Marketing in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry is unlike that of any other. Factors like high market volatility, “newness” of the technology, and a jaded community that was burnt super bad in early 2018 means crypto marketers have unique challenges to overcome to ensure an effective crypto marketing strategy.
Advertising in the space is made even more difficult if there is an investment component to the product you are bringing to market.
But, with this guide, you’ll have everything you need to help your brand go viral.
What is Crypto Marketing?
Crypto marketing is the execution of marketing and advertising efforts with the goal of raising awareness, acquiring users, or driving growth for a cryptocurrency or blockchain-related product. Marketing tactics that work for traditional industries often do not work well for cryptocurrency-related products. Popular crypto marketing strategies include influencer marketing, community growth, social media management, and grassroots digital marketing. Coinbound is the leading crypto and Web3 marketing agency.
How to Make Connections in Crypto
Having done campaigns for over 100 crypto brands, we have found that success in crypto is largely aided by connections. Joining a community like Coinbound Web3 Marketing Community on Twitter can help connect you with some great leaders and entrepreneurs in the Web3 space and boost your pace of growth.
Top Crypto Social Media Marketing Channels
A social media presence is damn near required for brands. This rings especially true for blockchain and crypto companies. Social media is a must for your cryptocurrency marketing strategy.
Here are the essential accounts every cryptocurrency marketing team should set up.
Gary V calls Twitter the “Water cooler of the internet” and, love him or hate him, he’s right.
Twitter has an incredible ability to capture the cryptocurrency community’s attention, making it a great addition to your crypto marketing strategy.
For those looking to just get into the crypto Twitter world, check out these top Twitter accounts to get started.
Also, we recently did a really interesting podcast episode on the importance of Twitter and how crypto brands should leverage it correctly.
YouTube
Nothing really allows for long-form video content quite like YouTube. Popular crypto YouTubers have found the video hosting platform to be a great way to offer content that educates, connects, and informs the virtual asset industry.
We recommend using YouTube to host any long content that explains your product as it is much easier to digest information in video form than text.
Additionally, YouTube videos are very easy to link to from other channels.
The fact that YouTube videos exist in perpetuity is another added bonus.
Instagram is one of the fastest-growing social media platforms.
Also, Instagram stories are a great and quick way to showcase new updates at your company and give your audience a taste of your personality.
We recommend keeping your Instagram feed fresh with content about recent news and market updates, as well as sprinkling in some project updates.
Steemit
Steemit has positioned itself as a great alternative to Medium when it comes to hosting blog content.
Also, Use Steemit as a supplement, not a replacement, for your on-site blog. Steemit is great for drawing in new readers to your content but will do nothing to boost your domain’s SEO.
Learn why cryptocurrency companies need to pay close attention to these SEO tips.
BitcoinTalk
There was a time when BitcoinTalk was one of the largest online communities for digital asset discussion.
In late 2017, nearly every ICO and cryptocurrency website had a link to their BitcoinTalk thread.
While that time has come and gone, BitcoinTalk is still a highly trafficked site worthy of posting occasional updates.
TikTok
Despite being the new kid on the block, TikTok has already attracted the attention of cryptocurrency lovers across the world.
While the crypto community has yet to fully adopt TikTok, we recommend getting in early to establish your account as a powerful voice in the network.
Check out some top crypto TikTok accounts.
Clubhouse
Clubhouse is another incredibly fast-growing platform that is super popular with crypto’s most well-connected. While it has lost a little bit of traffic since it went viral in early 2021, there is still a large community of cryptocurrency users on Clubhouse.
Reddit is the 15th most visited site in the world and self-described as the front page of the internet. We’ve found Reddit to be a particularly effective strategy for DeFi projects as the DeFi community spends a significant amount of time on Reddit.
Once you’ve created a Reddit account be sure to check out these top cryptocurrency subreddits.
How to measure your marketing success
It’s important to set up a system to measure your success. Marketing is all about experimenting, and being able to measure the results of your advertising efforts will help reveal where your time and money are best spent.
Here are some tools you should set up before go all-in on your crypto advertising.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is the first and likely most important tool you’ll be using to measure if what you are doing is working. Fortunately, it’s free.
Analytics provides all the information you’ll need to analyze your site’s traffic, including where it’s coming from and who is visiting it.
UTMs
UTMs (Urchin Tracking Modules) are another essential part of analyzing the success of your advertising. Using a URL builder, you can create UTMs that allow you to track links across the internet.
Here’s an example of what a UTM looks like:
https://coinbound.io/?utm_source=blockonomi&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=influencers
Take special note of what is after the question mark. Everything after the question mark is the UTM.
The 5 parts of a UTM are the following:
- Campaign Source
- Campaign Medium
- Campaign Name
- Campaign Term
- Campaign Content
Not all 5 parts need to be used for a UTM to work. Most commonly only the first three are used.
If you went to this link, your browser would treat it the same whether it had the UTM or not. The above link will bring you to Coinbound’s homepage regardless of if the UTM is there.
The only difference would be that, with the UTM, Google Analytics will let you know that this visitor clicked on a banner ad on Blockonomi promoting our crypto influencer marketing services.
You can customize UTMs however you like to better track all kinds of links directing to your site.
Tools you’ll need to bring your crypto to market
What’s a tradesman without his tools, not much. These tools will ensure you have everything you need to market smarter and not harder.
Top Crypto SEO Tools
Ahrefs
If you plan to take SEO (Search Engine Optimization) seriously, Ahrefs is a necessity. It is an extremely powerful marketing tool that allows you to identify keywords to build content around.
Price
Ahrefs has four main pricing plans: Lite ($99/mo), Standard ($179/mo), Advanced ($399/mo), and Agency ($999).
Beginner marketers should find the Lite or Standard plan sufficient for their SEO needs. Despite being a leading cryptocurrency SEO agency, Coinbound finds the Standard plan capable enough to perform all needed tasks.
Top Crypto Email Marketing Services
Did you know that for every $1 spent on email marketing brands earn $32 in revenue? Pretty awesome right?!
Before you start shooting off emails to prospective customers be sure to check out our guide on how cryptocurrency companies should write the perfect email subject line.
Hubspot
Hubspot is one of the most comprehensive tools that exist in online marketing and sales. Best known for its CRM, Hubspot has also built a name for itself in terms of email marketing.
What’s even more important is that Hubspot never banned crypto advertisers from their platform like MailChimp did.
Hubspot’s emailing system gives users access to hundreds of templates and allows them to track open rates, CTRs, and much, much more.
With paid plans, you can even set emails to automatically follow up with clients if they don’t respond to your messages.
Because of the attached CRM, it keeps all your emails, marketing-related or not, in one place.
We’ve found HubSpot to be a vital tool for keeping all of Coinbound’s team members on the same page.
Hubspot Pricing
Hubspot offers lots of services that digital businesses will find helpful. For email marketing, a marketing hub plan is needed.
The marketing plan comes in 3 tiers.
The basic plan, which starts at $50 per month provides all the basic tools you’ll need to send high-performing email blasts. If you want to utilize Hubspot’s marketing automation tools, however, you’ll have to shell out more.
Constant Contact
This tool is another great option for crypto marketing teams that are just starting to add emails to their marketing strategy. While not nearly as robust as Hubspot, Constant Contact is a very budget-friendly tool.
Constant Contact Pricing
Constant Contact is one of the cheaper tools on the market which is appropriate given its limited scope.
The basic version will cost $20 monthly while the plus subscription, which includes more tools, runs $45 per month.
Mailerlite
Mailerlite is a great crypto-friendly option for crypto brands looking to manage a newsletter. Mailerlite is a basic option with everything you need and nothing more.
Mailerlite Pricing
Mailerlite plans start at only $10, making them highly affordable.
For Crypto Graphic Design
Canva
Canva is a seriously incredible tool for creating beautiful graphics quickly.
While it won’t be able to create graphics of the quality more advanced programs like Photoshop could, it’s more cost and time-effective and plenty capable for most early-stage companies.
Canva Pricing
Canva works on a freemium model, meaning there are both free and paid versions.
The free version can do most of what you might need on a very basic level but skimps on important features like the ability to create transparent .png files.
The paid premium version costs ~$13 per month. Our team at Coinbound uses Canva on a daily basis and feels it is WELL worth the price.
Best Crypto Advertising Methods, Channels, and Strategies
Crypto Influencers
Along with the recent explosion of interest in the digital currency world is that of influencer marketing.
In fact, 63% of marketers plan to increase their influencer marketing budget for the upcoming year and this study revealed a return on investment of $6.50 for every $1 spent advertising through influencers.
What’s especially interesting about influencer marketing is that it offers significantly higher levels of trust than that of traditional paid media.
The most popular avenues to promote crypto brands are Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.
As the leading crypto influencer marketing agency, Coinbound has access to the world’s largest network of crypto content creators, KOLs, and influencers.
For guides to the top crypto influencers check these: Top Crypto YouTube Accounts, Top Crypto LinkedIn Accounts,
Crypto Banner Ads & Display Advertising
Banner ads are one of the oldest methods of Internet marketing.
The concept is simple. Get your brand in front of as many people as possible at a low cost. The problem here is that it’s 2019 and almost everyone has adblockers installed.
Blockchain-based browsers that have built-in ad and tracker blocking like Brave have made this even more true for cryptocurrency demographics.
Regardless, Banner ads are still a highly cost-effective strategy for some brands.
Based on our research, blockchain brands should expect to pay between $6-$14 CPM (cost per thousand impressions) to get their banner ad on a crypto-focused website.
CoinMarketCap is an example of a higher-priced crypto display ad option and sits at the top of that range at ~$14 CPM.
Similarly, if you prefer to buy crypto display ads via a network rather than directly through publishers or an agency here are the top crypto ad networks you should know.
Crypto Social Media Marketing
With social media, especially Twitter, being so important to cryptocurrency users, it’s natural to think blockchain companies should spend resources on building a strong social media presence.
Cryptocurrency Podcasts
Cryptocurrency audiences love Podcasts and begin that crypto folks tend to be on the busier side, there’s no surprise there. Podcasts are super easy to access and can be consumed casually while relaxing or driving.
This crypto podcast marketing section has two parts: marketing on other people’s podcasts and marketing your own.
Marketing through your own podcast
This is one of those types of super cost-effective strategies that just requires a bit of time and hosting your own podcast is an incredible way of doing a few things.
1. Position your brand or a member of your team as a thought leader in the space.
Crypto audiences are some of the most untrustworthy in the world. They’ve been misinformed, misled, scammed, and duped for years and as such, they are jaded. Very, very jaded. To achieve true success in this business you’re going to need people’s trust. By hosting a podcast you show that you are both a real person and that you know what you are talking about.
2. Give you more content to share
Cryptocurrency guru Paul McNeal once said the key to successfully growing an audience is to have something to say, saying it well, and saying it often.
On that third point, because podcasts are relatively low-effort, episodes can be put out frequently. This gives you a ton of shareable content to blast on social media and remind people you exist.
At Coinbound, we have found really great results stemming from our own podcast, The Crypto Marketing Show.
Honestly, it’s pretty fun too.
Have a listen to one of our recent episodes:
Marketing on other people’s podcasts:
Like we said, hosting a podcast is a great way to get eyeballs on your project. However, not everyone has the time to put it all together.
If you fall into this category it’s still worthwhile to explore getting exposure through others’ podcasts, either as a sponsor or as a guest.
Sponsoring a popular podcast is the easier, albeit more expensive option. What this typically involves is creating a script or short sound bite that will be read or played by the podcast’s host.
If you’re more interested in actually be featured or interviewed on a podcast you’re probably in luck as crypto podcasts are, in general, relatively easy to get on. Popular podcasters like Kenn Bosak, for example, even post links on Twitter to fill empty spots.
Going on a podcast will give you a great platform to give a more detailed explanation of who you are and what your company is about.
Here’s a great example of our Managing Partner, Ty Smith on The DIVI Project’s podcast:
Crypto PR
Crypto PR can be massively helpful to growing your blockchain, NFT, ICO, or DeFi company. Typically, the process involves building media lists, creating creative and inspiring pitches, and pitching the story to relavent media like journalists, podcasts, and influencers.
Public Relations is typically best left to PR agencies like Coinbound.
For more options, here are the best Crypto PR agencies.
Crypto Telegram Marketing
Telegram has become the de facto communication method for many crypto users. Reaching out to top crypto Telegram accounts can be a great component of your cryptocurrency marketing strategy and a cost-efficient way of reaching hundreds of thousands of cryptocurrency holders.
For more information, check out our Crypto Telegram Marketing guide.
Crypto Email Marketing
What would you say if we told you that for every $1 you spent on marketing, you would earn $32 in revenue? You’d pay pretty close attention to what we had to say next, right?
Well…that’s email marketing.
In 2018, brands earned, on average, $32 in revenue or sales for every $1 spent on email marketing. Wow.
How can this be? Is it that emails convert at some crazy high rate or is it just that email marketing is extremely inexpensive.
It’s likely the latter.
The basic plans for email marketing run are extremely cost-effective, often running under $50 per month.
Because the technology is so new, there has yet to be comprehensive research conducted on average open rates specifically for brands in the cryptocurrency industry.
However, using data from other industries, you can expect an open rate of around 17.92%
Shoot for an open rate above 20%
Not to pat ourselves on the back too hard but, Coinbound maintains an email open rate of over 40%. A lot of it comes down to knowing how to write an email subject line that drives engagement.
Crypto SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective methods of crypto marketing, especially over the long term.
The key to maximizing the time spent on SEO growth is keyword optimization. By using tools like Ahrefs, SEMRush, and Google Keyword Planner you can better identify which words to work into your site’s content.
On average, you can expect the results of your SEO efforts to become fully evident approximately 3-8 months in.
Working with a Crypto Marketing Agency
Cryptocurrency marketing can be complex. For many, figuring it out on their own can be a scary and expensive process. For beginners to crypto marketing, we highly recommend working with a top crypto marketing agency. These agencies work specifically in the blockchain marketing industry and are experts at helping ICOs, NFT projects, DeFi projects, and more grow quickly.
The Importance of Building Trust in Crypto Marketing
Building a trustworthy brand in arguably more needed in crypto than any other industry. Here’s a great video on the importance of trust for a crypto brand and how to best build trust for your blockchain company.
How do you become a crypto marketer?
The best way to become a crypto marketer is to consume crypto marketing content online. The best crypto marketing educational resources are available on Coinbound’s YouTube channel and blog.
Crypto Marketing FAQs
Top crypto marketing strategies include influencer marketing, SEO, community management, and social media growth.
There are many crypto marketing agencies, each with a different level of experience and knowledge of crypto. The top full-service cryptocurrency marketing agency is Coinbound.
The budget for marketing an ICO depends greatly on several factors. Most successful ICOs spend between $100,000 and $5 Million in marketing.
We’ve compiled a full list of the top crypto podcasts here: https://coinbound.io/best-cryptocurrency-podcasts/
Ty Smith is considered the most well-known cryptocurrency marketing expert
The best way to become a crypto marketer is to consume crypto marketing content online. The best crypto marketing educational resources are available on Coinbound’s YouTube channel and blog.
Conclusion
Being a marketer in the crypto space isn’t always easy but, with the information contained in this guide, we hope you feel well-prepared to dominate the competition.
Good luck and remember you’re not alone! If you have any questions feel free to shoot us a message.
