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Crypto Marketing vs. Traditional: Which One Wins?

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By , Updated On December 16, 2024

Any crypto project, even one with a foreign market coin value of $100,000, needs competent marketing. The fact is that the concept of cryptocurrencies initially gained its virality thanks to word of mouth of crypto enthusiasts, and it is definitely not worth underestimating the opportunity to attract the attention of the global crypto community through a well-built marketing strategy. 

At the same time, it is worth noting that crypto marketing is significantly different from traditional marketing, so the services of a regular marketing agency are unlikely to help you. Below, we, the international crypto marketing agency Coinband, will reveal this difference in detail.

Let’s Start with the Rules

Let’s start with the fact that marketing, which is carried out for any crypto project, is subject to strict regulations in the vast majority of countries. The fact is that since such solutions are most often associated with financial investments, their direct advertising is prohibited on platforms such as Google and Meta. This, in turn, forces the crypto marketing team to use alternative promotion channels, for example, crypto communities or specialized platforms like Cointelegraph and CryptoSlate.

In turn, marketing, with the help of which ordinary products and services are promoted, does not face restrictions of this kind (with the exception of only a few groups of goods, including alcohol and cigarettes). Therefore, they can (and should, since this is really effective) be promoted through mass communication channels with the audience, including television, social networks, and, of course, contextual advertising.

Let’s Continue with the Differences in the Target Audience

The target audience of crypto projects is people who are already familiar with blockchain and crypto technologies or those who want to discover new objects for investment. One way or another, the former has already “settled” thoroughly, while the latter has to visit the so-called crypto communities located in Telegram, Reddit, Discord, and specialized forums like Bitcointalk to learn more about their potential investment objects.

As for marketing for Web2 solutions, here, communication is carried out through mass media, outdoor advertising, or advertising on TV, radio, etc. Therefore, its placement can be considered less problematic to some extent (although this does not mean that it is cheaper).

Let’s Analyze Effective Promotion Channels Deeper

So, the promotion of crypto projects has several effective approaches. The first of them is influencer marketing, which consists of collaborations with crypto bloggers and niche YouTube channels that explain to viewers complex technological concepts related to blockchain. The second approach is launching an airdrop campaign (this term refers to the free distribution of tokens to attract new users – to receive them, users must perform certain actions, for example, share an airdrop announcement on their social networks). The third approach is to attend cryptocurrency events – here, you can gain some authority among your peers and get valuable partnerships. Finally, it is worth noting the placement of your project in ICO lists on specialized platforms such as ICO Drops and CryptoRank – they are visited daily by millions of crypto enthusiasts from all over the world, and you have a high chance that as many people as possible will learn about your crowdfunding event.

As for regular projects that are not related to the blockchain industry, they can get buyers through Google Ads, TV or radio campaigns, promotions implemented at points of sale (offline and online), as well as content marketing, carried out both on their own websites and beyond (here, we mean guest posting).

What Role Does Community Play in Crypto and Traditional Marketing?

As we said earlier, in crypto marketing, the whole strategy is built around a loyal community. Indeed, if we analyze the success stories of famous crypto projects, we can conclude that they largely depended on the activity of users in social networks and forums, and that is why they relied on community management in Telegram and Discord. At the same time, traditional marketing can quite effectively place its advertising messages without communicating directly with its target audience.

Which Content Works Better in Each of These Types of Marketing?

Content strategy in crypto marketing is always aimed at explaining complex concepts in simple terms (this includes aspects of the project’s tokenomics, blockchain technology, the principles of smart contracts, etc.). That is why it is important for crypto projects to first create a comprehensive whitepaper.

In marketing, promotion experts are still more focused on the emotionality of their messages, revealing stories where the promoted products or services play a key role, as well as creating the visual appeal of advertising content.

Techniques That Can Be Effective in One Type of Marketing, but Useless in Others

To summarize the above, we can conclude that conventional promotion channels like banners are ineffective for crypto projects since the audience is not inclined to trust solutions that do not have a reputation “among ordinary people”. It is much more reasonable to organize AMA sessions with the founders, where potential investors can communicate with them face-to-face.

In the case of other projects, such an approach, especially with an emphasis on their technical aspects, is likely to discourage their target audience. Conversely, direct marketing through discounts, promotions, and loyalty programs is most likely to bear fruit.

Conclusion

In general, crypto marketing requires a highly specialized approach, an understanding of the target audience and its interests, as well as technical knowledge. If you are interested in the effective promotion of your crypto project, you can contact the Coinband experts.