Crypto Marketing in a Bear Market

The crypto space is still a nascent ecosystem, hence when the market is down, the protocols that remain and continue to build and ship updates are regarded as battle-tested and much respect is given. 

Similar to #HODLing, marketing for crypto projects is also about time in the market, not timing the market. Creating a long term marketing strategy is crucial to not just survive but also thrive during bear markets. Bear markets provide you with a great opportunity by giving you a less noisy environment to sharpen your axe and improve your marketing strategy. 

Here’s how to improve your marketing strategy in a bear market! 

Content Creation in a Bear Market

During this bear market, many new users to the space are worried and panicking. So, it is important to create content that can help them get through this period. Looking back, those who have been in the space even during the bear markets have seen their authority grow over time. 

They achieved that by working on providing valuable content such as articles, FAQs, guides, videos, tutorials, and more, to teach people how to use their protocol. Some projects even provide their insights on the market to show that they are knowledgeable about the wider picture. This can be done simply by tweeting more often, or more premium by creating an explainer video. 

By doing so, they position their leadership and establish themselves as authorities in the space. When the next cycle comes and newcomers arrive, they are going to flock to these established authorities. So, to become that established authority in the future, you have to start now. Creating that influence in this downtime when things are quiet, is very strategic and will go a long way in becoming an authority in the crypto industry. 

Outrank Your Competitors with SEO

Speaking about content creation, it also acts as a great way to boost your SEO to outrank your competitors during this period. While your competitors relax their SEO efforts during the bear market, it is your opportunity to outrank them, and stay ahead even when the next bull market starts as they hastefully play catch up. 

Using tools like ahrefs or SEMRush is a great way to see what worked well for your competitors during the bull market and bear market, and use that as reference for what articles to publish. Who said SEO can’t be ‘composable’ as well? 

Advertising to Build Awareness

Given that there is a lesser supply of new content currently, utilizing advertising to generate awareness is extremely strategic. Media channels are quieter with less noise, and consumers are no longer as bombarded by crypto advertising. With slower demand for content production and advertising, prices for advertising on platforms such as CoinGecko, Twitter, Reddit are likely to be lower due to less bidding competition. That will allow you to advertise more cost-effectively and allow your content to stand out more in a quieter environment. 

Explainer Videos to Hype Up Incoming Updates

Explainer videos are usually premium marketing assets that do a great job in explaining your protocol to newcomers. Due to the professional level of production quality, it makes your project look a lot more solid, mature, and ‘anti-rugpull’. 

 However, doing explainer videos during bull markets can be tricky because it can take 4-8 weeks to be created and when things are changing rapidly, you might need to constantly iterate on your video to keep up with the competition. Hence the bear market is the perfect time to launch these videos and then spend ads on them when the market is hot again. 

 Explainer videos explain your product and generate hype around your updates, allowing your project to gain traction amongst a wider audience. Preparing these videos during this downtime ensures sufficient marketing ammunition built up to launch your product and create hype again when the market is hot. Check out CryptoGram’s crypto explainer video services if you are keen!

Past crypto project:

Video Link: https://vimeo.com/432767892

Promotions & Competitions to Promote Engagement

Now is also the best time to create promotions or competitions to promote engagement from your most loyal supporters and the community at large. 

For instance, Axie Infinity has a seasonal competition every month, which allows them to generate hype and attract attention even during this bear market. Since the market is dull currently, your most loyal supporters and to-be-supporters are more likely to participate in such events. This not only rewards existing supporters and reinforces their commitment, it also can attract new supporters and allow your project to gain traction in a bear market. 

3 Reasons why you should market in a bear market

Now that I have gone through some market strategies, if you are still not convinced that marketing in a bear market can be effective, here are 3 reasons that should compel you to do so!

Higher Quality Audience

Although overall traffic and volume might be lower, the quality of the audience that you are reaching out to when the market is down is significantly higher. This is because the market has removed the paperhands that are just in it for the trends and quick gains. Many of them do not actually care about the great technology that you are building and leave once the price starts turning down. 

When you market in a bear market, you will now be targeting a much higher quality group of people that will continue to use your products through the bear market, and even be long-term users that are more involved with your brand. 

Downtime to Foster a Community 

‘Tough times don’t last, tough men do’. 

During a bear market, the people who stay on are more likely to have higher conviction, and people with higher conviction bond well with each other. Use this time to foster a community of users who have high conviction. You have to invest in marketing during a down time because building such a community can take a long time. 

However, the slow-down in the bear market gives you just that, that time to build your community and prepare not just yourself but your users for the next bull run. If you are able to foster a community during a bear market, when another bull run hits, you will be in a much better position to go viral. Your community will also promote your protocol aggressively and with higher conviction as you are now battle-tested and they want their bear market investment to perform well. Promoting your social platforms like telegram and discord can come a long way in helping you build your community.

Word of mouth is the strongest form of marketing and it takes time to foster that, it does not happen overnight. 

Higher Marketing ROI

‘Buy when there is blood in the streets’. 

This doesn’t just apply to asset prices, it also applies to marketing prices. It is a lot easier to have higher marketing ROI right now as there is much lesser advertising, competition, and overall noise. Media companies are no longer being hit up hundreds of times a day, and this means prices should have come down and might even be on discount for marketing expenses. 

Marketing companies such as agencies and influencers also want to build long-term relationships that pay them consistently, and they are more likely to work with companies and people that are around all the time, not just in the bull market. This is your chance to build relationships with your marketing companies as well, because you want to be the company that they prioritise when the bull market resumes. 

Now that we have explored some of the benefits of marketing in a bear market, let’s explore some strategies you can do in a bear market.

Conclusion:

‘The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.’

During the 2018-2019 bear market, many crypto projects were building and planting the seeds when no one was really paying attention. Now is the time to build trust and be ingrained with the community.  

It is the perfect time to establish your audience, test content and advertisements, build your SEO out, and make sure you foster a community that is going to really shout your name when the bull market comes again. 

Mass adoption is on its way if this is truly a supercycle. If you are not marketing right now and just looking to get started while the market is hot again in the next bull run, it might be really hard to compete against your competition. Crypto has gotten much more mainstream this year, but we are still expecting at least 10x more adoption in the next cycle. This bear market is the best time to plant your seeds that you are going to harvest in the next bull run. Don’t waste this bear market and don’t just build your app, build your marketing assets as well.

If you’re too busy building your protocols and are interested in getting professionals to build your marketing assets, let’s chat and see how we can #BUIDL together.