Your brand’s visibility is enhanced first and foremost through high-quality digital marketing. To build a strategic digital marketing plan, you need to keep up with the latest developments in the industry and the world at large.
This is where NFTs come into play. Why? Because besides being the buzzword on everyone’s lips right now, NFTS are new; they’re intriguing, and more importantly—NFTs provide a plethora of opportunities for digital marketing.
This new and exciting technology has taken the world by storm, even though, at this stage, it’s not evident where NFTs will lead us in the long run.
Irrespective of what the future holds, it’s up to you as a business owner to decide if you’re happy with the status quo or want to be an early adopter, staying on the cutting edge of blockchain technology?
“Just like a lot of small businesses went out and built apps on phones a decade ago, I do believe that NFTs will be a part of the marketing strategy for businesses going forward.”
– Gary Vaynerchuk
It’s no wonder why digital fundis like Gary Vaynerchuk rave about NFTs becoming the “next big thing” in terms of tracking ownership of digital assets.
In this article, we explore what the NFT fuss is about, how NFTs can be used for digital marketing, and what strategies you can use to highlight your brand to increase exposure and sales.
WHAT’S THE APPEAL OF NFTS?
With headlines reporting that the first-ever Tweet was “tokenized” and sold for $2.5 million, many are baffled by the unexpected rise in popularity of NFTs. That being said, NFTs have provided a unique chance for artists to demonstrate true digital ownership of their work.
Besides an online domain, establishing ownership of online assets such as music, videos, and images is increasingly difficult. Since NFTs must be created, minted, and uploaded to the blockchain in the same manner as cryptocurrency, there is a more legitimized feeling of authenticity over previous digital materials.
The NFT also permanently embeds the creator of such digital assets in the blockchain ledger; thus, there is no doubt about who the original artist was.
HOW NFTS CAN BE USED FOR DIGITAL MARKETING
While it’s still way too early to tell how exactly the NFT market will affect business as such, early adopters and innovators are motivated to make it work. With that in mind, here are five ways that companies can start using NFTs to serve their clients better:
1. USE NFTS TO CREATE A MULTIFACETED DIGITAL CONSUMER CONNECTION
Irrespective of Mark Zuckerberg’s infatuation with the metaverse, organizations that confine NFT thinking to collectibles or generate digital assets for virtual avatars are missing a more significant trend. Looking ahead a few years, NFTs might be the primary digital touchpoint between businesses and their customers — and one that the brand controls.
While NFTs are most commonly used to identify unique digital assets, the underlying technology might also recognize an experience (such as the fact that you attended an event) or a unique physical-world object.
It is an issue of how businesses employ the digital identity that serves as the foundation for each NFT’s claim of uniqueness and validity. Nike’s 2019 CryptoKick patent, for example, ties an actual pair of shoes to an NFT-based virtual doppelganger, paving the way for a future in which owners of numerous sneaker NFTs may even “breed” them into personalized kicks.
Today, developing technologies like those from the Veracity Protocol makes it easier to create digital IDs encodable into an NFT derived from the physical things in question’s real material or structural qualities.
2. ENHANCE PRODUCT PERCEPTION & BRAND IDENTITY
Most brands do not necessarily want to be in the business of generating and selling digital art in the long run. It is critical to link your NFT collection to your brand identity (like Nivea has done with their non-fungible touch collection).
Although the popularity of Web3 technology has been gradual, you can still start to connect your products or services to NFT in small ways. You could flip the idea of an NFT as a digital token that shows that you own a physical product by giving away a physical item linked to a digital NFT collectible.
When Coach created an NFT line incorporating animal art as part of their Christmas marketing, it guaranteed each NFT bearer a unique Coach bag.
Connect the issue of NFTs to participation in brand-related experiences (events you sponsor, for example). Mint NFTs to document attendance at special branded events such as product launch parties or fashion shows. Enhance a current loyalty program, as Clinique has done, with an NFT collection.
3. PRE-ORDERS FOR PRODUCTS
Every business and entrepreneur aim to increase the number of pre-orders for their items. This not only improves cash flow, but it’s also an excellent tool to evaluate public interest.
Gary Vaynerchuk is a perfect example of how NFTs might be used in pre-orders. Gary Vee made an enticing offer that NFTs fans couldn’t reject.
What was his proposal? So, with his latest book, Twelve and a Half, for every twelve volumes purchased over a specific period, you would receive one of Gary’s highly desired NFTs.
This method was so effective that pre-sales pushed back two weeks to his book’s publication date.
Gary was able to sell one million books only via NFTs. This also established a sales milestone by resulting in one of the most significant advance orders for a book in 24 hours.
No doubt, Gary’s NFT marketing technique has inspired other businesses and entrepreneurs, and we may see more pre-launch methods like this in the future.
4. GAMIFICATION
Phygitals combine the physical and digital worlds. The Real Items platform provides marketers complete control over how the material in their product’s NFT is presented. Aside from photos and video material, marketers may enhance the phygital experience by including “easter eggs” and other surprises.
Gamification allows people to connect with and learn more about a business. If you operate a small business or a Shopify store, now is an excellent time to educate people about your brand.
If you want to tailor the experience for customers who buy limited edition items, you may incorporate personalized messaging.
5. SUPPORTING A WORTHY CAUSE
It is no longer sufficient for a corporation to provide high-quality goods at reasonable costs. Companies that support great causes and give back to their communities will win the hearts of their customers. A new altruistic dimension can also improve brand perception.
Furthermore, 84% of millennials say they would rather support firms with strong morals and transparency.
And businesses are producing novel and inventive ways to build trust with their consumers. Kinetic sand, for example, is squeezable, moldable sand that has swiftly gained popularity.
Kinetic sand teamed with artist Dan Lam to produce and sell NFTs to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s arts and creative experiences programs.
Budweiser’s sponsorship of 22 emerging artists through Royalty NFTs cleverly exploits the potential of NFT technology for micro-sponsorship, allowing the brand to climb above the more prosaic charity of “donating the revenues of my NFT drop” that many others have done.
Even charities are collaborating with celebrities, singers, sports, and other influencers to develop and market their own NFTs.
DIGITAL MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR NFTS
As the popularity of NFTs increases, so does the necessity for developing an effective NFT marketing plan. With so many NFT markets, there are several options to construct NFT marketing campaigns for businesses.
Working with an established NFT marketing firm may be great for achieving the necessary results.
Here are a few examples of digital marketing strategies that businesses can use to achieve their objectives:
LISTINGS OF NFTS
If you want to get into NFT marketing, this is the first step to implement. Create your own NFT and make it accessible for listing on NFT markets. Taco Bell has a well-known NFT initiative. As an example, consider the following:
They made a series of NFT artworks based on their product. They were sold out in less than 30 minutes.
This is one of the best strategies to profit from NFTs. And as a pleasant byproduct, you advertise your business with a creative campaign.
INFLUENCER MARKETING
People are more likely to trust social influencers than companies marketing themselves. As a result, influencer marketing has grown immensely popular in recent years. Contacting an NFT influencer in your field would therefore be quite advantageous.
As a result, your NFT initiatives may catch the attention of your target audiences. Unbelievably, this could pay off immensely when done effectively. For example, the NBA launched Top Shot as a marketplace in collaboration with influencers, and it received 7 transactions every minute.
PAID PROMOTIONS
We all prefer organic traffic, but sponsored advertising is still thriving. Paid advertisements would provide you with a wider reach and more active online presence, especially in the NFT sphere. As a result, they are essential components of NFT marketing services.
You might use well-known platforms such as Facebook, Yahoo, Google, etc. Consequently, you may have an active online presence and exposure by combining efficient social media management and search engine optimization. Make sure you’re spending your money wisely.
MARKETING ON DISCORD & TELEGRAM
Building community is the foundation for selling your NFT initiatives to a worldwide audience. And apps like Discord and Telegram can help you connect with your audience.
Discord is a real-time communication tool that aids in forming NFT communities. It enables you to create servers or channels for discussions regarding NFTs. You may also promote your NFT projects by posting memes, GIFs, and other visuals.
Telegram is a cloud-based communication service that supports multimedia and allows users to transfer large files. It’s perfect for reaching out to different audience segments and offering support anytime possible.
EMAIL MARKETING
Email marketing allows you to stay in touch with prospective buyers, customers, sponsors, and your target audience regularly. Sending newsletters, announcements, press releases, and other information to relevant users fosters user trust and increases corporate credibility.
First, establish your target audience and where they spend the majority of their time. Then, through campaigns, competitions, or other means, you must obtain their email addresses. Finally, create useful and appealing content and distribute it on a regular basis.
CONCLUSION
Your client base has the potential to grow immensely by showcasing your brand’s social and creative side with NFT marketing strategies. Since it’s still a relatively new concept, NFT marketing campaigns can increase your exposure and sales—you can do this simply by implementing some of the ideas above.