How Media Plays An Important Role In Cryptocurrency Adoption
Most articles and blog posts, no matter the subject, length, tone, or audience begin with a simple quote from someone of merit. The quote is supposed to be a symbol of validation for the necessity of the article you are about to read. However, when we begin talking about the essential roles that media plays, especially in the community of cryptocurrency, there is not enough space in my word limit to allot to the myriad of polarized viewpoints of experts out there.
Defining Media
When we talk about media in the world of cryptocurrency, we must understand that this is more than one segment of the press, It’s all of them together: broadcast media, news media, digital media, social media, and (if you are our Communications Manager) you may even create separate media segments for things like podcasts and telegram communities.
There are many media outlets to communicate, build relationships, submit with, and create content for in the digital frontier. That is why it becomes so important to understand the role that each of these segments plays when we begin talking about mass-adoption of cryptocurrency projects, as we can see the media’s endorsements will primarily influence the ubiquity of merchants who are willing to accept crypto.
Traditional Media’s Role
When we talk about traditional media, we are discussing television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and anything that falls before the Information Age. A study by UOC’s Silvia Majó-Vázquez, Ph.D. has even proven that the weight of these traditional media brands still has a more substantial impact than all of the smaller, digital outlets combined. Readership numbers aside, the influence on activated and engaged peoples matters in crypto.
Cryptocurrency has a volatility problem, and until people can feel that a token is a token, much the same way a dollar is a dollar, then we will always run into trouble being more than thoughtful think-pieces to traditional media. Reporters know this, especially financial ones who are fully aware of the effects that news reports can have on creating market runs. Just Google what’s been going on with Elon Musk and Tesla in the last few months. Reporting on if’s and when’s is hell for reporters in traditional outlets. They want to, the readership wants to see it, but unless they can feel legitimate security in their endorsements, the road to mass adoption of crypto will remain partially blocked.
Being able to recognize what the big name media brands need from crypto will give you a better shot at securing coverage of your projects. Never hide the data and facts, always be honest with your progress, and try to remain rational about the potential. Taking these steps will build out relationships of trust with the traditional segments of the media industry, and with every little piece of coverage, another node in the chain of mass adoption is born.
Educating Reporters
Education of the differences of all the projects, tokens, and terminology of the crypto world is a massive hurdle for reporters trying to break into this FinTech space from the mainstream, traditional outlets. It is no secret that blockchain is not an easy concept to explain to just anyone, and even the top companies in the space, like Ripple, are leveraging their millions of followers with educational webinars and a TV show that better explains and legitimizes what is going on with cryptocurrency.
Digital Media’s Role
Digital media is where things start to get real fun! Now we are talking about any digitized media streams, so video streams, social media, online newspapers, blogs, and even ~technically~ many of the Nu-Wave media that we will talk about down below. Digital Media, for our sake, covers the primary outlets like search engines, blogs, social media influencers, and YouTuber’s. These outlets are no longer new, experimental or trendy, but instead, are tested sources of incredible outreach and engagement for brands.
Although the communities for cryptocurrency are still very niched down at this point in places like YouTube and Twitter (looking at you #CryptoTwitter), it goes without saying that as soon as one of these communities finds mainstream success, all the projects utilizing and partnering with the right players will be at the forefront of endorse-able, mainstream products.
The great news with social media and digital media outlets is that they are ultimately trending upward, and so long as crypto articles can continue to dominate social news feeds, then adoption rates will keep rising. Engage in conversations, build relationships with influencers, and get the support of the community behind you. Lest we not forget the finicky nature of social media right now, with everyone pushing away crypto brands only for some to reinstate them. It’s a very love-hate relationship, due to the amount of distrust some ICOs brought in 2017 to the space. However, if you want to find some in-depth understanding of how the digital media space will help propel cryptocurrency adoption, take a listen to Seth Godin talking about Tribes. “A tribe is a group of people connected, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea.”
Nu-Wave Media to Keep Eyes On
I feel I must begin by defending this sub-heading to you the reader. Yes, what I am about to get into could be defined as just another aspect of digital media; however, I think they play a key role in ultimate support of the adoption of something as progressive as a cryptocurrency, and therefore they belong in their category.
I am talking about utilizing messaging, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, podcasts, and any media that looks to take advantage of the growing importance of that tribe mentality of niched down segments. The crypto world has been at the forefront in the adoption of messaging groups using Discord and Telegram, but this only touches upon the most dedicated of early-adopters. The passion and promise are there, but it does not answer the how in our search for mass media adoption.
Our answer comes by looking at the statistics of the original digital media powerhouses, like search engines. The average number of organic results on Google searches has dropped from 10 to 8.5. (Searchmetrics) In favor of mobile, messaging, and voice search (think Alexa). That makes these numbers huge, and the value of nu-digital doubly so. The blockchain is one of the newest players in the tech space when it comes to innovation and upside, and being dogged on by others not seeing its real potential is why crypto becomes the best consumer for these new digital media assets. Remember, the first cryptocurrency transaction was negotiated on a Bitcoin forum.
Conclusion
Ethereum co-founder Buterin Vitalik believes that the crypto community has focused too much on the technical and trading aspects of mass adoption, rather than making cryptocurrency easier to use as a method of payment for everyday purchases via payment cards, according to a recent tweet.
Ultimately, it is up to the teams, brands, and partners in the crypto community to recognize the importance of these more straightforward one-to-one relationships, and doing that will help build these bridges with media, in every form they exist, in order to ear their badge of trust that can be shared with their millions and millions of readers and viewers. Only when the media can trust crypto, will the rest of the world follow suit. Knowing this and reading this will hopefully inspire you and your team to double-down on your media relations efforts moving forward.
