We all know that over the past few years, cryptocurrencies have made an enormous leap forward by growing both in value and popularity, leading to quite a few crypto-related startups popping up here and there. We all know very well that a blockchain startup — whatever industry it pertains to — has little chance to survive without getting the word out. But when it comes to crypto marketing, we can’t help but notice that it can be really challenging to do it nowadays. And for a good reason.
Crypto Marketing Is a Tricky Thing to Do
Let’s start by outlining the biggest pain points of digital marketing for crypto startups:
1. Most Crypto Startups Are Considered SCAM
Many crypto startups happen to be scams aimed at stripping you of your money. It makes digital marketing for crypto that important. If you don’t have excellent content, videos, reviews, case studies, podcasts, articles on reputable crypto platforms, social media, and PR, you won’t have sales because most people will not believe you!
2. Online Marketing for Blockchain Companies Is Expensive
The cryptocurrency industry is too dynamic and technically advanced, making it difficult for average online marketers to handle it. That’s why the price of hiring an expert marketing team is so high.
3. Good Crypto Marketing Experts Work on Their Own Projects
That’s another explanation of the costly nature of crypto marketing. Many professional crypto marketers channel their skills and knowledge into their own cryptocurrency projects for bigger revenue. That’s the reason why most crypto startups have to work with newbies on the market.
4. Paid Advertising Limitations
The abundance of crypto scams led to such giants as Google, Facebook, Twitter, and others imposing restrictions on promoting cryptocurrency startups through paid advertising (e.g., you can’t do PPC for initial coin offerings, or ICOs, via Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.).
5. SEO for Crypto Startups Is Super Effective But Super Hard
80% of SEO companies are too slow on delivering results for whatever crypto project they take on, 15% use “black hat” techniques which are too risky and rarely have any long-term effect, and only 5% of all SEO companies do have a profound understanding of how to do SEO for crypto. But despite its complexity, SEO can ultimately provide you with a great ROI.
6. Crypto Market Is Too Unpredictable
The cryptocurrency marketing industry is volatile and subject to constant changes. This makes it even riskier to hire a cheap amateur marketing team who will drain your marketing budget and keep postponing results for months while still learning what blockchain is and struggling to keep up with the latest crypto trends.
The bottom line here is that you don’t have months in the crypto industry — you have days.
Further on, we will attempt to explain what is currently going on with the industry and how our crypto marketing services can help you get to the top of your niche and meet your business goals.
What’s Up with the Cryptocurrency Market Today?
As we said above, cryptocurrencies have lately been growing in their value and getting more widespread than just a couple of years ago. In fact, many believe that the crypto market has the potential to change the world’s finance, manufacturing, healthcare, and other vital industries forever, so it comes as no surprise that we have recently seen a drastic increase in all kinds of crypto startups. We see new cryptocurrencies popping up, miners hunting for Bitcoins, companies counseling on crypto asset management, and so on.
Today, the cryptocurrency market is a little over ten years old, so we can say it is still pretty much in its infancy. However, with quite a number of crypto startups, the competition is hard enough to survive in this market, dependent on a wide range of factors, one of which is having a well-designed website and a solid crypto marketing strategy.
Why Do Crypto Currency Startups Need Investing in Digital Marketing in 2021?
When it comes to digital marketing, the cryptocurrency market is way different from others, making it challenging to handle. Although the primary goals (building a website, developing a marketing strategy, getting the message to your prospects, increasing your ROI) are pretty straightforward, there are quite a few things specific to the crypto market. We have covered some of the most critical issues at the beginning of the article, but there’s one that’s worth taking a closer look at.
Cryptocurrency transactions are very hard to track due to blockchain technology which means there’s almost no way to get your money back. That’s exactly what scammers are counting on. Lots of crypto startups, particularly among the ones known as Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs (fundraising campaigns looking to create a new crypto coin, app, or service), turn out to be scams created with the sole purpose of getting investors out of their money. It results in a high degree of distrust not only of ICOs but all crypto-related startups. When you have a startup involving cryptocurrency, most of your potential clients will think that you are most likely a scam too. That’s why it is essential to position your brand as reliable and trustworthy through reputation management activities which should be part of your digital marketing strategy.
Using digital marketing for crypto companies, you prove your crypto project as solid and legitimate, ultimately resulting in your prospects getting more confident with your brand.
Types of Startups for Crypto Digital Marketing
There are a wealth of business opportunities supporting the cryptocurrency industry. Below, you will find the seven common startups, each having its nuances in cryptocurrency digital marketing.
Considering that Bitcoin happens to be the most popular digital currency on the market, we will further use this crypto coin to refer to other cryptocurrencies.
1. Crypto Mining
Today, mining is virtually the most popular kind of crypto startup. As opposed to trading, mining is a more relaxed and straightforward approach to obtain Bitcoins.
There are different types of business: you can buy or rent hardware for mining, use cheap energy sources (e.g., natural flared gas) for mining, or mine from your PC or smartphone. The price per kW is a key element here.
It’s worth pointing out that nowadays, mining is increasingly being used to solve some ecological issues. For example, one of the projects we have been working with — EZ Blockchain — is a leading US firm on the mission to solve the global waste energy problem by installing portable crypto mining boxes using energy by-products like natural flared gas to mine Bitcoins. Below, you can see what we have achieved so far working on this project, and follow the link to read the full case study.
Crypto marketing tips: Competition is growing bigger, but smart SEO still has a lot of potential. PR and content are vital for success. Sometimes paid PR is an excellent tool at the beginning when you need to have a word out.
Examples: Genesis Mining, EZ Blockchain, Shamining, Crypto Universe, Minery.
2. Trading Your Own Cryptocurrency
The ultimate goal of trying to capitalize on volatility, whether within a day, a week, or a few months, is to sell when you earn a profit. Trading cryptocurrencies is a high-risk business option, but it may produce significant returns when the time is right.
Crypto marketing tips:
- You can use the power of hype news and clickbait PRs.
- Coinlist and Kraken are very important.
- Twitter is the biggest Social Media channel.
Examples: Tether.to, Cardano.org, Dogecoin.com.
3. Cryptocurrency Exchange Service
Bitcoin allows users to effortlessly switch between currencies without the delays that come with international bank transactions. A service provider may develop a system that enables customers to buy Bitcoin in their native currency on one exchange and then sell it for the required currency on another. Thanks to this process, currency conversion would be near-instantaneous, with low fees and at market rates.
Crypto marketing tips: You need a considerable budget involving costly content marketing and a great USP (Unique Selling Proposition). SEO is still a great tool here, untapped even by major players.
Examples: Binance, Bisq, Cash App, Coinbase.
4. Crypto Payment Processing for Ecommerce
Bitcoin can be used on almost any eCommerce website. For example, if your company sells herbal vaporizers (ancillary cannabis products), it can assist you with accepting payments because the laws for standard credit cards, including PayPal, are rather stringent.
Here’s one of the services offering payment processing for internet businesses or individuals, and this is how it works. You create an account and integrate your exchange or wallet, configure API, plugins, or hosted pages for your business, and start accepting cryptocurrency payments right at your crypto exchange or wallet. And crypto trading bots will help you automatically convert payments or funds.
Crypto marketing tips: This type of startup is closest to marketing a regular eCommerce store. It involves a wide range of marketing practices (SEO, PPC, content marketing, etc.) considering the specifics of cryptocurrencies.
Examples: Bestrate.org, Overstock, eGifter.
5. A Cryptocurrency Info Website
Since Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, are such a complex subject, there is plenty of possibility for expansion in the educational space. An info website, a YouTube channel, or even a podcast is an effective way to attract visitors who can then be monetized through affiliate programs and advertisements.
Crypto marketing tips: Video marketing and podcasts can be very effective here as the industry lacks media content. Email marketing is good too.
Examples: CoinDesk, CoinMarketCap, Bitcoinist.
6. Selling Crypto Mining Hardware
Another popular startup within the crypto community which is a good alternative to mining Bitcoins is selling cryptocurrency mining software to avid miners. As of today, mining keeps gaining momentum, prices on hardware are soaring. All this makes mining hardware selling a perfect business opportunity.
Crypto marketing tips: As with mining itself, competition is rising. SEO is still a good fit but requires bigger budgets and professional marketing teams. On the brighter side, it’s becoming easier to do PPC.
Examples: MiningCave, Bitmain
7. Introducing Blockchain Development Solutions
Blockchain is the foundation of cryptocurrencies. However, it’s not only about Bitcoins and Ethers. Blockchain solutions are increasingly used in various industries, from healthcare to media and entertainment. So blockchain development will remain a viable niche for years to come.
Crypto marketing tips: It’s a perfect niche for all kinds of digital marketing. It should feature great case studies and lots of SEO-friendly content on a website.
Examples: PixelPlex, Chetu, VelveTech.
Best 2021 Cryptocurrency Marketing Practices to Improve Your Online Presence in the Crypto Community
As we stated previously, the crypto-coin market is becoming too competitive, so if you want to survive this world, your coin needs a unique and solid crypto marketing strategy.
Below, we have aggregated some of the most effective crypto marketing practices to get you started.
Website Development for Crypto Startups
The first and most important thing you should do before launching your crypto startup is to develop a website to let your prospects learn everything there is to know about your project.
A good website should have:
- Great UX and a mobile responsive design due to the industry’s high standards.
- Case studies, reviews, and media publication as social proof because there is a lot of scam on the market.
- High-quality content, without which it will be hard to compete SEO-wise.
- Fast load speed.
All in all, a well-designed and user-friendly website filled with high-value content is your chance to persuade clients of the advantages of investing in your startup.
Search Engine Optimization
SEO is one of the pillars of digital marketing for cryptocurrency startups:
- As the crypto industry is young, SEO is the best tool to get fantastic marketing results.
- The cryptocurrency market is changing rapidly, so it’s critical to constantly monitor these changes and keep up with the latest crypto trends. It’s not something a mediocre SEO team can do. You need a professional onsite SEO and technical SEO team to get you covered.
- Backlinks are 50% of success. A rich backlink profile developed through cooperation with 1000s of affordable and 100s of quite expensive media platforms allows you to increase your website trust and rankings. Make sure your SEO company is excellent at this.
- The other 50% is content. You need to write 2000+ word articles with charts, stats, facts, and non-stock pictures. Content is still king.
PPC and Banner Advertising
Paid advertising (PPC) is another form of cryptocurrency marketing that can be the best alternative or a perfect addition to SEO.
PPC includes showing ads, videos, banners, etc., on such worldwide-known platforms as Google Ads, LinkedIn (a perfect tool), Facebook for Business, Twitter Ads, etc. Paid advertisements can drive a large portion of traffic to your crypto startup website and bring you more conversions.
And you will be surprised to know that banners are way more effective than PPC. There are 5 000+ crypto-related websites and blogs participating in banner programs. Some of those programs are quite expensive, some are cheaper, so it’s best to find a happy medium here to achieve the best results. And combining banners with traditional text ads is an even more effective way to promote your crypto startup but it (like marketing in general) requires a strategic approach. It’s important to set the right budget. Spend too little, and you won’t get the desired results. Spend too much, and you can end up getting more clients than you can handle.
There’s a word of caution, though! Since around 2018, most PPC platforms have imposed restrictions on ads promoting cryptocurrency startups due to many scam projects, particularly among ICOs and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Today, the restrictions are being gradually lifted to give the green light to legitimate startups, but here’s what is worth noting. According to Facebook,
“under the cryptocurrency products and services ads policy, advertisers planning to run ads promoting cryptocurrency, cryptocurrency exchanges, cryptocurrency mining software, and hardware, and cryptocurrency investment advice must first receive confirmation for eligibility.”
The same is true for Google Ads.
“Advertisers who promote complex speculative financial products or cryptocurrency exchanges are allowed to advertise through Google Ads, but they must be certified by Google, and their products, landing pages, and ads must meet all local legal requirements of the country they want to get certified for.”
The bottom line here is that PPC for cryptocurrency startups should consider all the above-mentioned issues and be managed by a professional PPC marketing team.
Reputation Management
Since many people don’t trust any crypto-related companies, and there are always competitors, who may be plotting ways to undermine your brand’s reputation, the primary goal of reputation management is to establish and maintain a favorable reputation for your startup and mitigate any negative publicity.
Reputation management can help you effectively promote your cryptocurrency startup in your target market. You should focus primarily on:
- Case studies.
- PR and being published on popular crypto news platforms.
- Being eco-friendly.
- Launching periodic podcasts and video streams (people want to see how you talk).
- Valuable educational content on your website.
- Testimonials and reviews from well-known (or at least real) people in the community.
Email Marketing
Email marketing for crypto startups is a highly effective technique for promoting your crypto project. Email marketing entails sending targeted marketing emails regarding your cryptocurrency business (cryptocurrency news, info on your products and services, special offers, etc.) to specific audiences.
Being a form of direct marketing, email marketing can assist you in delivering prolific results depending on the quality of email campaigns. The best quality can be achieved when you turn to a professional crypto marketing team that can use marketing automation tools for email campaigns and properly track leads.
Social Media Marketing and PR
A solid social media strategy will help you build an engaged audience for your crypto startup. How do you go about doing that? Below are some insights.
- Begin by developing your business pages on major social networking platforms. Encourage individuals to join your pages to remain up to speed on the latest news and updates regarding your business.
- Make press releases to let the audience know about your crypto startup. There are several online press release portals, including some expert crypto PR companies, where users may post news and updates on new cryptocurrencies. You can work with aggregators like PR Newswire.
- LinkedIn is king for business communications, but advertising there is expensive.
- Reddit is a social news and content sharing website where users contribute fresh content such as text, photos, and links. You may register on the website and begin publishing news and updates about your own business in dedicated online communities — subreddits.
Campaign Management, KPIs and Analytics
- Make sure to track every lead in the sales funnel. You need to set up the following analytical advertising agency tools: Google Analytics, Hot Jar, Google Search Console, a good marketing automation system (e.g., Hubspot is one of the biggest on the market), AWR Cloud, SemRush, Ahrefs, and call tracking if necessary.
- You should also track a range of key performance indicators (KPIs). They should not only include traffic, sales, and leads but also bounce rate, engagement, time spent on your website, the number of subscribers on social media, etc.
Look Out for Cryptocurrency Marketing Experts
Hiring a professional cryptocurrency marketing agency can save you a lot of time and money. Otherwise, you risk wasting your resources while testing multiple marketing activities and trying to understand which activities work most effectively.
At Comrade, we have worked with a few Dallas cryptocurrency projects, including EZ Blockchain, one of the leading US companies solving the global waste energy problem with the help of crypto mining.
And if you have a crypto startup that needs getting promoted, we can help. Contact our crypto marketing experts for a no-obligation discussion about your ongoing or coming project!
