Jun 4, 2018
Why walking the walk is our crypto marketing strategy
Token Sales are hot right now. Some will succeed, others will struggle and then there are the 46% of Token Sales and subsequent projects that, like last year, may fail. So what’s the algorithm for Token Sale success? Perhaps it’s part idea, part team, part timing, part luck — and several parts powerful marketing machine.
Whatever the winning formula, a Token Sale is a tough task and it takes a huge amount of work to go from zero to launch. We should know, we’re living and breathing our own right now. These are some of the things we’ve learnt along the way:
1. Grow your network
Having a solid network of people and skill sets around you is essential.
You will need to follow increasingly more defined rules and regulations — the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is just one example. Seek out legal advisors from the start and defer to their expertise on every step of the execution and communication.
Surround yourself with a smart team of advisors, from people that have successfully raised eight-figure sums for blockchain projects and pioneered new technologies, all the way to younger voices from the next generations that will really drive blockchain adoption.
Crypto conferences and events are an excellent place to mingle and meet people, not to mention generate brand awareness. They happen across the globe all the time — here’s a nice round up.
LinkedIn is another effective platform for tapping into the crypto community. However, before reaching out cold to new potential contacts, consider Zak Slayback’s advice to keep the communication short with only the information that matters.
2. Be honest
As Merunas Grincalaitis says, always, always, always be transparent and honest. As soon as you put your project out into the world, people will start asking questions. These questions will range from anything about the project itself, about your whitepaper or even your expectations. This may sound like trivial advice but you will be doing a huge disservice to your Token Sale if you are not 100% honest from the start.
If you encounter a problem or are in the process of a new exciting update, be sure to let your community know about this. Communication is key. Using sites like LinkedIn, Reddit, Medium, BitcoinTalk and Telegram are now fairly well trodden platforms for getting your story out there.
3. Build a community
And with communication, comes community. You need dedicated community managers to voice new updates, share important articles, initiate various bounty campaigns and generally be of service to anyone who needs it. Then there are the bounty campaigns to build an army of influencers that can spread the word for you. Your team will need to answer questions and in as timely a manner as possible. The faster you are with your answers, the more active you are in various channels, the more credible you appear compared to your competitors, the more likely people will buy.
However, it’s also just as important to listen. If users are making a suggestion, don’t disregard them. Consider the validity of their point and be open to criticism. In this setting, you can adapt before any negative repercussions can occur.
External agencies with experience in the field can help spread the word for you — although bear in mind, given the relative brevity that blockchain and Token Sales have been around for, there are no truly seasoned veterans in this field. Everyone is experimenting and finding their feet. Ultimately, the aim is to build the community and have members participating in an authentic and engaging environment.
4. Create a content marketing machine
Your whitepaper will act as the information center for your Token Sale. Here is where most advisors, technicians and curious George’s will browse to get the hard facts. Your website and campaign landing pages are also critical lead generation tools and all content marketing materials should lead back to this.
5. Spread the word (of mouth)
In recent news, big tech companies like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Google have caught onto the SEC’s warnings that there is a growing trend for “fraud and manipulation” in the cryptocurrency markets due to their rising popularity. In order to avoid any potential trouble down the line, they have altogether banned cryptocurrency ICO and Token Sale advertising on their platforms. This presents a whole new problem. If four main social outlets for networking are refusing to promote such programmes, how and what would be effective in creating a buzz about your company?
As well as the platforms listed earlier, we here at WOM believe that the best method will always be word of mouth. Getting people excited about your project and spreading the word for you will speak volumes about your work alone. This is another good reason to visit conferences and mingle within the appropriate communities to start getting a good buzz and making your company known.
This is essentially what the WOM Token is all about: recognizing the vital role that word-of-mouth recommendations from one person to another play for brand marketing. Currently, people make recommendations about some 2.1 billion brands every day online and receive nothing in return. With WOM, brands can record, track and reward these kind of word-of-mouth recommendations on the blockchain.
Now, as this is a new, exciting and turbulent environment, there are still many elements that need to be decided with great precision. Not only do you want your Token Sale to succeed but you need to comply legally too. As we draw closer to our own Token Sale, we would not like to pretend that we know everything — but we hope these insights and tips help anyone on their own Token journey.
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