2 min read Bitcoin

BTC2B Bitcoin Marketing Session: Build the Marketing into your Products

On October 17, I was invited to speak on a Bitcoin marketing panel at the BTC2B conference in Brussels. The panel was moderated by Handshake and btcReport Founder Richard Caetano. The panelists were Jeremy Gardner, Executive Director of the College Cryptocurrency Network, and myself.

Target early Bitcoin adopters but prepare for mainstream

This panel was part of a 1-hour session on Bitcoin marketing, which began with a short but impactful presentation by Richard. In his talk, he speaks about his experiences, specifically with regards to btcReport, and what he learned when building the product and marketing strategy for that app. Here are the key takeaways from that talk.

  • Think about the product strategy: how can you combine product and the marketing?
  • Mind the adoption curve: know where you’re at, who you’re speaking with and where it’s heading.
  • Enrich your user’s world: the happier your users are, the more they will tell their friends about your product.
  • Good design is important: there is a high correlation between good design and product engagement.
  • Try to build good impressions: good impressions go a long way.

Build Bitcoin products which appeal to your niche

Richard’s presentation was followed by our panel discussion in which we talked about the challenges and opportunities for Bitcoin marketers. To summarise, here are the key topics we discussed.

  • Identify your target market: who are your users and what pain points experiencing?
  • Provide value: create products which align the incentives and value add with the needs of your target users
  • Adapt your message: education is important, however, tailor your message to your specific audience (geeks, crypto anarchists, merchants, etc.)
    To add to that last point, not everyone you talk to about Bitcoin needs to know the technical details on how it works.
  • Create applications that speak for the technology: “Look at what you can do with this awesome app”
  • Create ambassadors: make it simple for your hardcore fans to share your product and reward them
  • Withstand the growing pains: combat negative press by sharing positive stories and experiences

You can listen to the full Bitcoin marketing session on episode 48 of Epicenter Bitcoin.

My personal takeaway from this session is that we still have a long way to go in terms of creating meaningful experiences for consumers. Rather than focussing on the long-term goal of mass adoption, perhaps we should first focus on building great experiences for smaller niche markets.

For those who may be interested in learning more about the BTC2B conference, CoinTelegraph wrote a great recap of the event.

seb3point0

seb3point0

Host of The Interop and Epicenter. Founder of Interop Ventures.