How To Promote An ICO With Influencer Marketing? A Comprehensive Step-by-Step Guide

Raising funds with blockchain has many options, with launching and promoting Initial coin offerings (ICO s) being a potentially lucrative but challenging option. ICOs have become a popular method for startups to raise funds for a project as more and more cryptocurrencies are launching. Many businesses have raised billions of funds through ICOs with the highest offer capping at $21 billion in 2021.

Earlier in 2017-2018 the common practice to raise funds with ICOs was to launch them with almost no marketing support. But due to its complexity, the chances of succeeding with ICOs primarily depend on influencer marketing.

Influencers are valued for making ICOs stand out from other projects. They engage in the promotion of your ICO to increase the credibility of the project and the number of conversions at the expense of their subscribers.

So, if you want to attract investors, you must promote your ICO project with influencers. We have compiled this step-by-step guide to help you get started.

Let’s begin with the fundamentals.

What is ICO?

ICO stands for Initial Coin Offering, a type of crowdfunding campaign in the cryptocurrency world. It is a fundraising mechanism where a company offers its newly created digital tokens to the public in exchange for various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. The funds raised through the ICO are usually used for further development and growth of the company’s blockchain-related projects. ICOs have become a popular way for startups and companies to raise capital, but they also carry a high level of risk for investors.

Why influencer marketing for ICO?

Influencer marketing is an effective strategy for promoting ICOs as it allows companies to reach a large and targeted audience. Influencers have a significant following on social media and other online platforms, and their endorsement is often seen as credible by their followers. This type of marketing is cost-effective and can help generate high levels of engagement from the audience. It also enables companies to target specific niches and audiences, helping to reach the most relevant and interested investors. By increasing the visibility of an ICO, influencer marketing makes it easier for potential investors to find and learn about the offering.

How do you promote ICO with Influencer marketing?

Partnering with influential figures in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space to promote the ICO through their social media channels and personal networks leads to real business results. Influencers will help you promote your offers through informational and engaging videos, text ads, and other ad methods. Moreover, some popular influencers may also publish your post on popular crypto platforms like Coindesk, Cointelegraph, and CCN in return for cash rewards or any compensation plans set between you two.

In essence, ICO influencer marketing can be an effective way to promote an ICO, here are some tips to make the most of it:

1. Determine your ICO marketing goal

Before working with influencers for your ICO promotion, it’s important to determine the potential investor you want to attract in the blockchain industry. There are three main types of potential investors to consider: Blockchain engineers, miners, or Fintech experts with extensive experience in the blockchain industry, entrepreneurs who are new to the ICO market, and those who are not familiar with Bitcoin but are interested.

Once you figure out your potential investor persona, it’s important to work with experienced and reputable influencers who have a strong following and can present your ICO in an appealing way to your targeted persona. Also, determine what type of compensation you want to offer for an influencer’s efforts, such as a commission or a percentage of the funds raised through their promotion.

2. Identify the type of influencer you want to work with

Choose ICO influencers who are relevant to your target audience and have a strong reputation in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space. You can work with YouTube influencers, Twitter or TikTok influencers, or Micro influencers on Instagram.

Carefully evaluate these factors to determine the type of influencer to promote your ICO and help you reach your target audience.

Audience: Identify influencers whose audience aligns with your target market.
Engagement: Choose influencers with high engagement rates, as this indicates that their followers are active and interested in their content.
Credibility: Seek out influencers who have a reputable brand and a positive online presence.
Style: Consider the influencer’s style and tone to ensure it aligns with your brand and messaging.
Cost: Determine your budget and look for influencers whose compensation fits within it.

3. Consider the three Rs – Relevance, Reach, Resonance

Relevance involves choosing influencers who share content relevant to your business and industry with a more targeted audience. Reach is the number of people you could potentially reach through the influencer’s follower base. Remember influencers with smaller, but highly engaged followings may be more effective in promoting your ICO than those with larger, less engaged audiences. The engagement potential, also known as resonance, is the ability of the influencer to create interaction with an audience that’s relevant to your brand. Influencers with a niche focus can have highly committed and engaged followers.

4. Conduct a thorough influencer search

When selecting influencers for your ICO promotion, thoroughly research to ensure they consistently produce high-quality content and have a substantial active following. It’s best to choose influencers within the cryptocurrency community to ensure your message is reaching the right audience. Don’t just choose an influencer based solely on their large following; it’s important to make sure the audience is relevant to your ICO. You can use influencer search software or platforms like Upfluence, Traackr, or Famebit to simplify the research process.

5. Reach out privately to contact Influencers

To partner with an influencer, directly reach out to them. Merely offering money is not enough, it’s crucial to persuade the influencer about your project first. Demonstrate a genuine interest in their content by explaining why you have chosen their channel (e.g. you enjoyed a particular video). Provide clear instructions on the promotion you want the influencer to do, including the tone and messaging to be conveyed. To incentivize the influencer, offer exclusive information, early investment opportunities, or other benefits. Building a personal relationship with influencers can help create a more authentic and credible ICO promotion.

6. Partner with the best ICO YouTube influencers

People go to YouTube for crypto-related news, so partnering with different YouTubers to review your ICO can be lucrative for you. Moreover, YouTubers with access to a large, engaged audience are already vetted by people, so you can trust them. You can research and find influencers who are popular in the cryptocurrency and blockchain communities on Reddit, Discord, or Twitter Spaces. Ivan on Tech, Boxmining, The Moon, and Arvin Khamesh are some vetted names to collaborate for promoting ICO.

Improve Your ICO Project Visibility With Sold Out NFTs

ICO Influencer marketing drives targeted traffic to your ICO project, boosting investor engagement and token sales, leading to an increase in market capitalization. Sold Out NFTS can help you get measurable results through the active promotion of your ICO.