Working with crypto influencers: tips for success

Introduction

Influencer marketing in crypto is very different from working with bloggers in gaming, entertainment, education, and other markets. Global influencer trends have trouble permeating crypto due to its relatively isolated, a-thing-of-its-own character.

At the same time, while the blockchain industry is only just emerging, it already has some established practices of its own. We will tell you about them in this article, as well as provide some tips on how to offset the potential risks.

The particularities

Crypto has a rather high entry threshold for new users — and it’s the same with working with blockchain influencers, too. Their communities aren’t exactly close clubs, but they can’t boast dozens of millions of subscribers or millions of video views. This comparative isolation leads to interesting results.

Extremely high СРМ

Crypto has the highest CPM, or cost per thousand impressions, of any industry. This is probably due to the high profit margins and returns that are common among crypto businesses, traders, and investors. This fact was quickly noticed by content creators: the top crypto influencers now demand up to $500k per thousand views — as opposed to the $30 price tag common in other industries.

Even in the current bear market, the demand for crypto influencers’ services exceeds the supply: this is truly a blogger-controlled market. Clients have no choice but to pay extra to get access to their audience. Therefore, we recommend that you carefully calculate the project’s unit economy to make sure that the LTV of the users you attract through influence marketing remains higher than the acquisition cost.

100% down payment

Just like blockchain itself is trustless, the crypto influence market isn’t exactly known for a high level of trust, preferring a full prepayment. It's understandable, considering the sheer number of scams.  

Scams happen on both sides, of course. Sometimes projects fail to pay the promised amount, and sometimes YouTube crypto influencers disappear after a downpayment without delivering the agreed-upon video. We suggest signing a detailed agreement before transferring any money, as well as working with well-known influencers who value their reputation.

Key platforms

Many industries and audiences have their established favorite networks, and it’s no different among the audiences of crypto influencers. Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube are the most popular, together with a few local platforms.

This doesn’t mean that a crypto influencer campaign on TikTok won’t yield results. But you should clearly define your target audience first — and find crypto influencers that work with that specific audience.

Trust and expertise

Expertise and trustworthiness are crucial to the crypto audience, as users search for influencers who can guide them by the hand through the dangerous world of cryptocurrencies. Unlike in other industries, the cost for the user isn’t just the time they spend watching, but also the investment risks — risks that stem from the decisions users take based on influencers’ recommendations.

That’s why, when you pick opinion leaders who will cover your crypto product, look at the community’s opinion of each blogger. Remember that the audience will associate the product with the influencer who promotes it, and any trust — or distrust — in the blogger will rub off onto your project.

Efficiency and inflated numbers

Different influencers can have radically different results. The best crypto influencers’ content shows stably high performance that easily justifies the expense, while others bring near-zero returns. This is due to three main factors: the target audience fit, artificially inflated numbers, and selecting the right GEO.

BDC has already covered the issue of fake followers in crypto marketing, so here we’ll just remind you that this scheme is very common among crypto bloggers. If you invest your marketing budget in an influencer who is mostly followed by bots, don’t expect good results.

The same can happen if you pick a blogger with the „wrong“ audience or subscriber geography. That’s another reason why you should establish the target audience and region very early on in campaign planning — and use our guide to identifying fake followers and views.

Subcategorization

While vloggers and Crypto Twitter influencers may not have huge follower numbers by the standards of other industries, this market is still divided into smaller segments. We identify such subcategories as GameFi and NFT, trading and investment, mining, and general.

Practice shows that projects need to take this segmentation into account, as choosing a blogger from the correct subcategory can help maximize conversions.

Conclusion

Even though working with crypto bloggers differs greatly from regular influence marketing, you can still become good at it and achieve great results. By understanding the specifics of this industry and using our tips, crypto marketers can select the most effective collaboration opportunities — and not break the bank in the process.