Crypto is entering a new era. As the most brutal bear market since its inception finally shows signs of dissipation, new projects are launching and beginning pre-launch crypto PR marketing hype. As new money floods into the ecosystems, we’re going to see our fair share of failures, rug pulls, and exploits.
Every new legitimate project must consider this and use it to craft its marketing and Web3 PR strategies. How are you different? How are you going to protect funds? Who did your audits?
This is valuable information for users and investors and can also help with your PR campaigns. Let’s look at the complete list to help get your project ready for an explosive launch.
What is crypto PR and what does it entail?
Public relations (PR) is managing relationships between a brand and its stakeholders, including customers, media outlets, investors, and influencers.
The aim of PR is to build trust with these key audiences and maximize positive exposure for the brand — in this case, your Web3 protocol — through strategic communication tactics such as press releases, media interviews, and event sponsorships.
Defining Web3 PR
Crypto PR is a specialized form of traditional public relations focused on marketing to the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries. It requires an in-depth understanding of this space, its culture, and its key influencers.
Strategic communication can help shape perceptions about your project in a positive light while also reaching the right audience and building credibility.
The benefits of crypto PR services
Crypto PR services can be a powerful tool for launching your Web3 protocol. It helps raise awareness about your project, create positive sentiment, and attract potential investors or partners.
A successful crypto PR campaign relies on crafting compelling messages that emphasize your project’s values and ensuring these messages reach the right channels at the right time.
It also provides a platform for you to engage directly with key audiences, hear their feedback, and build relationships that can help support your protocol over time.
Performance-based PR for crypto and Web3
PR can provide a wide variety of benefits and advantages, but it’s also important to note how it’s done. Most companies operate using a monthly retainer. This is essentially an upfront charge in exchange for the PR firm to outreach and pitch in order to obtain spots in different news outlets.
Performance PR is a performance-based structure, which negates having to pay a hefty retainer. This can help save money and spend it more effectively as you only pay when you need PR services.
Check out our “What is Performance PR?” guide for more information on the model.
The components of a successful Web3 PR strategy?
A successful Web3 PR strategy should address all aspects of your protocol launch.
This includes developing a clear plan, setting realistic goals and timelines, writing press releases and other materials, negotiating for the right opportunities in media outlets or events, actively engaging with influencers and opinion leaders in the space, and monitoring results to track progress.
It’s also important to create an effective content strategy that accurately reflects your brand voice while highlighting the unique features of your protocol. Let’s break these points down in more detail.
1. Use authoritative websites to your advantage
The first step in your Web3 protocol launch is to get your name out there. To do this, you should target the online publications that have already established themselves as authorities when it comes to covering blockchain and crypto news.
Post press releases and other relevant materials on websites like CoinDesk, Decrypt, The Block, CryptoSlate, and other such sites to get your message out there.
Unfortunately, this task is also one of the most time-consuming and rejection heavy. This is where The PR Genius really shines for new projects. We offer an authority package – placing SEO-optimized articles on high-authority websites – by building relationships with editors and writers over a period of years.
This package helps to build authority for your project in several ways:
- Optimized articles for search engines
- Links to help you build authority on your own website
- Social proof
While this tactic has been used for decades in traditional PR and marketing work, it has a special place in crypto. In an industry that is surprisingly lacking in SEO effort, exploiters can quickly build out a fake website and rank it faster than the original protocol, allowing them to scam new users before the original project even launches.
You can keep this from happening to you by establishing online credibility fast and as early as possible.
2. Work with crypto journalists and influencers
Another way to make sure your project gets the attention it deserves is to work with journalists, influencers, and other opinion leaders in the crypto space.
Reach out to these individuals directly to inform them about your protocol launch and invite them to write about it or discuss it on their platforms.
Many influencers, who will mostly use YouTube, Twitter, or a combination, aren’t free. And they aren’t cheap.
As a pre-launch project, try to get the most bang for your buck when using these outlets. Target smaller influencers with devout audiences until your budget allows you to hunt bigger game.
You can also look for opportunities such as speaking engagements at conferences or interviews on podcasts to raise the profile of your project and build relationships with key influencers.
Discord and Twitter AMAs can be a great way to build some early hype. If you can find a respectable influencer that will help you out for cheap, it’s going to be a huge win.
Keep in mind that if no one on your team has a successful project under their belts, it will be tough to catch an invite as a speaker. You’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way, by showing up and networking with experts and respected members of the Web3 community.
3. Create meaningful content
Content creation is a crucial part of any successful crypto PR strategy. A content plan should include blog posts. And by blog posts, we mean real blog posts on your website. Not a Medium article. This is another place where crypto protocols have consistently dropped the ball.
Blog posts should be on your website, as this helps improve authority in the eyes of users as well as search engines.
Whitepapers, social media posts, video tutorials, and other materials that effectively communicate the value of your project also fall into the content category.
Your content should be tailored to the specific audiences you want to reach and provide comprehensive information about your protocol, its features, and its potential impact.
4. Leverage social media to build a community
Social media is a powerful tool in crypto PR. Platforms like Twitter, Telegram, Discord, and Reddit offer a great way to get your message received and engage with key stakeholders.
Utilize these platforms to post updates about your protocol launch, share news articles or other written content related to the project, reply to questions from users, and, most importantly – grow and strengthen your community.
Building a library of video tutorials on YouTube is another criminally under-utilized crypto PR strategy. What better way to help build authority in your project than to create videos showing how to use your website, explain how it works, and how users, whales, and VCs can all benefit?
In many ways, blogging plus YouTube videos are the ultimate weapons for marketing, and few projects are using both effectively.
5. Monitor metrics
Now it’s time for the boring stuff. As marketing professionals, we know that mentioning metric monitoring will generate groans from everyone. However, if your founder is also a dev or engineer, they will be interested in seeing the data. So will many of your users and potential investors.
The beauty of metrics in the crypto space is that they’re share-worthy. It’s content. Take screenshots. Post them on your website. Show your audience your capabilities and how the protocol is growing.
Lastly, it will help you identify areas where your strategy may need improvement and make adjustments to maximize the success of your Web3 protocol launch.
6. Press releases – an oldie but a goody
Press releases are essential to any PR strategy, and launching your Web3 protocol is no exception. They can help build credibility, create awareness for your project, and even attract potential investors.
When writing a press release, include the specifics about your protocol—such as its purpose, features, and roadmap—and explain why it’s different from existing protocols. Additionally, be sure to include a link to your website and contact information for follow-up questions.
Web3 PR services and how to use them
Leveraging crypto PR services for your Web3 protocol launch is a strategic and practical approach to gaining recognition in the blockchain and cryptocurrency world.
A comprehensive crypto PR strategy encompassing the tactics mentioned can significantly amplify the reach and impact of your protocol launch. Monitoring and optimizing your crypto PR efforts will ensure your protocol’s long-term success and growth.
As the Web3 landscape evolves, adapting innovative crypto PR strategies will remain vital for staying competitive and relevant in this dynamic industry. Contact the PR Genius to get the experts of PR on your side.
