In the crypto market, a tweet can cause a surge in coin prices, a live broadcast can sell out NFTs instantly, and a celebrity's casual recommendation can even lead to millions in trading volume.
From Trump NFTs to Musk's Dogecoin, KOL (Key Opinion Leader) marketing in the Web3 era has become an important force driving market growth. However, not all KOL marketing can bring success; some projects soar due to choosing the right influencers, while others fall into crisis due to misjudging KOLs.
So, how can KOL marketing be used to boost project growth in the Web3 era? How can we avoid pitfalls? Let's find the answers from real cases.
Success case: Traffic + trust = market miracle.
Trump NFT: How does personal IP empower Web3?
In December 2022, Trump launched his personal NFT series 'Trump Digital Trading Cards', which sold out within hours. Even in a sluggish market, Trump's personal influence kept this NFT consistently maintaining high trading volume.
This case has led people to rethink: In the Web3 field, can the appeal of personal brands surpass technology itself?
Musk and Dogecoin: A tweet that shook the market.
One of the most legendary KOL marketing cases in the Web3 field is undoubtedly Elon Musk and Dogecoin (DOGE). A single tweet from him can cause the price to soar several times.
Compared to traditional advertising, accurately matching KOLs can instantly stimulate market sentiment, which is far more efficient than large-scale ad placements.
Failure case: Traffic was achieved, but why did it still collapse?
Of course, not all crypto projects endorsed by celebrities achieve success. Blindly pursuing big-name effects while ignoring the audience match of KOLs may lead to catastrophic consequences.
Milei and $LIBRA: High heat does not equal high returns.
Argentinian President Javier Milei once became a 'topic figure' in the crypto circle. A certain token, $LIBRA, suddenly exploded in popularity, and the market mistakenly believed this was Milei's official crypto project, attracting a lot of speculative funds. However, it turned out that Milei had no connection to this project.
Cryptocurrency prices surged rapidly and then plummeted, leading to significant losses for investors. This case reminds us: although hot topics are tempting, if the project itself lacks solid fundamentals, it will ultimately just be a bubble.
Logan Paul's NFT failure: More followers ≠ more investors.
YouTube influencer Logan Paul launched an NFT project 'CryptoZoo', but due to low transparency and immature technology, it was ultimately abandoned by the market.
Although Logan Paul has a large social media following, his fans primarily focus on entertainment content rather than crypto investment. This indicates that KOL marketing cannot just look at 'traffic'; it must also consider 'matching degree'.
Floyd Mayweather and the ICO scam: Can celebrity influence bring trust?
Boxer Floyd Mayweather has also repeatedly endorsed ICO projects, but ended up being punished by the SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) because the promoted projects were fraudulent. Celebrity status does not equate to trust endorsement; on the contrary, incorrect endorsements may lead brands into deeper crises.
KOL marketing in the Web3 era: Traffic is no longer the only standard.
In the past, when selecting KOLs for crypto projects, the number of followers and social media influence were often the main considerations. However, these data only reflect the surface scale of traffic and are difficult to accurately depict 'community influence'.
The real marketing value of KOL influence lies not only in 'how many people follow them' but also in whether they can accurately influence target users and truly drive changes in transactions and market sentiment. This requires a comprehensive consideration of the following key factors:
Content track matching degree - Is the content of the KOL highly compatible with the project's market positioning and target audience?
Professional judgment - Does this influencer have a deep understanding of the industry and can provide more convincing endorsements for the project?
Influence assessment - What is this KOL's authority among the target group? Can their views genuinely guide market trends?
Content format adaptability - Are their preferred promotion methods (in-depth articles, short videos, live broadcasts, etc.) suitable for the project's communication needs?
Historical promotion performance - In past collaborations, did they bring real conversions? How did the projects they promoted perform afterwards?
On-chain transaction relevance - Did the projects this KOL promoted in the past truly impact on-chain transactions? Did the users they reached exhibit genuine investment behavior?
Only by comprehensively evaluating these in-depth metrics can we truly select KOLs who not only have traffic but can also bring actual growth to Web3 projects.
Accurate matching of KOLs is more effective than 'traffic bombardment'; influence is more important than 'simple exposure'.
New trend: Using AI technology to match KOLs, making marketing more efficient and sustainable.
Today, marketing strategies in the Web3 industry are changing, with more projects beginning to focus on 'marketing precision' rather than just traffic coverage. For example, a company called CryptoBoost is trying to use an AI scoring system to help crypto projects select the most suitable KOLs instead of merely relying on big-name endorsements.
This scoring system comprehensively examines KOLs' data and behavior on social media, as well as various on-chain and off-chain data dimensions, analyzing which KOL is more suitable for specific projects from a data perspective, thus making marketing budgets more worthwhile.
More importantly, the emergence of this AI scoring system can help Web3 project parties more rationally control market budgets, optimize airdrop strategies, and ensure rewards reach actual potential users rather than being taken by opportunists. At the same time, in terms of market cap management, it can allow for more refined control of spending costs, avoiding ineffective marketing expenditures.
For KOLs, this scoring mechanism also brings a new incentive system. Those who truly focus on the Web3 field and possess influence will receive higher scores due to their expertise and genuine impact, thereby attracting more quality collaboration opportunities. This means that the future Web3 KOL ecosystem will be more transparent and healthier.
In the Web3 era, the essence of KOL marketing is changing. Traffic is no longer the only metric; precise, genuine, and effective influence is what the market truly needs.
The emergence of the AI scoring system is helping crypto project parties optimize budgets, improve targeting accuracy, and enhance market cap management efficiency, while also providing more positive incentives for quality influencers, allowing the Web3 ecosystem to enter a more rational and sustainable growth phase.
In the future, perhaps true Web3 influence will depend not only on the number of 'followers' on social platforms but also on data-driven precise matching.
