Decentralized finance (DeFi) is an emerging technology that aims to revolutionize the finance industry. It is based on secure distributed ledgers that allow users to earn interest, borrow, lend, trade assets and derivatives, buy insurance, and all that banks enable their users to do, but without requiring them to trust a third party.
The biggest advantage of DeFi is that it is global, peer-to-peer, pseudonymous, and transparent. Anyone who has an internet connection can access these applications without requiring anyone’s permission.
Moreover, DeFi allows users to move their assets anywhere, at any time, without wasting a lot of time or paying expensive fees. These benefits have enabled the DeFi market to grow at a rapid pace, touching new heights in 2022.
In February this year, the market size of DeFi stood at a whopping $106 billion, with hundreds of DeFi protocols vying to carve a niche for itself.
The number of DeFi users, on the other hand, can be gauged from the active wallets interacting with DeFi protocols, which was over 4.3 million in January 2022.
Thus, to stand out in this competitive yet burgeoning space, it is crucial to have a well-thought marketing strategy, highly relevant to the DeFi industry.
The Top Marketing Channels for DeFi
For any DeFi protocol planning to enter this burgeoning market, it is crucial to leverage marketing channels that can help them reach a wide audience. So, let’s look at the channels that a DeFi protocol can utilize to gain attention and stand out!
DeFi Trackers
The very first step to getting a DeFi project seen by a vast audience as well as other pioneers is having a project on sites that track all things DeFi. It is a powerful strategy, as it will also provide free organic traffic and help generate link mass.
There are several DeFi trackers out there where a new project can upload details about itself, such as DeFi Pulse, DeFi Llama, Staking Rewards, DeFi prime, DeFi.cx, DeFi Score, Coinmarketcap, Coinpaprika, and DeFi Rate. However this is not limit to popular trackers only. There are many trackers still in their early growth phase, which are seeing slow but steady growth.
These sites are particularly popular with DeFi users. Hence, they can easily gain access to all the information about a project on these websites. Just make sure that when creating a company profile, provide the details that may interest the target audience, including links to GitHub code, technical documentation, project mission, partners, and team leaders. Analyzing other companies to see what competitors are doing and what works on such platforms is also a good idea.
Exchange Listings
Besides getting listed on tracking websites, another crucial way to get noticed is getting exchange listings that will help create demand for a DeFi token. However, exchange listing isn’t limited to centralized exchanges like Coinbase, Binance, and FTX alone, as decentralized ones like Uniswap, SushiSwap, and PacakeSwap are also seeing a rapid increase in trading volumes.
Being a DeFi project, getting on other dApps will play an incremental part in having access to liquidity and a wider and diverse audience base that is already familiar with all things decentralized finance. Besides, announcing exchange listings on social media, company blogs, and press releases is likely to attract more users to a DeFi protocol’s fold, as these listings make buying DeFi tokens easier.
Rewards and Incentives
Just getting listed on a centralized and decentralized exchange is not enough. To attract users and increase demand, a DeFi protocol should offer its audience rewards and incentives that they cannot refuse.
Start this process with a build-up as the token enters the market so that the activity reflects in an increased trading volume to support the price action and provide liquidity for the DeFi token.
Here, A DeFi protocol can then introduce trading incentives such as additional tokens and prize money in fiat currency to reward early participants or those who trade the most volume in a particular time period.
Referral Programs
For brand awareness, great exposure is crucial, and what better way than a word-of-mouth marketing tactic that encourages customers to advocate on behalf of the brand. A DeFi protocol can achieve this through referrals and affiliate programs that let customers share their brand experience with friends, partners, and colleagues.
Through referrals, a DeFi project can offer users discounts or other incentives to sign-up to start trading. Then, share the referral links through social media accounts so that anyone can join in. While people earn rewards, it will also result in growth in the community, which is a win-win situation for everyone.
Giveaways
Giveaways are pretty popular in the cryptocurrency market, and though they can be costly, this can be a very effective strategy. Some of the most popular airdrops in crypto have been Uniswap (UNI), The Sandbox (SAND), and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT project’s APE token.
However, sending free tokens en masse to the community to encourage adoption is not the only way. Instead, a DeFi protocol should get creative with contests, games, and special projects to engage the existing audience.
Influencer Marketing
Another great way to promote a DeFi project is influencer marketing. Collaborating with crypto and DeFi influencers who have a strong following can help a DeFi project reach a larger and new audience to solidify its brand recognition.
Video content also tends to excel here as it can share more information about the project. A properly presented video particularly resonates well with people looking to invest based on comprehensive financial research.
It can be an advantage for a DeFi project if YouTube influencers were to promote the platform through tutorials and analytical reviews.
Additionally, a DeFi protocol should try other channels to grow the brand awareness and traffic. Telegram is another popular channel in the crypto sphere that provides tools to analyze audience quality, engagement rates, and ROMI.
Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Discord, and TikTok are other prominent ways to reach the masses.
Forums like Bitcointalk, Cryptotalk, Cryptointalk, and others are also a good way to share news about the project. Events and conferences meanwhile are important for networking, building connections, and gaining recognition.
In short, experiment with other channels as every platform has its own benefits and target audience.
Prevent scammers who use bots for engagement, as the crypto industry is rife with them. Besides engagement, pay attention to the number of comments and likes, as well as the type of comments.
Digital Advertising
There is no alternative to a multi-channel approach, and digital advertising is a must-have strategy for any DeFi protocols. It can be as simple as an eye-catching image promoting a DeFi project. Data aggregators, trading forums, and other websites are great opportunities for banner advertising.
The idea is to be recognizable and digital ads have the potential to reach a mass audience cost-effectively. A DeFi protocol can utilize tools like Cost Per Click (CPC) and CPM (Cost Per Thousand) to ensure it is reaching the right audience and has been worth it.
SEO and Content Marketing
SEO and content marketing are other ways to promote a DeFi project. Content is king, and optimizing DeFi content is a great way to educate an audience about an upcoming DeFi project. Furthermore, optimizing content helps a DeFi protocol stay relevant.
Several content formats can be tried, such as informative blogs, webinars, statistics, surveys, insights, and infographics. Keeping the community informed with the project and listening to the community feedback creates a strong bond between a DeFi protocol and its users.
For long-term plans, SEO is also a beneficial tool to optimize websites and creating commercial and informational pages.
PR Campaigns
Having reputational media mentions is particularly helpful for an up-and-coming DeFi project. This form of marketing tool can be used to share information such as listings on exchanges, new crypto partnerships, and milestone achievements.
A partnership shouldn’t be limited to traditional agencies and should include those with long-standing relationships with large DeFi and crypto media corporations.
When outsourcing responsibility for creating content to focus on core aspects of running a project, it is crucial to check if the article submitted is of good quality, fact-checked, and provides some value to the audience.
Positive media engagement helps gain credibility, and mentions on external resources will further help support SEO. Overall, it helps in building brand awareness and a loyal following.
Email Marketing
After building the email followers list, its time to nurture these relationships consistently. Stay in touch with them and share general messages and DeFi information with engaging, interesting, and personal content.
Offering deals or referral codes for new subscriptions is another way to keep them engaged but don’t dump a barrage of emails on them, or that will drive away even the interested parties.
Partnerships
Partnerships are a great tool for growth and is particularly helpful in the later stages of the product journey. Once a DeFi project has created an active community, brand recognition, and market capital, it should look for other projects that can add value to its product.
They can reach out to their community to discuss potential partnerships, which can help improve the product and attract a much larger audience.
Conclusion
A DeFi protocol must try a mix of these instruments that suit their strategy. To do this, they must have a set goal and target audience in mind. Moreover, marketing isn’t where it all stops, as it is an ongoing process that requires conducting constant monitoring and optimization.
Today, there are tons of DeFi projects available in the market and a new one popping every other day. With competition so fierce, staying on top of the game by capturing the market’s attention is not an option anymore, but a necessity.
About Coinbound
Coinbound is the leading Web3 marketing agency. Coinbound works with major crypto brands like Gala, Immutable, eToro, Cosmos, Litecoin, Tron, and, OKX to boost brand growth through influencers, publishers, PR, SEO, social media management, community growth, and paid advertising.
