How to Use Crypto Social Media Marketing to Scale your Startup [2024]

Blockchain technology is social innovation. 

Crypto allows anybody in the world with an internet connection and a smartphone to exchange value across borders, verify digital identities, and earn a living without requiring a middleman.

Crypto social media marketing is arguably the most important marketing channel for today's blockchain startups, and in this article, we're going to explore how you can use Twitter and Reddit to promote your project.

Crypto Twitter Marketing

The most often question we receive from newcomers is, “where do I start?” 

It's a fair question. The rabbit hole goes deep, and starting can feel insurmountable. 

Add the fact that generational wealth opportunities are on the line, and that friction to dive into the crypto universe becomes even more daunting.

Our answer is always the same: follow important people on Twitter.

Getting into crypto is a lot like finding your clique in high school: as freshmen, we observe from the sidelines, and once we find something that interests us we check out the community, and quickly adapt to the culture. 

3 Reasons Why Twitter Works

For most brands today, Twitter probably feels like an afterthought.

Today's marketers are laser-focused on traditional channels like email, paid search, and social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.

While these channels all have their merit and have a role within your broader blockchain marketing strategy, if your crypto startup is not heavily leaning into Twitter first, growing your audience on secondary channels will be an uphill battle.

Here are a few reasons why Twitter works so well for crypto startups.

1. It's Fast

When you’re dealing with a global market that runs 24/7 you need a channel that can distribute information to the masses as fast as socially possible. 

Publishing, sharing, and discussing content on Twitter is hands down the fastest platform for distributing information to a global, internet-connected audience.

2. It's Fresh

Unlike Instagram or Facebook that heavily curates your feed based on an algorithm - sometimes showing you posts from 12, 24, or even 48 hours in the past - Twitter gives their users more granule control over in-app notifications.

When flash crashes or exploits can tank the cryptocurrency market in a matter of minutes and jeopardize people's funds, investors and core developers for blockchain protocols need to receive news immediately.

3. It's Active

Conventional social media marketing strategies will tell you it's optimal to publish 1 post per day on Instagram, 3 days per week on LinkedIn, etc.

There is no limit on Crypto Twitter (CT).

With some crypto influencers tweeting over 10 times per day, each one with an active comment thread, there is always a conversation happening (and welcome) on CT. 

Because the crypto space is moving so incredibly fast, Twitter enables blockchain startups to keep pace with their peers and engage with their community every day.

Crypto Twitter Marketing Content

Here are the most frequent types of content we see published on Twitter, and a quick recap of two ideas that work particularly well.

• Memes
• Threads
• Announcements
• Blogs
• Governance Proposals
• Milestones
• Features
• Updates

Memes

Memes are the single most effective way to communicate and win the hearts of users.

Yes, that’s right. Better than podcasts, videos, and emails, memes are the best marketing tool for a $2 Trillion industry.

Memes aren’t just inside jokes and funny videos, but they are ideas that spread far and wide and become accepted as true. 

For example, Bitcoin is “digital gold” is a meme, a universally accepted idea.

If you’re a conscious, human being you intuitively understand the power of memes, and just how fast they can spread ideas at the speed of the internet. 

In an industry where crypto prices and repositories change at break-neck speeds, communicating ideas fast has tremendous value.

If you want to see crypto memes done right, check out the G.O.A.T. @cmsintern.

Twitter Threads

Stitching together multiple tweets into a single thread to communicate a complex idea or share a detailed opinion lets creators and brands circumvent 280 character limits without forcing Twitter users to leave the platform.

Crypto Twitter influencers like Sam Bankman-Fried (@SBF_Alameda), Adam Cochran (@adamscochran), and traditional finance (TradFi) influencers like Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) are well known for sharing rich, multi-tweet threads.

But what makes some Twitter threads more effective than others?

4 Tips for Creating More Engaging Twitter Threads

Admittedly, we spend a lot of time of Crypto Twitter.

Because writing a Twitter thread is akin to publishing a blog post, it's worth your time to optimize them for visibility on Twitter.

Here are three super effective ways to increase your Twitter thread engagement: 

1. Focus on creating quality content

It can be difficult for marketers to swap their lead generation hats for their brand awareness hats, but to survive marketing on Crypto Twitter, you need to understand why this change of mentality is vitally important.  

It comes down to one word: shills.

A shill is someone who "acts as an enthusiastic customer to entice or encourage others," and because shilling is so prevalent in crypto, savvy investors have sharpened their BS meters to the point where they can sniff out marketing plays with precision.

To avoid CT turning on your brand, focus on creating content that adds value to the ecosystem, and don't ask for anything in return.

If you add value, CT will repay you in spades.

Giving things away for free without asking for anything in return is the tough part for demand generation marketers focused on increasing leads and website traffic.

Trust us: if you have something of value to offer, the market will run with it.

2. Avoid being "salesy"

The number one mistake we see new brands or influencers make when writing Twitter threads is over-optimizing tweets that appear to "salesy" (cringe.)

Avoid being too salesy by:

• Tagging too many people in each post
• Adding too many hashtags in each thread
• Including too many self-referential links*
• Linking to your products

There are exceptions to each of these suggestions, but the point remains: your primary focus should be creating valuable content for people on Twitter, not selling.

If CT likes the content you're publishing, they will reward you ten-fold.

With crypto billionaires, CEOs of major crypto news outlets, and countless protocol founders actively scrolling, retweeting, and on CT, you're just one good tweet away from getting in front of 100s of 1000s of people.

*Note: if you're recapping a blog post as a Twitter thread, feel free to include a link to the full article.  We recommend placing it in the last tweet so the reader can get more information if they desire.

3. Include rich media and supporting content

Like a blog post with lots of charts, videos, and images increases dwell time and other on-page SEO metrics, threads that contain rich media tend to increase engagement. 

It's simple:

If we're trying to optimize for engagement, the more value we can provide per tweet, the more likely the thread or each individual tweet will gain likes and shares.

Here are some forms of rich media you can consider including in your next thread:

• Media: Images, GIFs, charts, and educational videos
• Links: To previous tweets, Twitter threads, and external resources
• Tags: People you’re quoting, brands you’re mentioning, etc
• Hashtags: Max 1 per tweet
• Emojis: 👇, 👉, ✅, 🚫, etc.
• Lists: Dashes, numbers, or emojis
• Polls: Yes/no questions, agree/disagree, not likely to very likely, etc.

4. Leverage white space

Our brain instinctively skims content to determine if it's of value to us.

When we skim content we're looking at a number of things from header copy, to the follow of content, to how the text is formatted on the page.

One way to help people skim your content, and not turn them off with giant walls of text is to use lots of white space to organize your points.

Here are three tips for including white space in your Twitter threads:

1. Focus on 1 thought per tweet
2. Use a full line break between sentences
3. Avoid maxing out your character limit

Crypto Reddit Marketing

It wouldn’t be an ultimate guide to crypto social media marketing without Reddit. 

Colloquially known as the “front page of the internet,” Reddit is a network of communities, or forum-style subreddits, based on people's interests that allow members to share content, leave comments, and vote on content so the most interesting and popular content rises to the top.

With 2.8 million subreddits, 430 million monthly active users (MAUs), and 52 million daily active users (DAUs) who spend 10 minutes per visit scrolling through trending posts, memes, and news articles, Reddit is a prime platform for getting exposure to 25% of US adults who frequent the site.

If we consider the music industry’s 1,000 true fans theory that says a musician can support themselves comfortably with just 1,000 true fans who spend $100 per year, they, then Reddit is a pool for finding a 1,000 true stans (n. overly obsessed fan).

If you've spent any amount of time on Reddit, TikTok, or Facebook for the older millennials reading this, then you know how powerful Reddit can be when used right.

Crypto Marketing Strategies for Reddit

One of the themes in crypto marketing is “free tools,” not because crypto users are cheap, but because they are resourceful and more focused on building a genuine community than paying for awareness.

Reddit marketing is no different: your goal as a crypto marketing agency or brand ambassador is to engage with the community by giving away value for free. 

Some ways to engage and earn loyal advocates include:

• Answering questions on your subreddit
• Posting original memes
• Cross-posting company updates from other networks
• Sharing rich media (e.g. infographics, videos, charts, etc.)
• Hosting AMAs
• Responding to comments
• Engaging on your competitor's subreddits
• Representing your brand on partner subreddits
• Posting tutorials and guided walkthroughs

In a space that is no stranger to vampire attacks (i.e. sucking out liquidity from one protocol by forking the code to create a direct competitor), your goal of crypto marketing on Reddit is to create loyal fans.

From our experience, the brands that are the most helpful and entertaining win.

Top Crypto Reddit Communities

While the most infamous subreddit is r/wallstreetbets with all the activity surrounding meme stocks like Gamestop and AMC, there are extremely active communities sharing trade calls, educational information, and project updates on crypto subreddits.

• r/Bitcoin - 4.4M users
• r/Cryptocurrency - 5.1M users
• r/Dogecoin - 2.3M users
• r/Ethereum - 1.3M users
• r/CryptoMarkets - 908K users
• r/Cardano - 700K users
• r/Binance - 866K users

Reddit is a massive social media platform whose audience prides itself on being ahead of the curve on new technology, music, gaming, memes, and now crypto.

Second, only to Twitter, Reddit should be a top priority for your crypto marketing team.

How to Start Marketing on Reddit

Other brands have much more thorough guides on how to start marketing on Reddit, but here is the ELI5 (explain like I’m 5) version.

1. Create an Account

Create a branded company account, update your profile, join relevant subreddits, and start by responding to questions or commenting on popular threads.

2. Sort by Rising

Sort posts with the “rising,” filter so you can catch the wave while it starts to swell instead of jumping into a conversation too late.

3. Earn 10 Karma

Once you have 10 karma, you can start posting your own topics, and once you reach 50 karma you can create your own subreddit.

After you've created a dedicated subreddit for your brand, you can use this channel to repurpose company news and encourage fans to share their own original content.

4. Create a Subreddit

Take Reddit a step further, and you can do live Reddit recaps on Twitch or YouTube to review user-generated content like today’s popular streamers Valkyrae and Ludwig. 

Reddit recaps are a great way to interact with your audience and showcase their work.

Crypto Social Media Marketing: In Summary

Twitter and Reddit are two powerful social media marketing channels for creating brand awareness for a new crypto startup.

While some channels like LinkedIn will continue to play a vital role for B2B blockchain companies like Circle, and TikTok has a role in meme tokens like Dogecoin, Twitter and Reddit are essential platforms for your brand.

Looking for a blockchain marketing agency to help you scale?  Our team is ready to help!  Contact our sales team to start a project today.