The Link Between Digital Marketing and Cryptocurrency
The Link Between Digital Marketing and Cryptocurrency
Digital currency has become extremely popular in recent years. So much so, that they have completely shaken up the market, investment strategies, the way companies run businesses, the way people think about money, and even the way digital marketing works. It has been proven that cryptocurrency isn’t going anywhere, so it is time for advertisers, businesses, and marketers to adjust. In addition, if you are a company that deals with cryptocurrency, you need a specialized, advanced marketing plan to help thrust you ahead of your competitors. Keep reading for all you need to know about digital marketing and cryptocurrency from every side of the spectrum—from advertisers to business owners.
Wait – What are Cryptocurrency and Digital Currency?
Surely you’ve at least heard the words cryptocurrency and Bitcoin in recent years, but it is understandable if you have no further idea about what it is and how it works. It can come off as particularly niche and, sometimes, intimidating for people. Rest assured: it is not as complicated or as crazy as it may seem to come off.
According to Investopedia, cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology—a distributed ledger enforced by a disparate network of computers. A defining feature of cryptocurrencies is that they are generally not issued by any central authority, rendering them theoretically immune to government interference or manipulation.
Key takeaways regarding cryptocurrency include:
- A cryptocurrency is a form of digital asset based on a network that is distributed across a large number of computers. This decentralized structure allows them to exist outside the control of governments and central authorities.
- Experts believe that blockchain and related technology will disrupt many industries, including finance and law.
- The advantages of cryptocurrencies include cheaper and faster money transfers and decentralized systems that do not collapse at a single point of failure.
- The disadvantages of cryptocurrencies include their price volatility, high energy consumption for mining activities, and use in criminal activities.
Wait—Blockchain?
In order to understand cryptocurrency, you must understand what a blockchain is. Also according to Investopedia, a blockchain is a distributed database that is shared among the nodes of a computer network. As a database, a blockchain stores information electronically in digital format. Blockchains are best known for their crucial role in cryptocurrency systems, such as Bitcoin, for maintaining a secure and decentralized record of transactions. The innovation of a blockchain is that it guarantees the fidelity and security of a record of data and generates trust without the need for a trusted third party.
Key takeaways regarding blockchains include:
- A blockchain is a type of shared database that differs from a typical database in the way that it stores information; blockchains store data in blocks that are then linked together via cryptography.
- As new data comes in, it is entered into a fresh block. Once the block is filled with data, it is chained onto the previous block, which makes the data chained together in chronological order.
- Different types of information can be stored on a blockchain, but the most common use so far has been as a ledger for transactions.
- In Bitcoin’s case, blockchain is used in a decentralized way so that no single person or group has control—rather, all users collectively retain control.
- Decentralized blockchains are immutable, which means that the data entered is irreversible. For Bitcoin, this means that transactions are permanently recorded and viewable to anyone.
How Crypto is Impacting Digital Marketing
Cryptocurrencies are quickly changing the way businesses interact with their customers. Now that you are fully familiar with what cryptocurrency is and how it works, it’s time to get into how it is impacting digital marketing. According to The Wise Marketer, cryptocurrency will reduce the number of parties involved in advertising campaigns. Modern digital advertisements involve four parties: the consumer (you), the advertiser, the content creator, and the platform hosting the advertisement (e.g., Google, Facebook, YouTube). With blockchain advertising, advertisers can eliminate the platform that hosts advertisements. Instead of paying them, advertisers will upload their advertisements to a blockchain and the blockchain will make them available to its platform users. In short, the future of digital marketing limits the interacting parties to three groups: the consumers (you), advertisers, and the blockchain supporting the transactions between the consumer and advertiser.
Benefits of Crypto-Driven Digital Marketing
Crypto-driven digital marketing is a revolutionary way of marketing products and services online. This type of marketing helps businesses to target their core audience and provide them with the kind of content that will benefit them most. It also allows businesses to track the success of their campaigns more accurately, as well as increase engagement with customers. What is so great about crypto-driven digital marketing and cutting out the middle man? Some of the benefits of incorporating cryptocurrency into your digital marketing efforts include:
- Higher conversion rates
- Easier to locate ads
- Lower advertising costs
- Quicker transactions between user and advertiser
- Benefits to the user (ad tokens) for sharing their personal data
- Greater anonymity for the user
- Easier for marketers to persuade their target audience to buy
Are There Any Drawbacks?
Drawbacks (and potential solutions for marketers) for the newfound crypto-driven digital marketing era include:
- Difficult to collect data on people, activity, and transactions
- SOLUTION: Use ad tokens as rewards for people to share their personal data. According to Microsoft, these tokens are security tokens that are issued by an authorization server as part of an OAuth 2.0 flow. It contains information about the user and the resource for which the token is intended. The information can be used to access web APIs and other protected resources. Access tokens are validated by resources to grant access to a client app.
- Advertisers can only choose one blockchain for their advertising
- SOLUTION: Get your creative team in! Think of some fun promos, benefits, special content, events, and more to get people lured over to your blockchain.
- Digital ads need to be amped up to promote the use of your blockchain
- SOLUTION: Require users to sign up in order to use their ad tokens so that it ensures they come back.
How Marketers and Advertisers Need to Pivot With Digital Currency
The biggest change (and drawback) for marketers and advertisers is the limited access to data and information. One of the biggest benefits of cryptocurrency is anonymity and privacy for the user, so marketers and advertisers need to be able to pivot and work with this fact. Marketers typically rely on numbers and data to inform their creative decisions. Without numbers and data, marketers are going to have to think of new ways to ramp up business.
This means:
- Emphasis on creativity. You need to give your target audience exactly what they want in a compelling, engaging way. Crypto users are typically more apt to trends, so all your marketing is going to have to hit the mark—or it’s a failure.
- Gaining a competitive edge. Digital marketing is going to become more challenging, especially at first, with everyone figuring out what works best. This means you need to have every possible competitive edge in your back pocket—and we do really well with competitive analysis at Navazon.
- Rethinking your budget. Marketers will see a decrease in their budgets for online campaigns because we will not need to purchase customer data anymore. However, that doesn’t mean you get to save money. As mentioned, emphasis will be placed on creativity and gaining a competitive edge—meaning you just need to rethink your budget and place that money elsewhere.
- Spotlight on social media. A large percentage of purchasing power comes from social media. With how easy it is to tap and buy, especially with cryptocurrency, marketers need to pay special attention to focusing on social media in their digital marketing strategies.
What if I Am a Cryptocurrency Company?
Marketing for cryptocurrency companies takes a specialized digital marketing plan, as does any niche company. We would never recommend a medical clinic take on the same marketing plan as a law firm would, and the same goes for cryptocurrency against other companies. Moreover, marketing cryptocurrency is an entirely different ball game altogether.
There are some tough walls that cryptocurrency companies are up against. These include:
- People will not believe you. Crypto is very new and there are a lot of scams out there. As such, it is most people’s knee-jerk reaction to believe you are one, too. Make sure your company has excellent content, well-produced videos, a nod to your expertise such as podcast appearances or articles on reputable crypto platforms, flawless social media, and, of course, reviews and testimonials.
- Marketing plans will be more expensive than other types of companies. Cryptocurrency and the people who use them are technologically advanced and expect the best, latest trends, and flawless functionality. This means that your marketing plan will need to include all of these things at the highest level in order to stand out.
- Crypto is volatile. This is one of the main risks that crypto companies and crypto investors alike take on when diving into the market. This means that you don’t have much time—people will change their minds, the market can change in an instant, and many more factors can completely shake up the industry. You need to be ready to act now.
Marketing Cryptocurrency and Other Digital Currencies
Even though, as a crypto company, your back is against some walls, that doesn’t mean that marketing your cryptocurrency company is impossible. In fact, Navazon successfully markets cryptocurrency companies and can help you form a customized marketing plan. However, some of the essentials you need in your arsenal, no matter who you are, include:
- A functional, flawless website. As mentioned, crypto users demand design perfection, the newest trends, and the best performance. As such, it is essential that you make sure your website is not only beautiful but that it is updated often with the latest trends and checked on regularly to make sure it is working seamlessly.
- SEO. One of the benefits of being a company in an emerging market is that the competition is easy to beat. The key to a successful SEO campaign for a cryptocurrency company is making sure you have plenty of long-form blogs with rich, informative information such as tips, insights, analysis, and more. You can also make plenty of videos on these topics as well. It is also important to be ready to adjust at any moment—crypto news is constantly changing, and you need to be at the forefront.
- Reputation management. As mentioned, one of the drawbacks of being a cryptocurrency company is that people will assume that you are a scam at first. This means you need to make sure you have plenty of testimonials (preferably in video form), case studies, PR on other industry websites and publications, valuable content, and much more.
Social Media and Cryptocurrency
As mentioned earlier, one of your main focuses will need to be on social media. You will need to build an engaged audience, as well as start advertising on the different social media platforms. If you are a cryptocurrency company with no social media presence, you will be automatically flagged as spam in the minds of consumers (even though you’re not!) and it can be a difficult hole to dig yourself out of.
Tips on social media for cryptocurrency companies include:
- Post often. Social media for the crypto audience is fast-paced, so make sure you post more often than other industries would.
- Be informative. Cryptocurrency information, tips, and analysis are highly shareable on social media.
- Emphasis on creatives. Have we mentioned this yet? You need to make sure everything is on-trend and looking amazing!
Digital Marketing and Cryptocurrency with Navazon Digital
Digital currency is changing the landscape of marketing and advertising. Now more than ever, businesses must adjust their strategies to keep up with the ever-evolving digital currency landscape. Whether you’re a business looking to get ahead of the curve when it comes to cryptocurrency, or you’re a cryptocurrency company looking for an expert marketing strategy, we can help you. Navazon helps businesses increase profits through data-driven marketing that expands opportunities and reduces risk. As marketers and entrepreneurs, we understand the value of developing a memorable brand through creativity and consistency. This is accomplished through targeted graphics, videos, and websites that reflect our proven, time-tested methodologies and detailed analytics. It is an approach that’s proven effective for companies of all sizes, from start-ups and medium-sized businesses to large firms with an international presence. Start taking advantage of all the benefits that crypto-driven digital marketing has to offer — from better customer targeting to improved customer engagement and more reliable campaign tracking. Empower your business with a powerful new way of marketing today!
Contact us today for a consultation, and learn more at navazondigital.com.