The Web3 space is different, and marketing professionals need to understand that

Michael McClure, Marketing Operations Manager. Blokhaus Inc.

Practices such as segments, granular user tracking, and remarketing are common in the world of marketing operations. All these practices and more are equally possible in the Web3 space, but I’m here to beg you – don’t go that route.

I’m speaking here not only as a marketing operations professional, but also as a fan of Web3 principles. Any organization entering Web3 that ignores the values of the space is in for a rude awakening. So let me help you avoid a Twitter backlash: In this article, I’ll give you an overview of some basic, traditional marketing operations practices you should reevaluate before jumping in.

We’ve probably all had the experience of being phished. Securing your computer afterwards, and changing your passwords is never fun, but the worst-case scenario, where a scammer might get access to your finances, is terrifying. That’s just as possible in the world of Web3 as it is in Web2, and platform security needs to be a top priority for any business entering the space. Customers may forgive and forget if you lose their email address, but no one is going to forgive their wallet being drained.

Even crypto wallet-maker Ledger, a brand synonymous with Web3 security, has been compromised. In that instance, a malicious actor took control of the company's email platform, and sent a phishing link urging users to update their software.

Many users of crypto value anonymity and will appreciate you holding the least amount of data about them as possible.

Email marketing has been a core component of just about every major brand’s marketing strategy for decades, but that doesn’t mean it’s the correct medium for their Web3 entry plan. Many users of crypto value anonymity and will appreciate you holding the least amount of data about them as possible. So, instead of sending a monthly email newsletter, opt for a Twitter newsletter. Rather of sending a weekly marketing email, Tweet your material instead.

In Web3, organic interactions are critical. I’m not advocating for an email-less approach to marketing (I’ve spent way too much time on certifications and writing campaign logic for something that radical), but ‘email for everything’ is the wrong way to go. And a word of caution – last year MailChimp and other email automation platforms kicked crypto clients off their platforms without warning, citing scams and bad sender scores as the reasons. With Web3 still in its relative infancy, it would be smart to diversify your reach tactics as much as possible now, so you don’t face a surprise ban the week before a major event (speaking from experience).

Mass-dropping of NFTs is just the latest iteration of junk mail, and it’s one of the easiest ways to lose credibility in the Web3 space

A popular Web3 use case for brands has been NFTs. An NFT activation can be a great tool if used correctly, but if used incorrectly, well, I hope your PR team is ready for a long night of crisis management.

Since blockchains are public ledgers, you have access to everyone’s wallet address, which means you have the ability to send an NFT to every user on a network. Sending every possible prospect an NFT coupon or party invite is easy – you don’t need to collect an email address or even follow any email marketing regulations. So if you want, you could legally, and relatively cheaply, send millions of people outside your existing database some kind of promotion in the form of an NFT. DO NOT DO THIS.

Mass-dropping of NFTs is just the latest iteration of junk mail, and it’s one of the easiest ways to lose credibility in the Web3 space. Some artists have discovered this to their cost, when they sent their artwork to large numbers of users on a blockchain. They generated publicity, but at the cost of their reputation.

Speaking of databases and wallets, it’s absolutely fine to keep a database of wallets that have interacted with you, and it’s also acceptable to have cookies on your website. But please, and I can’t stress this enough, for the love of god, do not combine the two. Do not dox your users’ wallets by associating their wallet addresses with a personal identifier in your database. Doxxing is regarded as the ultimate sin in crypto (outside of flat-out stealing).

One thing that marketing professionals need to realize about Web3 is that everything is public. This means you’ll see every wallet that’s interacted with your competitor’s product, just like they’ll see every wallet that’s interacted with yours. This matters, because say, for example, your company decides to gift your entire customer base a free NFT. Well, congratulations – you just gave every one of your competitors the wallet address of each of your customers.

Armed with this information, a competitor could run a targeted promotion to those wallet owners, perhaps offering them a discount or an exclusive product. And boom - they just stole (at least some of) your customers.

Any brand entering the Web3 space should have a long-term plan for retaining the attention of existing and prospective customers. This long-term strategy will probably include one of the most powerful tools in a marketer’s playbook - remarketing.

Remarketing is the bread and butter of attracting repeat buyers. Do not spam wallets with advertisements as a remarketing strategy, but instead, provide benefits to repeat customers or anyone engaging with your brand. You can absolutely still use the traditional remarketing strategies of online advertising, or email strategies.

Given the importance of anonymity in crypto, how will people recognize they’re engaging with your authentic brand? Let’s dig into Web3 identities. People feel safe when they go to your website and see yourcompany.com. Would they feel safe if they found themselves on 0xfd8oinns4JS4n.com? Of course not.

Once your brand is established in Web3, people will become familiar with your wallet address and your website, but don’t forget that even experienced Web3 customers are still cautious about the risk of scams.

Just as there are website domain names for sale, there are crypto domains. This means that instead of your wallet being a mess of numbers and letters, you could let people interact with yourcompany.eth or yourcompany.tez. A word of caution, there is no regulatory entity to help reclaim your crypto domain name from squatters or scammers in Web3, so it’s in your best interest to purchase your desired domain/s asap. What if your company’s name is already taken? You could opt for a variation like yourcompanyWeb3.eth, or try to buy the domain from the current owner. You can do this by placing a bid on an NFT marketplace like OpenSea.

Once your brand is established in Web3, people will become familiar with your wallet address and your website, but don’t forget that even experienced Web3 customers are still cautious about the risk of scams. This makes it best practice to offer a wallet designation service when asking people to connect their wallet with your brand website. This allows your collectors/consumers/customers to interact with your website using what’s known as a burner wallet. A burner wallet is one without valuable assets in it, so if you accidentally fall for a scam, you don’t lose anything valuable. For something open to the general public this isn’t a concern, but it’s important if you’re doing more advanced logic where a wallet needs to hold a specific NFT in order to claim an item or something similar. Even if it’s not an immediate concern, it’s important to keep in mind as you’re building out your strategy.

Some companies are using NFTs in their branding strategy as incentives to alter perceptions of the company. I received access to the early launch of Starbucks Stamps recently, and found myself learning about the history of the franchise. Their NFT strategy includes rewards not just for purchasing drinks, but also for answering trivia questions. While trying to get one of the early NFTs, I found myself learning about the first Starbucks location, and why they chose a mermaid as a mascot. They humanized a massive corporation by essentially tricking me into learning about the company’s history, in hopes of receiving an NFT. This approach is smart because it gives people the opportunity to participate in the brand’s campaign, then profit by selling their NFT later. It creates goodwill towards the company from non-customers, while also allowing current customers the ability to purchase the collectible from someone else without needing to spend time answering trivia.

If you’re serious about entering the Web3 space, I hope that this article has provided a good overview of best practices, but it’s just a start. The most successful campaigns will be created by brands that engage in the space authentically. So my advice to marketing professionals who want to do Web3 marketing right is to set up a wallet, buy some crypto, and spend a bit too much time on Twitter. Only then should you make a plan. If you want to chat with the creatives and Web3 marketing professionals at Blokhaus, you can reach out to our team via this form.

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Blokhaus is a marketing and communications agency with a focus on Web3 and emerging tech. Since we were founded in 2021, Blokhaus has supported numerous high-profile projects and activations around the globe, working in partnership with some of the biggest brands in the world. To learn more about our work, check out our Case Studies. To get in touch, visit our Contact Us page.