The Web3 Marketing Playbook: How to Market a Disruptive Product to the Mainstream

An in-depth look at different marketing strategies, marketing models and case studies that Web3 brands can use to increase growth.

Written by: Arcane Labs

1 Introduction

1.1 How to use the manual?

In this guide, you'll learn how to increase brand awareness, attract new users, and drive growth. From establishing basic processes to engaging with the community, you'll learn the key marketing strategies and tactics needed to succeed at Web3.

• Using the Contents page, click on the relevant section or page that meets your marketing needs
• For more in-depth research, read the marketing models and case studies interspersed throughout the content
• Note that this guide builds the most basic tasks, processes and strategies for each marketing domain. More information can be found on the Tools & Resources page

1.2 What is Web3 Marketing?

Operating and marketing in a market with disruptive technologies such as Web3 means facing many unknown challenges. Founders need a firm focus on their vision, value and future development planning. Secondly, founders also need to pay attention to one aspect-marketing. There are few content and resources about web3 marketing in the market, but few provide specific steps on how to promote the product. This guide strips out the junk and provides you with a marketing methodology and a checklist of verticals. This section will briefly describe why Web3 and blockchain mark a paradigm shift in marketing.

1.3 Existing misunderstandings in the market

Marketing of Web3 products often involves educating users on the benefits of decentralized technologies and their application scenarios. This may involve explaining the differences between traditional centralized and decentralized systems, as well as the advantages of decentralized technologies in terms of security, privacy, and transparency.

Unfortunately, the popular marketing tactics in the Web3 space are now affecting the user experience. Such common methods include:

While the above strategies are reasonable starting points, they do not yield long-term benefits. An effective marketing strategy must be based on fundamental concepts and consumer psychology. In addition, as Web3 breaks the circle, more and more users are aware of CX marketing in the industry. If you want your product to stand out from the noise, your marketing strategy needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Next:

The following sections examine different marketing strategies that Web3 brands can use to increase growth. Marketing models and case studies are interspersed throughout this guide for more in-depth research.

The goal of Web3 marketing is to increase awareness and adoption of decentralized technologies. As a Web3 Marketing and Operations, you help users, investors and partners understand the potential benefits and application scenarios of the product in everyday life.

2. Marketing Concept: Ansoff Matrix

The ultimate goal of marketing is to bring growth to the company, especially in the web3 industry that is chasing breaking circles. The Ansoff matrix is the most commonly mentioned basic concept of marketing growth.

**What is Ansoff Matrix? **

Ansoff matrix (English: Ansoff matrix) is a tool for analyzing products and markets, which can effectively help companies formulate growth strategies. Ansoff matrices can be used to explore the risks and benefits of different growth strategies.

**How to use Ansoff matrix? **

The Ansoff Matrix has two marketing strategies to achieve growth: adjust the product or adjust the market. Depending on the conditions of the market and the product itself, growth strategies fall into four quadrants: market penetration, product development, market development or product differentiation.

Ansoff Matrix

**How to apply the model to Web3? **

If you want to apply the Ansoff matrix to Web3, you need to clarify the company's existing products and their characteristics.

Next, identify potential growth opportunities through the matrix. Here are some basic matrix-based growth strategies:

The potential risks and rewards of each growth strategy, as well as the company's own resources, need to be weighed. By evaluating various factors, determine the best marketing strategy for the company and the current market situation.

3. Brand building

3.1 web3 brand strategy guidelines

Building a Web3 brand is more than creating a logo and brand playbook. This is different from advertising. In the early stage of the product, the company does not need a complete brand manual. Brand building begins with the founder's goals and the story behind the business idea, and should include how the brand gives value to users, the market, and even the world.

The process of branding a Web3 project is similar to the steps involved in branding other types of companies.

The following are some common frameworks:

How is branding different from marketing?

Although branding and marketing are related to each other, they are two separate and independent concepts. In today's highly competitive and oversaturated Web3 market, businesses, products or services need to differentiate to gain an advantage. Doing this requires strong branding and marketing.

3.2 5 tips for building a web3 brand

1. Create customer portraits for target users

Build a comprehensive database of user groups in case of need, and also help ensure that the marketing team maintains a unified brand voice and image

2. Encourage the founding team to build a personal brand

Over 58% of companies have increased visibility through their founding teams. As a marketer, it is low-cost and efficient to use the private domain traffic of the founding team when marketing products. As resources allow, hire copywriters for the team and build community through the team's social media. Before talking about the product, let the founding team become a leader in the industry, which is helpful for the promotion of the product and the exposure of the company's image.

3. Encourage the community to create UGC

Identify the most active members in the community, and encourage community members to create UGC content (such as video tutorials, product guides, recommended comments, etc.) through incentives.

4. Create and regularly update product introduction documents

Documentation (Docsend, Gitbook) is the first step for new users to understand the product. Providing clear and concise guidance to community developers helps them use and develop products, especially open source projects.

5. Create a community exclusive communication channel

Create dedicated channels or servers (e.g. Twitter communities, Discord channels) to provide community members with a space to meet, encourage questions, and build deep relationships. Take it a step further by curating community chats with core contributors and users to explore potential marketing campaigns and ambassador programs.

4. Case Study: Liquid Death

What is Liquid Death?

• "Hardcore" drinking water brand, with the purpose of avoiding single-use plastics and urging drinking water
• Have a clear brand and positioning, and a targeted marketing strategy. Instead of talking about the "naturalness", "purity" and "taste" that drinking water brands often refer to, Liquid Death evokes darker, edgier themes - murder, thirst and death by plastic.
• Through the brand image, find the one who has gained a lot of fanatical followers in web3
• Successfully ran a Web3 loyalty program called "Country Club" - thousands of fans "sold their souls" for early access to limited edition merchandise, private events

WEB3 POLICY

• Entered web3 e-commerce platform, Novel
• Release a new NFT series (Murder Head Death Club MHDC) on the Novel platform
• Some items are only available for purchase by NFT holders
• Holders can enjoy exclusive discounts, opportunities to meet celebrities, offline VIP events, etc.
• Build a Web3 community through various activities, such as holders can DJ on Liquid Death's radio station, show horror movies on Discord, host poker nights, etc.
• Long-term welfare plans for NFT holders, such as the opportunity to meet with the CEO, access to peripherals, etc.

Results

• MHDC releases 6666 unique NFTs
• Created by renowned artist Will Carsola, each NFT is the severed head of a dead thirsty man
• MHDC collection sold out within three hours of launch
• The initial price is 0.0666 ETH, and the release of MHDC brought sales of about 445 ETH to Liquid Death

Highlights

• Transition from Web2 to Web3 maintains consistent branding and purpose
• Practice the brand value of sustainable development of the company (for example, donate 10% of the royalties of MHDC income to charity, and offset 110% of the initial coinage carbon emissions)
• MHDC series adheres to the purpose and image of the Liquid Death brand
• Actively organize community building activities and offline activities to maintain community cohesion

5. Digital Marketing

5.1 The core of digital marketing

As a Web3 business, you need to engage and communicate effectively with potential customers as they spend an increasing proportion of their time online. This is where digital marketing comes into play. By using web channels and technologies, Web3 projects can create engaging and personalized experiences that drive sales and customer loyalty.

There are 8 main components of digital marketing. This guide filters out the market noise and hits the ground running on the marketing tools that apply to blockchain projects.

5.2 Keys to Search Engine Optimization

A strong Web3 search engine optimization (SEO) strategy is the best way to increase brand awareness, be it NFTs, DeFi DApps or stablecoins. SEO can also help you establish authority in your industry, increasing trust between the Web3 community and your project.

There are three basic categories within an SEO strategy, listed below.

5.3 Ads in the Metaverse

Advertising in Metaverse includes creating and placing advertisements in virtual worlds or online game scenarios. The forms of delivery are usually diversified, such as virtual billboards, product placement in virtual environments, or as sponsors for metaverse activities and game props.

One of the main advantages of advertising in Metaverse is its ability to target specific user groups and track interaction data in real time. Advertisers can optimize delivery strategies through interaction data.

Advertisers need to pay attention to the tone of the virtual world to ensure that the advertisements they place are appropriate and do not disrupt the user experience.

Advertising in virtual reality is still in its infancy, and VR technology is still developing.

If the Metaverse industry becomes mainstream, there could be huge potential for advertising.

5.4 Ultimate Marketing Strategy of NFT

Marketing NFT projects involves various strategies to increase brand awareness, generate interest and buzz in the community, and ultimately drive sales of NFTs. It’s worth noting that the cryptocurrency and NFT space is evolving rapidly, and understanding the latest trends and success stories is critical to marketing success.

NFT Token Gating Strategy Tips

NFT token gating (Token gating) involves the rights of NFT holders to certain content, access or benefits. Token gating is achieved by using smart contracts to create digital "doors" that can be opened or closed based on the permissions of a particular NFT.

NFT token gating allows creators to reward NFT holders with exclusive access, which helps drive demand for NFTs and increases their intrinsic value. This strategy can provide marketing and monetization opportunities for brands and creators.

5.5 Successful Email Marketing

1. Create a mailing list

Include signup or subscribe buttons on content pages, social network profiles, and email signatures. Collect email addresses from website visitors, social media followers, and other sources.

2 Distinguish subscribers

Group mailing lists based on factors such as interests, behavior, and click-through rate, and create customized content for the groups.

3. An engaging email subject line

Prominent theme. The subject line of the email should be simple and humorous. Citation questions grab the reader's attention.

4. Eye-catching preview text

An eye-catching preview of the content of the email, which needs to convey the core message concisely

5 Optimizing User Calls to Action

A call to action (CTA) helps drive users to a web page. Consider the button's content, color, and position. Use trigger action words to ensure that the text button accurately describes what the button does.

6Automation and Quantification of Email Advertising

Automate repetitive tasks with marketing tools such as MailChimp and HubSpot. Track key metrics like open and click rates.

A collection of 7 distribution channels

Add links to other social media platform accounts in the email content to effectively increase subscribers to other publicity channels.

6. Marketing Concept: Consumer Purchase Decision Process

Selling a disruptive product or service like a blockchain application can be difficult without understanding the needs and preferences of potential users. The Consumer Buying Decision Process helps sellers understand user behavior, including barriers and drivers in product selection. Such information can effectively optimize marketing and increase sales of products or services.

**How to apply this model in web3? **

1. Generate needs: Consumers realize that needs or pain points can be solved through blockchain technology
2. Gathering information: Consumers search for information about blockchain products that may solve a problem or meet their needs
3. Evaluation scheme: Consumers evaluate different blockchain products found during the search process to determine which one best suits their needs
4. Decide to buy: Consumers decide to buy, selected blockchain products
5. Post-purchase behavior: After using the product, consumers evaluate their satisfaction with the product and purchase decision

Consumer purchase decision process

7. Content Marketing

7.1 Content Marketing in Six Steps

Whether the purpose is to educate users or investors, or to establish credibility and authority, Web3 projects require some form of content marketing. And high-quality, credible content is one of the keys to building trust with your community.

However, "content marketing" isn't just about publishing articles on Medium. "Content marketing" needs to be created and published according to a long-term strategy in order to create real value for the business.

The following six steps can help you structure your “content marketing” strategy toward clear goals.

7.2 Five content marketing strategy frameworks

Publishing articles blindly cannot effectively increase exposure or increase sales. An effective content marketing strategy converts high-quality content into traffic and achieves business goals. The content marketing strategy focuses on the distribution channels of the content and the ultimate benefits of the distribution. The following five content marketing strategy frameworks cover the most common performance metrics.

1 Lead Generation

Suitable

Ideal for larger projects that require more touchpoints with potential customers at every point of the consumer buying decision journey

Mode of operation

Rather than selling products directly to customers, the framework focuses on every step of converting consumers into customers

1. Create content for each stage of sales (awareness, interest, decision, action)
2. Drive paid or organic traffic to content that aims to increase brand awareness (not a forced sale)
3. Categorize and tag users viewing content by interests and preferences
4. Recommend the published series of articles to classified user groups, try to cater to the preferences of each user group

For example, for those consumers who have already accessed the content for the purpose of generating interest, provide content to assist purchase decisions, and so on.

2 Evergreen Content

Suitable

For projects that want to increase the weight and visibility of their content on search engines

Mode of operation

This low-cost approach focuses on letting organic search do most of the work automatically, but also means that the results take time to settle. The exposure and weight of the website will gradually increase over time, which means that the published content will slowly rise from the 100th place in the search engine to the 3rd place

• Publish evergreen content on blog or online. Evergreen content itself is SEO-optimized and remains highly relevant to the industry for a long time
• Natural search cannot quickly increase the click-through rate of evergreen content, and it needs to be combined with domain name authority to achieve an increase in exposure rate. The promotion of domain name authority can be achieved by building links. For an in-depth look at link building strategies, visit the Tools and Resources page.
• As link building content increases, exponential compounding will begin to occur when more search optimized evergreen content is published. Ideally, every piece of content should have a higher weight in search rankings.

3 Competitive SEO

Suitable

It is suitable for projects that want to increase the weight and exposure of the website, and publish content related to the search hotspots of the target user group. For example, the SocialFi platform should rank #1 for a "SocialFi" search.

Mode of operation

This strategy is similar to the evergreen strategy. The only difference is that the theme of the output content is not "evergreen", but around keywords related to the unique competitiveness of the product or business.

4 Community Building

Suitable

Suitable for projects that focus on community building rather than selling products or services

Mode of operation

The purpose of this strategy is to increase the rate of return visits and promote communication and community enthusiasm among community members. Promote readers to spread content to a wider target market by creating content suitable for sharing and reposting

5 Collection Strategies

Suitable

Applicable to companies with sufficient resources, the strategy can meet almost all business objectives, while involving multiple dimensions running simultaneously

Mode of operation

There are two ways to implement this strategy. Invest more resources in content marketing to handle the demand for all different types of content; or accumulate short-term and long-term benefits with each content release

1. Build an evergreen content library that is closely related to the keywords of the target audience
2. Use link-building content to boost exposure for evergreen content to drive organic traffic
3. Use hot search topics to promote traffic and user stickiness through social media and traditional publicity channels to obtain short-term benefits. such as a graph or a long push

8. Marketing Concept: PESO Model

Paid (paid), Earned (spontaneous), Shared (shared), Owned (own) (PESO) model is a model that classifies the types of communication between brands and consumers. There are many ways to communicate with consumers in the market now This model helps each channel to respond to each other and form a coordinated collective marketing strategy that maximizes the effect.

PESO model

9. Social Media Marketing

9.1 Lists for Twitter, Discord and Reddit

Projects can gain valuable feedback, support and contributions through the community. The project side can iterate through the feedback and suggestions of community members. The formation of a community is inseparable from social media. Through social media, community members can learn about the latest progress of the project and answer questions about project technology and future planning. Efficient and transparent communication helps the project build trust and transparency, making the project more "decentralized".

9.2 Top 20 Discord Bots

Discord is notoriously complex to operate, and here are some tools that can help project owners manage their communities.

1Mee6

Helps automate tasks such as sending welcome messages, assigning roles, and setting custom commands

2Dyno

Offers a variety of features, including playing audio, server backups, and custom commands

3Tatsu

Helps increase server engagement with features like custom reaction roles, leaderboards, and server stats

4Ticketbot

Allows users to create, manage and close votes directly from Discord. Help gather user feedback.

5ServerStats

View server statistics, such as how many messages were sent or how many people joined

6Xenon

Helps backup, copy or clone servers and supports synchronizing changes

7 Dank memer

Provide bot commands for sharing emoticons or self-created emoticons

8Invite Tracker

Track where new members come from, who invites them, and more. Usually used for whitelisting

9Bump Reminder

Offers various features like reminders, vote tracking, daily questions and welcome messages

10Epic-RPG

Offers chat-based role-playing minigames to keep server community members active

11Quizbot

Create custom contests and run contests to motivate users and drive engagement

12Helper.gg

Reply to user queries by creating ballots in the server

13PollBot

Allows creation of time-limited polls, yes-no polls, and polls that require custom answers

14Apollo

Assist with event management tasks such as scheduling events and meetings and setting reminders

15Zira

Assign server roles based on user responses. Say hello and goodbye to old and new members

16Statbot

Displays statistics such as total members, server activity and other customizable options

17GiveawayBot

Organize and streamline gift distribution for community members

18Arcane

Regulate servers with a level-up system that provides members with opportunities to earn experience points and rewards

19ProBot

Offers features like creating welcome images, social commands, and monitoring violations

20Captcha.bot

Perform account verification and anti-phishing to verify new users joining the community

10. Case Study: Reddit

What is Reddit?

• Popular news forum with an active Web3 community
• Publish NFT digital collections of virtual dolls on the Polygon chain
• A limited collection of Reddit virtual dolls based on the platform's mascot, Snoo *Series created by Reddit creators and independent artists

WEB3 POLICY

• Avoid using web3 related terms such as NFT and wallet in content marketing. According to previous market research, 35% of the Reddit community believes that brands will destroy the future of NFT
• Construct a frictionless buying experience through social media platforms, buyers only need to create a "library" on Reddit that acts as a digital wallet
• Lower barriers to entry by removing the requirement for buyers to purchase and manage cryptocurrencies
• Holders can get additional benefits on their Reddit profile, such as replacement equipment and customized accessories, etc.
• One month after launch, top contributors and community builders on Reddit receive a free airdrop to reward their contributions and act as brand ambassadors to promote the series

Results

More than 3 million crypto wallets have been created for doll series NFTs, 99% of which are unique accounts, surpassing OpenSea's 2.3 million active wallets

Highlights

• Avoid using terms like "wallet" to attract non-crypto users to the product
• Conduct market research on potential buyers
• Provide the community with products that solve pain points, and use a simple and clear interface to guide users in the case of beautiful packaging
• Although the blockchain is the underlying technology of the product, it is not the highlight of the product. Keeping this in mind during the front-end design of a product can help improve the acceptability of new types of products

11. Tools and Resources

Marketing Analysis

• Mixpanel
• Heap Analytics
• Google Analytics
• Visible
• Ref
• Klipfolio

Content Marketing

• HubSpot
• WordPress
• Contentools
• zeros
• BuzzSumo
• PathFactory
• Uberflip

AI Tools for Content Marketing

• ChatGPT
• CopyAI
• GrowthBar
• Scalenut
• Beautiful.ai

Email Marketing

• MailChimp
• SendX
• Postr

Social Media Marketing

• Hootsuite
• SocialPilot
• Sprout Social

Online Giveaways and Contests

• Vyper
• Gleam
• Woorise

PR channel

• PR Newswire
• Chainwire
• PR manager
• ReBlonde

Advertising

• A-Ads
• Adshares
• Cointraffic
• Coinzilla

Supplementary reading material

Ansoff Matrix

Ansoff Matrix: Four Quadrant Marketing Strategies

Bitcoin Case Study

User Consumption Process

How to build a customer journey

Why and how consumers buy crypto assets

Visualization of Buyer Experience

build link

Semrush's Beginner's Guide to Link Building SEO

Backlinko's Link Building Guide

PESO Model

The Ultimate Guide to Integrated Marketing

How to use the PESO model to plan publicity activities