Crypto Marketing with Ty Smith
2024 Web3 Marketing Predictions | What Crypto Marketers Need to Know
About this episode
Ty Smith runs through five predictions for Web3 marketing in 2024, based on patterns from 2023 and hundreds of Coinbound campaigns. He frames the year as a strong one for crypto overall, pointing to a recovering market, cooling interest rates, and a broader economic pickup as reasons for his optimism.
The five predictions cover fractional CMOs becoming a standard part of early-stage Web3 marketing, crypto media bouncing back financially after a brutal run of 2023 layoffs, a fast-moving SEO shakeup driven by more frequent Google core updates, AI flooding the market with cheap content while raising the bar for what actually converts, and a resurgence of in-real-life events pulling in bigger advertising budgets as people keep wanting to network in person post-COVID.
The throughline is that budgets are loosening up across the board in 2024, and the winners will be the companies that keep investing in quality, whether that's original content, real media partnerships, or in-person experiences, rather than chasing the cheapest or most automated option.
Key takeaways
- Consider a fractional CMO if you are an early-stage Web3 company that needs senior marketing leadership without a full-time hire.
- Watch for growing ad opportunities at crypto media outlets as layoffs slow and budgets return, especially custom options like event sponsorships.
- Audit your SEO rankings regularly in 2024 since faster Google core updates mean current positions are not guaranteed to hold.
- Keep investing in original, hand-written content rather than relying on AI to regurgitate existing material, since the bar for converting content is rising.
- Budget for in-person events and conferences in 2024, since attendance and advertiser interest are both expected to climb.
- Look for immersive, ad hoc sponsorship formats at conferences rather than defaulting to standard booth or banner placements.
Questions this episode answers
Why are fractional CMOs becoming more common in Web3?
Web3 companies are typically early-stage and get a lot of value from flexible, on-demand marketing executives rather than a full-time hire. Ty says this trend already picked up and expects it to keep growing through 2024.
Will crypto media recover in 2024?
Ty expects crypto media to become more financially successful in 2024 after a rough 2022 and 2023 that included heavy layoffs at publications. As layoffs slow and ad budgets grow, he expects more advertisers to return, along with more custom options like event sponsorships instead of just press releases and display ads.
How will Google's algorithm changes affect crypto SEO in 2024?
Ty predicts a major SEO shakeup because Google is pushing core updates faster than before, which puts current rankings up for grabs. Companies that have been winning in SEO will need to re-earn their spot regularly, while smaller companies get a real shot at ranking well.
Will AI hurt content marketing for crypto brands?
AI is making content much cheaper to produce, which means the space gets saturated with more volume. Ty says the bar for content that actually converts will rise, and companies still using dedicated writers with a unique take will outperform ones relying on AI to regurgitate existing content.
Are in-person crypto events worth the ad spend in 2024?
Yes, according to Ty. With the economy picking up and people eager to network after COVID, he expects attendance and spending at conferences to rise, along with more immersive, ad hoc advertising opportunities at these events.
Full transcriptShow
Ty Smith0:00
2024 is going to be a huge year for crypto marketing. On this episode, I want to do a quick recap of five predictions I have for 2024 based on what we've seen in '23 and the past few years running hundreds of campaigns. Let's get right into it.
Ty Smith0:12
So, '24, like I said, is going to be a huge year for both marketing and specifically Web3 marketing. I think it's going to be a huge year for just Web3 and crypto as a whole. The market's doing pretty well right now, the economy is picking up a little bit, interest rates coming down, all kinds of things that are kind of subtly saying, 'This is going to happen again.' I'm really bullish, I'm really excited, and here are five things that I think will happen in the next year.
Ty Smith0:25
Number one, fractional CMOs. So, we just did a recent episode on fractional CMOs and why they're becoming so popular in Web3. I see that trend continuing. Web3 companies are typically early-stage companies that see a huge amount of benefit from having these more flexible, on-demand marketing execs. I think that's going to become a huge kind of part of the industry. It already is becoming that. So, I think that trend is going to continue.
Ty Smith1:05
Number two is, and this is going to be a huge one, revitalization of media. '23 and arguably a lot of '22 was pretty rough for the digital media space, both inside and outside the Web3 world. That's changing a little bit. As we see, there's a little bit more budget going towards the media. Layoffs are slowing down a little bit. There was a huge round of layoffs in 2023 of crypto media sites and publications. That seems to be reversing a little bit.
Ty Smith1:23
So, I think that's going to pick up a little bit. I think we're going to see a lot more advertisers going to those places. In the past year, with the layoffs, there has been a huge kind of contraction of advertising opportunities as they focus on kind of like their core things, which is typically like sponsored content, press releases, display advertising. The kind of more exciting, ad hoc, custom options tend to go away. I think that's going to come back, and I think that's really exciting because they tend to do some cool stuff with like events and things like that. So, I see crypto media becoming a little bit more successful financially in 2024, and I think advertisers are going to be a huge piece of that as their budgets grow in this up year.
Ty Smith2:09
Number three, there's going to be a huge SEO shakeup. The rate of Google's algorithms changing, pushing out these major core updates, is getting faster and faster. With that, it's exciting or it could be scary depending on where you currently sit in the SERPs. If you are a company that's been winning in SEO, your spot's kind of up for takes. You're going to have to re-earn your spot every month, every quarter. Google's pushing new stuff that's totally changing who's ranking where. With that, again, if you're on the smaller side and you've been working on SEO and you haven't really been able to nail it, this is kind of your opportunity to do so because, again, they're kind of re-checking out who's worth ranking well.
Ty Smith2:33
Number four, I should say, tied in with that, is content is getting extremely inexpensive to produce thanks to AI. Content is going to get extremely saturated. I've always been a huge fan of a content-led marketing approach. That hasn't changed at all. I just think we're going to have to work a little bit harder. I think the companies that are, by volume, all companies are going to put out tons more content than they have, but I think the bar for what type of content needs to be produced to actually convert is going to go up.
Ty Smith3:16
So, I think the companies that still are doing it kind of like, so to speak, by hand, using kind of manual writing staff and all that kind of stuff, will do better than the ones that are going to just start relying on AI-based content, which typically doesn't do much more than just kind of regurgitate stuff that's already on the internet. You still, as always, need to provide a kind of unique take, and that's going to continue in 2024, just to a higher extent.
Ty Smith3:30
Number five, last one I have on here, in-real-life events are going to get more popular, and with that, advertising dollars are going to get spent a lot more at these conferences and events. With the economy picking up, attendees, people that would be attending these events, are having a little bit more money in their pocket, and they want to spend that. They want to get out. COVID's done. We're kind of still seeing kind of like this rapid effect of everyone wants to get out and network and socialize. That was kind of like imprinted on all of us since COVID when we were kind of locked up for like a year. So, that's going to continue, I think. I think there's going to be a lot of like cool kind of immersive experiences that become available as advertising opportunities at these events and conferences. So, I think that's going to be huge in 2024.
Ty Smith4:19
Those are the main points that I think are kind of like a sure thing of what's going to happen this upcoming year. If you have other ones, leave a comment, shoot me a message on Twitter. I love that stuff. And if you're into Web3 marketing content, if you want to see more content like this, hit subscribe, and we'll catch you on the next one.
