Strategies for Promoting Emerging Web3 Sectors

Everybody thinks growing a web3 project is easy if you have money. Polkadot's example illustrates why this is NOT the case: 👇 So Polkadot spent $37m on Marketing in Q1 and Q2 2024. Some of the top categories were: • $10m on Ads and Sponsorships • $7.9m on Events/Conferences • $4.9m on Influencers • $4.1m on Digital Ads Yet despite these huge marketing activities, Polkadot somehow seems quiet and invisible. So what is it that they could have done better? Here are the top 8 ones for me: 1/ Slash all soccer club and race car sponsorships. These don't attract web3 developers and builders. Seems like we didn't learn our lessons from 2021 when projects splashed money on renaming stadiums and sponsoring all sorts of sports teams. 2/ Use respected influencers to educate about the advantages of your chain. Explain in layman's terms WHY and HOW your chain is different from 100+ other L1s and L2s out there. Simply Tweeting common sense threads and posts will not bring adoption. 3/ Build an in-house team of core contributors and loyal ambassadors and invest in their growth. Let them become the thought leaders of tomorrow in their domain and promote your chain. This is a long-term initiative but will pay big time down the road. 4/ Dramatically increase your funding for Community Building. Enable a variety of educational and ambassadorial programs.  Again, it was the community that kept Solana alive in Dec 2022 when everyone thought it was dead. When you splash 10x more funds on sports team sponsorships, it's sending the wrong to your community. 5/ Increase grants to attract tier one teams to build the best web3 dApps with killer UI/UX. Offer incentives to the existing top projects to bridge to your chain as well. 6/ Allocate more funds to organize dozens of informal Polkadot gatherings targeted at developers across the continents. Empower your community ambassadors and evangelists in different countries. Let them bring the best builders and developers together for casual meetups. 7/ Slash the budget on digital ads. Traditional ads that work well for web2 startups usually don't result in good conversions for web3 projects. 8/ Completely rethink your Media strategy. If you spent millions but people can't remember hearing about you recently, then it didn't work. That's because simply promoting a chain doesn't work. Instead, promote a new chain specific innovation or user facing feature or at least get creative with ads. Coinbase/Base and Solana are killing at this, so learn from them. -- In short, money is important but it's all about HOW you are spending in. And promoting a web3 chain is not the same as scaling a web2 startup. What works in web2 doesn't always fly in web3 and vice versa. Image source: DefiIgnas on X P.S. Anything else you'd add to the list? Let me know below. Follow 👉 Aram Mughalyan & consider sharing ♻️ this post if you like it.

🌐 Unlocking India’s #Web3 Potential: Key Takeaways from Ireland’s Web3 Skills & Talent Pipeline Report 🚀 As India gears up for the Web3 decade, a recent Industry Insights Report on Web3 from Ireland offers valuable lessons for building a robust skills and talent ecosystem. Here’s how India’s Web3 industry can take inspiration and accelerate its growth: 1️⃣ Bridge the Skills Gap with Targeted Education The report highlights a global shortage of Web3 professionals, particularly in blockchain development, smart contract engineering, and community management. India can address this by developing comprehensive Web3 courses, from foundational programs for business leaders to advanced technical training. Collaborating with industry leaders to create up-to-date curricula will ensure relevance. 🇮🇳 Opportunity: Leverage India’s vast tech talent pool and edtech platforms to scale Web3 education. 2️⃣ Foster Non-Technical Roles for Inclusivity Web3 isn’t just about coders! Roles like community management and communication are critical in decentralized ecosystems. India’s vibrant startup culture can promote these roles, especially to attract diverse talent, including women and underrepresented groups. 💡 Action Point: Create mentorship programs and micro-credentials to empower non-technical professionals. 3️⃣ Advocate for Regulatory Clarity Ireland’s experience with the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) shows the importance of clear regulations to boost investment and innovation. India’s Web3 industry can push for consistent policies on taxation, accounting, and crypto assets to create a conducive business environment. ⚖️ Why it matters: Regulatory certainty will attract global players and foster homegrown Web3 startups. 4️⃣ Build a Collaborative Ecosystem Ireland’s success stems from strong ties between government, academia, industry, and society. India can replicate this by fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, hosting Web3-focused events, and supporting startup incubators. 🌍 Example: Initiatives like Blockchain India Week could amplify community engagement and innovation. 5️⃣ Raise Public Awareness Low public awareness is a barrier to Web3 adoption. India can launch campaigns to demystify Web3, showcasing use cases like decentralized finance (DeFi) and self-sovereign identity (SSI). 📢 Pro Tip: Leverage India’s massive social media reach to educate and inspire adoption. 6️⃣ Invest in Infrastructure Scalable blockchain networks and decentralized applications are critical for Web3 growth. India’s tech giants and startups can collaborate to build interoperable infrastructure, supported by government funding like Ireland’s Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund. Vision: Position India as a global hub for Web3 infrastructure development.

I've sat down with Otherlife & talked to 20+ CMO/CTOs to find out what's next for Web3 x Brands. Here are 4 non-secret secrets to succeed in Web3 WITHOUT ending up as the NFT drop that's irrelevant on launch day: 1. Focus on value, not technology You might think: “It’s the missing UX”. No. Brands understand that successful engagement isn’t about throwing technology at people (such as NFTs or wallets). Antonio Carriero: "Technology is never the issue... you have more technology capability than good ideas. The most interesting challenge has been to align the entire organization around one unique project." Example: Mastercard integrated NFTs into events like the UEFA Champions League, offering exclusive experiences through digital collectibles. BREITLING created digital product passports for watches, massively improving the pre-owned experience for customers (and getting a ton of valuable data!) Instead of focusing on the tech, they created real value for customers. 2. Bridge tech and business goals     Ensure every digital asset or tech layer supports your broader business strategy. Integrate these tools in a way that simplifies the user journey and delivers tangible value, not just novelty. 𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: DeLorean Motor Company 's marketplace for car reservation slots uses blockchain to secure transactions. This aligns perfectly with their brand’s focus on exclusivity and consumer protection. 3. Beyond NFTs The era of standalone NFT projects is done. Brands initially jumped into Web3 with flashy NFT drops — but 90% of these fizzled out. Integrate digital assets, payments, data, gaming across platforms – NFTs could be a part of that.  4. Fail often, fail faster Start small, run a pilot, scale it, test and learn. If it doesn't work, pull it down immediately and pivot. Gucci did an amazing job in testing the waters with their “Vault” concept, Roblox activations, and strategic collabs (case study in comments). Don't be fooled: The chart is an approximation of what we've heard in our community. We're soon going to do a much more comprehensive study on this. 🔥 Read our deep dive here: https://lnkd.in/gThdBuBS Wanna crack the code? Reach out to our friends at Otherlife Michael Perrow, XYZ Michael Moodie Examples of brands who nailed this? _ 🔻Subscribe for more & join 10k+ Web3 execs: www.51insights.xyz

In Web3 marketing, we often chase paid media and influencer partnerships. But what about earned media? Earned media can be a game-changer for credibility and community growth. However, many projects overlook its potential. Let's break it down: ✅ Authenticity Over Ads: Earned media—mentions, reviews, and shares—comes from genuine community engagement. It’s more trusted than paid ads. ✅ Community Trust: A community-driven endorsement carries more weight. When your community shares your story, it amplifies your reach and builds trust organically. ✅ SEO Benefits: Quality earned media boosts your search engine rankings, driving organic traffic and increasing your project's visibility. ✅ Cost Efficiency: While paid media can be expensive, earned media leverages the power of your community and network, often at a fraction of the cost. Yet, many Web3 projects fail to capitalize on earned media. Here’s what we ask our clients at Coinbound: ☝️ Are you engaging with your community consistently? 💡 Engagement isn’t just about posting updates; it’s about meaningful interactions. Are you listening to your community and acting on feedback? ✌️ Do you have a strategy for PR and media outreach? 💡 Build relationships with industry journalists and influencers. Have a compelling story ready to share. 🤟 Are you tracking your earned media performance? 💡 Use analytics to measure the impact of your earned media efforts. Understand what’s working and refine your approach accordingly. Earned media isn’t just a bonus; it’s a crucial part of a robust Web3 marketing strategy. Speak the language of your community, and they’ll amplify your message far beyond what paid media can achieve.

The biggest winners in web3 won’t just build products—they’ll build ecosystems Here’s how we accidentally ended up doing both: When we entered web3 in 2021, we thought we were building a tech platform to help crypto companies grow But it quickly became clear: There was no growth ecosystem yet No playbooks. No community. No investor interest in the tools growth leaders actually needed So before we could build a product, we had to build the market around it In February 2022, we launched the first-ever community for crypto marketers—40 people sharing ideas, challenges, and lessons As the community grew, so did the category More builders entered. Tools for analytics, messaging, incentives, and attribution started to appear But investors still didn’t take web3 growth seriously. So in October 2022, we published the first market map with 70 growth tooling companies That changed everything What was once ignored had structure: • VCs paid attention • Funding flowed • And we got funded too (our lead VC came to us inbound 🤗) And by 2023, “web3 growth” was a real market Only then did we begin scaling our own customer data platform But there was still one more problem: marketing lacked credibility in crypto Unlike in web2, web3 marketers didn’t have influence—yet So in February 2024, we hosted the first-ever Safary Summit—a full day dedicated to web3 marketing, with 25 top minds across 11 panels The impact was immediate More summits followed. More communities launched. In 2022 and 2023, there were zero web3 marketing conferences. In 2024, there were dozens At the same time, top web3 marketers began building personal brands—giving the function visibility, legitimacy, and power Some people pushed back That’s when we knew it was working Today, our platform is growing faster than ever—because we didn’t just build a product We built the sandbox everyone else is now playing in That’s the opportunity in web3: Don’t just chase markets—create them