Post-token launch crypto PR and marketing is an often overlooked concept in crypto. Many projects fall into a sort of ‘builders trap’ where efforts to market or reach out to the masses declines to increase internal capacity towards maintaining their products or services, This can often lead to a decline in the growth of a project in the phase immediately following token launch.
In this article, we cover why the work doesn't end at launch, and share a few strategies to ensure the long-term success and growth of your project. In crypto PR, it's crucial to develop and execute a well-crafted strategy – one that’s custom built to the unique challenges and opportunities of the crypto space.
Let’s explore some of these concepts in more detail, but first, let’s take a look at what crypto PR is all about, and how to layer narratives to craft unique strategies to push your particular brand(s).
Defining Your PR Goals
Before diving into specific strategies, it's essential to define your PR goals. What do you aim to achieve through your PR efforts? Some common goals for crypto projects include:
- Increasing brand awareness and visibility
- Attracting new investors and users
- Establishing thought leadership and credibility
- Fostering community engagement and loyalty
- Managing reputation and mitigating potential crises
Your PR goals should align with your overall business objectives and be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Crafting Your PR Narrative
At the heart of your PR strategy is your project's narrative. This is the story you tell about your token, its purpose, and the problem it solves. Your narrative should be compelling, authentic, and resonate with your target audience.
The most memorable crypto projects are those that carry along strong narratives with them. Narratives are like the grassroots of your project’s ethos and story that reflect across time. As newer narratives enter and exit the market, your strategy must incorporate your stories to flow with the times. This is a key factor to surviving both bull and bear markets in crypto.
To craft a strong narrative, focus on the following elements:
- Unique value proposition: Highlight what sets your token apart from others in the market. This can be either through pure utility-based narratives or a strong story to attract your intended audience, or both.
- Real-world impact: Demonstrate how your token can make a tangible difference in people's lives or industries. Utility is ultimately what will set you apart from your competitors in crypto. Most long-term projects ensure they adapt to new tech as fast as possible to innovate and make it easier on their users to apply their real-world utilities seamlessly.
- Founder and team story: Share the passion, expertise, and vision of the people behind the project. For reference, you may check the Bored Ape Yacht Club origin story of how two long-time friends turned Miami cityscape stories into one of the most coveted brands in the NFT space.
- Community-driven approach: Emphasize how your project values and engages with its community. Communities either make or break a project. Even if you are knee deep in memecoin degeneracy, a strong (and oftentimes out of the box weird) community driven narrative/tasks/raids etc. will ensure that your narratives stick around in each phase of the market cycle.
Now that you have a few insights on crafting your foundational narratives, let’s take a look at some of the more intricate crypto PR strategies to allow more push to your marketing efforts.
1. Leveraging Media Relations
Media coverage is a powerful way to amplify your message and reach a wider audience. To effectively use media relations, you could start by building a database of relevant media outlets and journalists who cover the crypto space.
Next, all you need to do is send compelling press releases and pitch stories that align with your narrative and provide value to readers. Please ensure that your stories offer exclusive insights, interviews, or early access to new developments to incentivize coverage.
Some news outlets allow for guest posts in particular formats to be sent directly to editors etc. Next, you may collaborate with media partners on sponsored content or thought leadership pieces.Lastly, it’s important to be responsive and available to journalists for comments or clarifications.
2. Building Thought Leadership
Establishing your project and its leaders as thought leaders in the crypto space is crucial for building credibility and trust. To achieve this, consider the following tactics:
- Publish high-quality blog posts, whitepapers, and research reports that provide valuable insights and analysis.
- Participate in industry conferences, webinars, and panel discussions as speakers or panelists.
- Engage in online discussions and Q&A sessions on social media, forums, and community platforms.
- Collaborate with other respected figures in the crypto space on joint initiatives or content.
3. Community Engagement and Management
The crypto community is the heartbeat of the industry and tapping in to this pulse basically defines how successful your project can be in the future. Effective community engagement and management involves a mix of networking and building and nurturing a strong presence on social media platforms like X, Telegram, and Discord.
The community expects regular updates, so clear communication is key. Let people know about your milestones, and relevant news to keep the community informed and engaged. This also works the other way around where you may actively listen and respond to community feedback, concerns, and suggestions.
No community is built without constant activation. Organizing community events, contests, and initiatives to foster a sense of belonging and loyalty. Make sure you empower community members to become advocates and ambassadors for your project.
4. Crisis Communication and Reputation Management
In this often volatile crypto space, crises can emerge unexpectedly. It's essential to have a crisis communication plan in place to mitigate potential damage to your project's reputation. Key elements of effective crisis communication include:
- Monitoring online conversations and sentiment to identify potential issues early.
- Having a designated spokesperson and clear communication protocols for crisis situations.
- Addressing issues promptly, transparently, and with empathy.
- Providing regular updates and reassurance to stakeholders during and after the crisis.
- Learning from the experience and adapting your strategies to prevent future crises.
Measuring and Refining Your PR Strategy
To ensure the effectiveness of your PR efforts, it's crucial to continuously measure and refine your strategy. Use a mix of some of the various strategies above to build buzz and capitalize on your post-launch goals. Set clear key performance indicators (KPIs) aligned with your PR goals, such as media mentions, website traffic, social media engagement, or investor inquiries.
Regularly review and analyze your PR performance data to identify what's working well and areas for improvement. Be open to adapting your approach based on insights and feedback from your team, community, and stakeholders. Measurement of success gives greater clarity to the direction of your brand, and is an important part of your crypto narrative and future path as well.
Conclusion
Developing and executing a well thought out PR strategy is essential for the long-term success of your token and crypto project. By understanding the unique challenges and opportunities of the crypto space, defining clear goals, crafting a compelling narrative, leveraging media relations, building thought leadership, engaging with the community, managing crises effectively, and continuously measuring and refining your approach, you can build a strong brand reputation and drive the adoption and growth of your token.
Remember, crypto PR is an ongoing journey that requires patience, adaptability, and a commitment to authenticity and transparency. By staying true to your project's vision and values, and consistently delivering value to your stakeholders, you can navigate the dynamic crypto landscape and achieve your PR goals.
Our experience in the space has often produced innovative techniques to navigate PR and KOL management. This has also allowed us to see through major (and often minor) blind spots in various marketing roadmaps. If you’re looking to explore more of our insights and guides, please feel free to check out our free guide to strategic crypto fundraising, or you could connect with us for a direct discovery call for more personalized consultation for your projects and ideas.
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