. In a previous post on community ecosystems, we spoke about how NFTs can create the future of digital communities. One of the main foundation stones of these ecosystems is the virtualization of this digital identity for the user. The advent of this ability unlocked by NFTs is huge for a brand that wants to develop a relationship with consumers and create connections.
Read on to learn why a consumer’s digital identity built around NFTs changes the game and how it impacts any brand.
What Exactly Is a Digital Identity Within Blockchain?
The most common understanding of a modern “digital identity” is likely attributed to Facebook or other social (web2) or email channels. And that would make sense — they are your digital communication platforms, after all. But while there are numerous differences between web2 applications like social media and those on web3, like blockchain and NFTs, one stands out the most: ownership.
When people collect NFTs independently or join a brand’s ecosystem, they own everything. Whereas web2 social media allows a person to create their likeness on the Internet and chat with others, they are still participating with a centralized product. No such thing when it comes to the anatomy of blockchain — everything is decentralized.
A digital identity within blockchain is the makeup of applications and tokens (NFTs in this case), curated and owned solely by the consumer, and which can be used to participate in decentralized brand communities.
How NFTs Can Become the Holster for a Digital Identity
How many of us really keep an accurate account of all the sites and apps we’ve registered for? It’s hard to feel like you’ve got a strong sense of all the ways you’ve shared your information when each social media platform or service requires and stores its own data. The info is also stored centrally within respective data servers — owned by the company.
But, as we’ve stated, the most significant advantage for people on the blockchain is that there is true ownership. More so, there is a record of ownership that’s printed and untouchable by any centralized authority.
This unveils fertile ground for all sorts of applications that can be tied back to a singular person at any point. No more keeping lists of all the information you’ve shared — only a singular blockchain and NFT address that tells you all of the transactions you’ve made and assets you’ve acquired. It’s your own central view of all the moves you’ve made on the web3 Internet. And concurrently, it provides an address on the Internet that gives a snapshot of your interests and with whom you’ve participated.
Here are a few of the impacts of a digital identity powered by NFTs and blockchain on your brand.
What a Digital Identity Means for Your Brand
1. More Chances To Interact and Create Connections
Ultimately, understanding more about a person through their interactions with blockchain and NFTs can lead to more loyalty and engagement. Once they’ve actually participated in or joined an NFT community ecosystem, like those provided by Mint, you’ll be able to leverage a person’s loyalty to bring them more unique experiences and interactions with the brand. You get to immerse your customers in a deeper world while understanding essential habits that can lead to more means of outreach and engagement.
COO of Crypto.com, Eric Anziani, weighs in on the topic, saying, “The NFT will enable people to demonstrate and have an identity across platforms that they can clearly own and use on different ecosystems.” Even across different tokens and ecosystems, a person owns all of their digital crypto, meaning that they can potentially interact, trade, barter, or activate experiences at any point of their journey. Eventually, the concept of an NFT domain will take greater importance as the cornerstone of these identities. A place where all of their properties will be held for use at any point. And, securely, we might add.
2. Unlocking Multiple Uses and Remaining Secure
Event tickets. Badges. VIP experiences. Content access. And yes, collectibles. NFTs are pathways to creating new forms of experiences and access for the average consumer. Imagine making that so much easier by creating a digital asset that can ensure access while being owned by the consumer and is also a native digital object.
That’s the power of playing in the blockchain space with these unique, ownable tokens. You’re actually helping people build a virtual cache of unique material and experiences that become part of their identity — much like how real-world items or experiences make up how a person views and goes through daily life.
Let’s also remember that information on web2 applications, like social media, can disappear or be left up to chance based on what happens with the company. We’ve seen the problems that this has caused in the past decade with companies like Facebook. Web3 information is owned by a specific person and can’t be altered, sold, or deleted by third parties. That means trust issues are solved right out the gate, so you can focus just on engaging and creating a relationship with consumers.
3. Creating a Reciprocal Relationship
Whichever experiences and NFTs you create for your consumers, they are now a piece of your brand that will stick with them wherever they go. It’s another reason why the impact of NFTs is so powerful — it serves as a piece of the brand that the customer covets and becomes a token of ownership and pride.
When considering the marketing funnel, this fast-tracks somebody toward the loyalty stage, making the relationship extremely valuable and more likely to result in repeat engagements. Ultimately, a conversation is born between customer and company. The company creates NFT content, tokens, experiences, and access, while the customer joins and gains partial ownership in the community, as described in Social Media Examiner. With a relationship like this, you’ll be able to garner a much deeper level of interest when you release new materials in the ecosystem.
Moving Forward With the New Digital Identity
Shifting toward a strategy that embraces and leverages customer information enabled by the blockchain isn’t a quick implementation. It’ll take time to develop that new level of connection, build trust, and create content. But the results can transform the way you interact with the public in a lasting and meaningful way.
Begin by understanding some of the impact created by the idea of a digital identity born from NFTs. For more information on how Mint operates and our thoughts on blockchain technology, check out our blog or visit the website.
Written by Rob Simakovsky
