How Important is Twitter for Cryptocurrency Companies? - Episode 7

Ty Smith0:03

All right, welcome back to another episode of the Coinbound podcast. My name is Ty Daniel Smith. With me is Kylie and TJ. We'll go through your nicknames...

Kylie0:08

Hey, hey.

TJ0:09

Go follow Young Dumb Crypto.

Ty Smith0:10

Okay, there you go. Now that's out of the way. Today we're talking about the importance of Twitter for crypto brands. What do you guys think?

TJ0:14

For crypto?

Ty Smith0:16

For crypto brands.

TJ0:16

Paramount. Paramount. Absolutely 100%. You can't run a successful business without having some type of, in crypto, without having some type of presence on Twitter.

Ty Smith0:22

I would agree.

Kylie0:23

I think Twitter is the birthplace of ideas for the new generation. And because it really is. I mean, that's where people really have, at least my personal experience, people of my generation really have the difficult discussions on Twitter. And that's that's where like real stuff is happening. Instagram, you've got all the pictures and like lifestyle, but Twitter is where people talk about issues.

TJ0:34

No, that's a huge point. And I feel like that's it's just to Twitter in general, it's I feel like it's one of the most organic social media platforms left in existence. Like one of my favorite, everybody complained, one of the number one complaints on Twitter is, oh, when when edit button, Jack? Like when is that coming?

Ty Smith1:11

I would like that. I would like the edit button.

TJ1:12

But I think that's one of the most key features about Twitter. And I think if they ever added an edit button, it would change Twitter forever for the worse. I think no edit button is part of what makes it real and organic and off the cuff. And it's supposed, it's not supposed to be thought out. It's not supposed to be filtered and curated. It's supposed to just be first thing that popped in your head, go, 142 characters or whatever it is.

Ty Smith1:25

And you think that's why, because every kind of industry adopts a different social media platform that's like the main for that industry. Would you say crypto is Twitter? Twitter is for crypto?

TJ1:31

Yeah, I mean, I think I think crypto Twitter is a very unique, special place, and it is definitely part of what makes blockchain and crypto culture what it is. I mean, it was, Crypto Euclid had a great tweet today. I wish I could remember it word for word, but it like, just paraphrasing it, was something like, like crypto is for people who like to suffer, crypto Twitter is for people who like to suffer together. And it's just like, it's just we, it is a family, like, and it's it's a very eclectic group of people with unique thoughts and opinions, but it very much so shapes, I mean, it is the thought leaders of what the space is.

Kylie2:16

As someone who was a few months ago trying to figure out crypto and trying to learn a little bit about it, I tried to go on Instagram because that's my platform of choice, number one. And there there's just not much there. There's just really nothing there. And you have to go to Twitter to see what all the people in crypto are talking about.

TJ2:29

Yeah.

Kylie2:54

They're not posting on Instagram. They're not they're not making YouTube videos, really.

TJ2:56

That's where the conversation really is, day to day.

Ty Smith2:57

Also, for a brand, also especially brands that have sort of limited resources, Twitter is the easiest to create content quickly. It's basically like sending a text message. It's it's so easy, and you can get in front of thousands of people just like that. So for that reason, on top of the fact that everyone in crypto is on Twitter, I definitely I definitely push, the first social media account I would set up if you're a crypto brand is Twitter.

TJ3:09

Yeah, absolutely. Like it's, like you said, that's where everyone is, that's where the active conversation is, and like you said, that's where you have an opportunity to make your voice known, talk about who you are, what you think, what your opinion is, what your take on the news is, what your take on each project is, like just kind of make your stamp, make your mark of who you are within this industry.

Ty Smith3:22

Yeah.

Kylie3:23

As a journalism perspective, we learn the number one most important thing you do when you're writing a story is your first sentence, first paragraph.

TJ3:58

First impression.

Kylie3:58

Yeah, it's basically you sum up exactly what happened, the most important point of your story in the first sentence/paragraph. And that's essentially what Twitter is, is it's the first sentence, it's the lead for any anything, really. So as a company, when you're releasing press releases and stuff like that, why make it longer? Why pay someone when you can just put it out on Twitter, make it concise, say your point, and it's there for millions to see.

Ty Smith4:11

Yeah, it's so much faster than a blog post or something like that. In terms of the numbers, 6% of Coinbound's traffic comes from social media, and of that, 74% is Twitter. So if you want to compare the importance of which social media channel you should be on, that that should definitely be a a stat you should know and keep in mind.

TJ4:21

Yeah, I mean, that sums it up right there. And and that's really like crypto Twitter is like the that is the heartbeat of the culture of what crypto is. So I just feel like in order to market any product, sell any product, or engage with any community, you have to really understand the community and the culture. And I guess that's the other thing, crypto is very community-based industry.

TJ4:59

Every, blockchain projects in general are very volunteer-driven, community-driven, cause-driven, mission-driven. And I think Twitter's one of the best places where you can kind of say who you are, say what your mission is, and say it often, which are the three keys in marketing. And, Twitter's the perfect platform to make that message clear and communicate it with the most highly engaged people within the industry, which hopefully would then champion your cause.

Ty Smith5:15

In terms of sort of the to-dos and what not to-dos on Twitter, do you do you have anything?

TJ5:19

No, as far as my opinion, like the to-dos are be as real, authentic, and honest as you can. Say exactly what you believe in and why. Don't be afraid to be controversial. Don't be afraid to get into it with people. I'm not a big, because there's two kind of ways people use Twitter. A lot of brands use it as just like a general support, like customer service, another way for support tickets and things like that, which is fine.

TJ5:58

It's a great way for like instant communication, like for example with what you had with the bank issues the other day, they got back to you because they can see in real time over Twitter. They use it as, okay, we've got a support complaint here, how can we alleviate this faster? And there are uses for it in that regards, but I really like it in the sense of just like real-time interaction, and it gives you a better, like it's real-time feedback on your products and services immediately. You know, you put a video out there that you thought was a great video, Twitter will tell you immediately if it sucks. And you'll know, okay, that was not a good video, I'm doing something different next time. Or this was a great one, I'm doing something more like that next time in the future. So I think instant feedback is one of the one of the most beautiful things about Twitter from a marketer's perspective.

Ty Smith6:17

Yeah, also it's so easy. I can't think of any other platform that it's so easy to contact someone who's so much more influential than you or something like that. So it's so easy to to just comment on, whatever, a tweet and turn that into a conversation that you weren't having before, turn it into a connection you didn't have before.

TJ6:57

Yeah, I mean, the as your hero Gary V always says, it's like the it's the only thing left that's like the water cooler of today. Or more or less, it's everybody that's, and it's very true, especially for crypto. It's like it's the water cooler of crypto. Whatever happened today, everybody's standing around the water cooler talking about it. And like Twitter is the only place where it's real, authentic, just anybody can say whatever, and at any point, you can walk up to anybody in any industry and leave your two cents on what you think it is that they're talking about.

Ty Smith7:15

Yeah, if we're talking about what not to-dos, buying followers is definitely a what not to-do.

TJ7:42

And any engagement across any platform.

Ty Smith7:48

Yeah, I mean, yeah, in general, that's the theme, especially with sort of the more like programmatic way of of boosting engagement.

Kylie7:49

Because people know.

TJ7:49

Yeah, exactly.

Kylie7:51

Not only do people know, but Twitter knows. Oh, yeah, and like, I mean, like businesses, like you think you're going to become an influencer, businesses know.

TJ7:53

Everybody knows. And like you both said, people know and the algorithm knows. So basically what happens is when you buy stuff, it shows, and it's not a good use of your funds. You're better, to be honest, if you're interested in buying likes and followers, you're much better off taking that same money and boosting your own content to get real, more engaged followers that are interested in what you're talking about, if what you're talking about is actually valuable, than you are buying fake likes, fake followers, and fake engagement.

Kylie8:10

Or just, work on making better content.

TJ8:11

Yeah, just make good, real stuff that provides value to the community, and people will come.

Ty Smith8:48

It's not that expensive either to to, I mean, to buy followers, if you're going to buy it from like a click farm type thing, it's super, super cheap. But in terms of actually doing it the correct way and paying for Twitter ads, which is what Twitter wants you to do, and getting followers that way, it's it's not that much more expensive.

TJ8:59

No, and it's it's just more accurate. If you're...

Ty Smith9:03

And they're real people.

TJ9:04

That's what I was going to say. Basically, what you're doing is you're paying to get your content in front of real people. So if your content sucks, you're not going to get more likes. If your content's good, you are going to grow. The alternative is if you just buy the likes, you're going to get the likes either way. They're not going to do you any good. So all it does is just pat your own ego, and it's you're not you're not moving in the direction you really want to move.

Kylie9:41

Also, engaging, which will segue back into the question of do's, is engage on Twitter.

Ty Smith9:44

Definitely.

Kylie9:45

Especially crypto Twitter. It surprises me how much like big people in crypto engage with me, and I don't have that many followers, because they care.

Ty Smith9:54

Crypto Kylie, by the way.

Kylie9:55

Yeah, Crypto Kylie, yeah. Follow me. Everybody go follow Crypto Kylie.

Ty Smith9:58

I was going to say Crypto Ty, that's that's not me. Maybe maybe in another life.

TJ10:00

You should.

Kylie10:02

Yeah. But yeah, I mean, just talk to people.

TJ10:03

Yeah, and that's something you kind of touched on at the beginning, too, engaging directly on Twitter. Now, whether it's through comments, so yeah, like if you're trying to grow your Twitter presence, one of the best ways you can do that is figure out the top people in your industry and go put turn on post notifications for them and go comment immediately on every single one of their posts as soon as they do it, and they'll start to engage back. And as soon as they do, they'll like your post, and then your comment will be one of the top comments that shows up on a one of the top commented threads, and then other people will follow you from that.

Kylie10:52

The first thing I do is when I find tweets that I like, I look at the comments. And if I find a funny comment, I like it.

TJ10:56

You like it. Exactly.

Kylie10:56

Yeah.

TJ10:57

And then what happens is if all that stuff ties back together.

TJ11:01

But then like you were saying, too, on the direct messages, that's another, that's a huge point that people leave out is you can literally direct message huge people in massive industries and be talking directly to people. And everybody just assumes like, oh no, like they won't respond. But if you reach out to them, you'd be, specifically within crypto, like this is a, and it's a huge point that I feel like is lost on a lot of people. Like you're never going to be, at this point in time in 2019, even in 2019, like a lot of people feel like we're late to the game in crypto, but even right now where this industry is, you're never going to be in an industry where the community is this small in an industry that's going to be that big.

Kylie11:46

Yeah.

TJ11:46

Like this is talking, this is still the internet or, you know, tech back in 1992, '94. So you are still walking up to and talking to the, like I can still have walked up and had a conversation with an Erik Voorhees, with a Charlie Shrem, with a Brock Pierce, you know, like some of these huge people that are going to be titans of a massive industry in the future, they will respond to your direct message on Twitter. You'll be surprised, if you if you have something decent to say, I guess, but...

Ty Smith11:50

All right, so general consensus, you need Twitter and you need to use Twitter.

Kylie11:52

Absolutely.

Ty Smith11:52

I mean, yeah, for any industry, but especially crypto.

TJ11:53

Right. Twitter is the most authentic social media platform left in existence, and it's critical if you're running a tech business.

Kylie12:00

If you want to target basically anybody under the age of 30, you want to be on Twitter.

TJ12:02

Or TikTok.

Kylie12:03

Or, well, but that's another discussion for another time.

TJ12:05

So we'll end it here.

Ty Smith12:05

All right, yeah, we'll end it here. In terms of our social media, our Twitter handles, you are @youngdumbcrypto, that's TJ. Kylie is @cryptokylie, and I am @tydanielsmith. Feel free to slide into my DMs anytime.

TJ12:41

Hey-o.

Ty Smith12:41

And this is the Coinbound podcast, so follow @coinbound as well.

TJ12:44

That's right. Thanks, guys.

Kylie12:45

See ya.