ICO Social Media — Pray it works or Pay to Play?

As blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies fast become mainstream, rules and regulations follow and it’s not always great news. Social media and some digital marketing platforms are already under scrutiny with some outright bans on ICO advertising already in place.

In 2017 alone 235 companies took part in an ICO, almost five times the number in 2016. For example Q1 of 2018 saw 59% as many ICOs raise capital as the whole of 2017. It is doubtful that the trend is going to slow down.

At the time of writing it is still possible to publicise an ICO organically on Facebook and Twitter, however, with certain bans on paid social advertising already in place, now is the time to cast a wider net to investigate other potential solutions.

In this article we take a quick look at other alternatives.

Where do investors and crypto-enthusiasts talk to their peers? and what platforms still allow paid advertising? Where are the communities?

The preferred platform to build a crypto-community is Telegram. Why? Because Telegram strongly believes in privacy. It seamlessly syncs messages on your phone, tablet, computer and any other device of your choice and it doesn’t share your data with anyone. It’s the most comprehensive space to post announcements, update your loyal fans and respond to questions. It allows for the members of your community to talk to each other and, with a bit of luck, create brands ambassadors and supporters.

Apart from this ICO friendly social platform where else can you ‘pay to play’?

With over 330 million users worldwide Reddit is a community forum that offers a lot of potential to grow exposure of your ICO. As well as creating a subreddit (in relation to your specific subject) plus a host of other engaging features to support your ICO, you can also advertise content related to the ICO. Note the vast majority of Reddit audience is US based, younger than 35 and highly digital.

Quora, the question-answer platform with over 400 million users, is another influential community and it’s well worth tapping into the expertise of many of their followers; it also allows paid ads.There are also several specialised blockchain forum-based platforms, like Bitcointalk.org and Discord.

Medium, the blogging platform, has over 60 million monthly users and is used by most ICOs in some shape or form; it’s great for publishing content related to your audience, building followers and share your news. Due to the sheer size of their followers, leveraging Medium is a lot easier without social media promotion, you can republish as well and your content will be shown to the right audience.

Invariably the most successful ICOs have been the ones that have made it easy for investors to undertake their due-diligence. Along with a sound community management strategy, building strong social relationships with your target community is the best tool to create trust and credibility in your offering. The hard part is to get the right mix of paid and organic community engagement playing around the rules where necessary but more importantly ensuring that your communication is fast and steady, giving helpful and uncomplicated responses at every step.

So… there are ways of using Social Media for an ICO. Just think inside the block.

Josie Emmons is the Social Media and Community Manager at mad4digital, a tech marketing company. She was an early adopter of social media and the art of community building. Josie has an extensive knowledge about the platforms that matter for today’s tech and blockchain entrepreneurs.