The rules vary again for the experts and non-experts when considering how to create brand awareness of your blockchain startup within social media channels. The experts are a tight knit community, and need to be treated as such. While Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and the rest of the mainstream platforms are good for marketing to the mainstream audience and also for SEO purposes, we need to utilize other tools in order to snag those hardcore crypto fans. The two most important (and common) platforms utilized by the crypto community are Telegram and Slack. Both of these help those crypto fans interested in the product have close, open discussions with the teams behind them.
While Telegram creates a free-for-all town hall, Slack allows for more focused debate across channels. On both platforms, the secret to good marketing is moderation. You want to keep the conversation on-going and on topic, while at the same time, not being so spammy that you scare people away. On Telegram, it’s recommended to create an all encompassing welcome message that will give new members all the info they need and pin it to the top of the group. On slack, the same can be achieved with a welcome bot, that can also direct new members to the appropriate channels that may be relevant to them.
In addition to those platforms, we must talk about one of the most important networks being utilized by the crypto industry – Reddit. Due to the fact that blockchain is all about democratizing systems, this democratized content platform is frequently used by members of various blockchain startups to participate in discussions in relevant subreddits, as well as host AMAs and run their own subreddits, to communicate more closely with their communities. Always remember that authenticity is crucial on Reddit, so be transparent about who you are and what you’re looking to achieve, and always identify yourself as a member of the team.
Another emerging platform to be watching is Steem.it, a blockchain based network, similar to Reddit, which is very popular amongst the experts since it’s blockchain based. On Steem.it users post content, and they are then compensated in cryptocurrency based on how viral their content becomes within the community. Users don’t only get compensated for content they create, but also for content that they are first to publish, so always be on the lookout to see if others are posting about your company as well.
Finally, Bitcointalk, the official bitcoin forums, should also be a part of your social media strategy, with a detailed announcement of your ICO posted on its “alternate coins” subforum. You should also consider a bounty program, a successful technique as of late. This is basically a social media ambassador affiliate program where you encourage members of Bitcointalk to promote your startup on various networks in exchange for a piece of the ICO. The ambassadors get tokens at a predetermined rate according to the amount of traction they are able to achieve for your ICO.
In all of your social media activity, always remember that the wording you’ll use to deliver your messages on the mainstream platforms will be greatly simplified compared to the wording you can feel free to utilize on Reddit, Bitcointalk, and the like.
