Given its growth in the last year, it has become increasingly evident that the cryptocurrency market is here to stay. In fact, many blockchain-based startups and cryptocurrency creators have emerged, providing alternative solutions to financial problems around the world. Interestingly enough, the initial coin offerings (ICOs) funding model for startups has even overtaken traditional venture funding.
With the massive emergence of these types of startups, crypto developers need more assistance in getting the word out there about their projects. For this reason, they need to develop an effective public relations strategy to stand out from their competitors.
This article will look at the difference between crypto and traditional PR and strategies for effectively achieving crypto PR.
When companies decide that it is time to get the word out about their cryptocurrency project. Their initial strategy is to use their internal PR team (if they have one) or hire a PR agency. If you have your own team specializing in crypto PR, then you do not have to worry. On the other hand, if you opt to hire an external PR team, you need to find out whether they understand the industry and whether they’ve built successful PR campaigns for other crypto projects before yours.
At this point, you might be wondering, “Isn’t all PR the same?”
The simplified answer is that while there are standard elements of PR, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for every brand on the planet. This is especially the case in the cryptocurrency industry where there are particular challenges that a generalized PR agency may not have experience in or be capable of addressing. Therefore, it is essential to choose a PR agency with expertise in cryptocurrency and blockchain projects so that your message reaches the right people.
Benefits of hiring a crypto PR agency
Experience in the industry
Of course, many PR agencies will offer you a standard approach. Even so, hiring a specialized agency is worth it because the experts at such an agency will have prior experience in generating publicity for a crypto project. With specialized experience, you can connect with industry thought leaders, break through the noise and earn trust from your target audience.
An optimised network
Cryptocurrency agencies have ties to the cryptocurrency community. They know which podcasts have the most listeners and which conferences a cryptocurrency developer should attend. They can also give you an idea of which websites publish high-quality guest articles. In this way, they can help you publish content not only on crypto-specific outlets but also on mainstream outlets.
Seasoned PR experts will help you connect with bloggers, vloggers, and influencers who are part of your company’s niche market. They can also do outreach to other mainstream outlets that are related to your niche.
Relevant knowledge
Ideally, any good crypto PR agency that knows what they are doing should be up-to-date with everything within the industry, from recent trends to the challenges of launching a crypto project. After all, a good agency already has experience in the crypto space. They should not waste any of your time and money pursuing mediums that they know will not benefit the company.
They should also know which ad networks allow ICO advertising, the steps companies can take to promote an STO, and which media publications or influencers are at the top of the crypto game. Finally, another reason to choose a specialist agency is that they are usually composed of experts who understand blockchain and believe in it. They work in crypto PR because they see the industry’s potential and want to see crypto projects succeed.
How Pressfarm can help with all of this
Pressfarm is one such PR agency that has experience working with crypto startups and companies to create newsworthy content. They then distribute this content to media professionals and influencers or help clients publish it on their owned media channels. The PR specialists, expert writers, and certified designers at Pressfarm can help you create quality content that improves the credibility of your crypto project. By helping you with email pitches, press releases, and guest posts, Pressfarm can help you capture media attention and win your target audience over.
With a winning distribution strategy, the experts at Pressfarm will submit your content to the right startup directories. They will also get you featured on the best media outlets and professional networks in your niche to boost your brand’s online visibility. This strategy is designed to help you feature in relevant search results across different search engines including Google, Yahoo, and Bing!
As a client, you also get access to custom media lists built by an account executive to help you connect with the best thought leaders and storytellers in your niche. If you’d prefer to build your media lists on your own, you can use Pressfarm’s media database of over 1 million journalists, bloggers, and influencers for a year at no additional charge.
Benefits of traditional PR
While it is ideal to have a specialist agency, traditional media relations can, of course, help you to build broad awareness, differentiation, and customer acquisition in the crypto world. All crypto developers aspire to be covered in the media, speaking about important issues and featuring in stories about the industry. As a crypto developer, you undoubtedly have competitors, and you want readers to understand how your company differs from others. The media attention you get from a successful PR campaign can help you generate awareness and achieve your business objectives.
In order to be successful, you will need to combine a traditional PR approach with a non-traditional one regularly to gain both broad and targeted awareness. You must excite your community by developing projects that will engage them and generate on-brand awareness across multiple channels. You need a plan to raise awareness online that complements a more traditional PR strategy.
Now that we have looked at the difference between traditional PR and crypto PR and why it is essential to choose the right agency, let us look at some strategies you can use for crypto public relations.
1) Develop a reputation of transparency
It is critical to establish credibility to earn customer loyalty and boost sales. Consumers want to know that the company they’re dealing with is trustworthy. Another way for you to build your reputation is to partner with a well-known cryptocurrency company. A company like that can help you expand your horizons and achieve tremendous success. You should research and find these firms then ensure they have extensive and specialized cryptocurrency PR experience, measurable success in the cryptocurrency world, and solid references.
2) Create a marketing strategy
You must not just jump in and post about your cryptocurrency project on social media while hoping for the best. Rather, you must devise a unique strategy based on your expectations and requirements. Keep in mind that there are so many cryptocurrencies out there now. For this reason, businesses that want to be noticed must put in lots of effort. Influencer marketing, traditional media outreach, and, of course, a great product are all components of a successful campaign.
When you first begin to build your media outreach strategy, you must first identify the appropriate media outlets for your news. You need to locate prominent journalists who specialize in blockchain and cryptocurrency coverage.
3) Start building a prospects database early
Customers are necessary for any business. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a business-to-business or a business-to-consumer transaction. As a result, you must concentrate on increasing product adoption as soon as possible.
You need to take a proactive approach. Additionally, you need to reach out to your target market and build relationships to expand your prospect email database. Email is one of the most effective marketing tools available to a company. It’s an open platform with a direct line of communication. Moreover, with email, you have complete control, as opposed to centralized social media platforms. These social media platforms can change their algorithms or business models at any time.
You should also contact other crypto businesses to see how you can strategically collaborate to produce meaningful products and valuable content for your target audiences. In the crypto world, word of a partnership spreads quickly. Additionally, it has the potential to generate synergy for all parties involved. If you start generating publicity sooner rather than later, you will be better prepared for the day your product launches. More importantly, you will be ready to welcome your first customers.
4) Establish a presence where the target audience is
You should not wait for your target market to come to you. Instead, you should go where the target market is. With so many people on social media these days, you need to decide which social media platforms you will use. There are numerous options for community hosting in the crypto space, including Medium for text content and YouTube for video content. Twitter is the primary social network among crypto projects. As a result, you should consider setting up an account and engaging with your community there. You can also use Telegram, Reddit, Slack, or Discord for community hosting.
You must create consistent, professional, and regularly updated profiles on various social media platforms. This way, you can establish an active presence in places where your target audience spends their time. You should also make sure that your branding, marketing, and social media efforts are all in sync with the company’s mission.
5) Establish authority in the field
We live in a world where almost anyone can now become a cryptocurrency entrepreneur. The companies and startups that can get ahead of the game and stay ahead are those that establish themselves as experts in their field. Investors must examine a cryptocurrency company and determine how it differs from its competitors. In general, they prefer to work with companies that are aware of the capabilities of blockchain as well as its potential drawbacks. You must develop a thought leadership strategy that emphasizes your authority and demonstrates how you are a valuable online resource.
6) Maintain constant communication
Consumers want to feel like they’re always one step ahead of the game. For this reason, you should develop an effective communication strategy to keep your community up to date on what you are up to. This will build the kind of transparency and dependability that investors value.
Some crypto communities are left to their own devices. This creates an inconsistency in the community’s experience for new and returning members, and it does not reflect well on the crypto company. By being available and actively managing your community, you can start and join conversations, answer questions, and respond to concerns. You can also get valuable feedback and ideas from the audience.
You must also keep a close eye on your community and industry. Take proactive steps to engage your audience, and respond to questions and feedback as quickly as possible. As a result, you will have a much happier and more engaged community.
7) Encourage and welcome user-generated content
PR is all about gaining media coverage, and word-of-mouth plays a big part in that. Word-of-mouth marketing has existed for a very long time, and now social media has become the modern version of this type of marketing.
For this reason, most brands on social media welcome and encourage user-generated content. In terms of social media engagement, brands with the most devoted fan bases are usually the most successful.
Crypto assets have a much larger fan base than most other industries, which is fortunate. Everyone wants to be a part of the action and share their opinion. In fact, the community has created a large number of crypto memes. Cryptocurrencies naturally generate a lot of user-generated content. On the other hand, brands in more established industries have difficulty getting people to create content about them. As a result, cryptocurrency businesses should promote, moderate and republish user-generated content.
Conclusion
Public relations is an integral part of a successful marketing strategy and this is especially the case in the crypto space. After all, crypto developers have to work harder than other entrepreneurs to gain public trust. Whether you choose to do your PR in-house or hire an external PR team, you must always pick a team that understands the assignment and can reach the right audiences. As a new developer, you need to be aware that the crypto industry is currently saturated with so many projects and companies. In order to stand out against your competitors, you need to make sure that you have a solid PR plan. Beyond that, you need to make sure you partner with a team that can execute this plan to the best of its ability.