There is a lot of competition in the ICO market right now. Only those who know how to sell themselves properly in a crowded space have a chance to be successful. But this is not an easy task; ICO’s are complicated, and getting all the moving parts to come together successfully is a huge challenge.
In this environment, going forward without a marketing plan based on solid, fundamental principles is all but certain to lead to failure. But what exactly does a solid marketing plan look like?
Speak In Terms Of Value
Here’s a harsh truth: Your market doesn’t care about how innovative your use of blockchain technology is — they care about what that innovation will do for those who embrace it. This may be a bummer, but it’s the reality of what drives adoption.
The core team behind a good ICO is tech-obsessed; the audience they are selling to is value obsessed. At a time when an average of three ICO’s are happening every day, messaging focused on value provision — not technology — is the only way to get noticed.
A marketing plan will force you to think about what that value message should be for your coin. Once you have it, you can use it as guide to inform all of your marketing communications across all mediums.
Two Key Pillars
However, knowing the value of your coin and getting the word out about that value to your target audience are two very different things.
Successfully broadcasting your message comes down to two things: Content and Community.
Content
You probably know what content is: white papers, infographics, podcasts, etc. But a superficial knowledge of how to create them is hardly enough to conduct a successful ICO. Effective content use is about tailoring the message to the platform in terms of language, tone, and audience.
For example, a white paper is a great piece of content to explain a coin’s value — but not if your core team writes it in language that requires a PhD in computer science to understand. An email lead nurturing track can lead people interested in your coin through the sales funnel — but not if the optimal progression of messaging isn’t found via proper A/B testing.
For these reasons, a deep understanding of how effective content is written is a must for a successful ICO strategy.
Community
Even the most well-crafted content is only as effective as its distribution. For example, a common ICO distribution tactic is building and leveraging prospect email lists. However, merely blasting leads with your content isn’t a receipt for a successful ICO launch.
Why? Because it’s too easily dismissed or ignored.
Given the huge number of coins out there, the volatile price fluctuations in the market, and the recent bad press surrounding ICO’s, a successful launch requires differentiation. It’s not enough to merely disseminate content; you need to build trust around your brand so that the market wants to hear what you have to say.
This is where community comes in. Building thought leadership via appearances in prominent publications, consistent and quality blogging, and native social media reach are all a critical part of breaking through the noise and standing out.
Why Do You Need To Invest In An ICO Marketing Strategy?
Crafting a good marketing strategy for a successful ICO launch is deceptively difficult.
All good blockchain entrepreneurs believe in their idea, and want to let the world know about it. And there’s nothing wrong with that. But it’s not enough. To get adoption the launch has to tell the story right. That means building a plan of value-oriented messaging, creating good content that captures it, and then building a space where it can be seen.
From that perspective, a successful ICO launch is anything but easy. It’s a complex process whose importance as an investment cannot be either overstated or overlooked.