Before I go into why I believe Fantom is so undervalued, I want to talk about what I think Fantom, it's representatives, and the @FantomFDN do right.
First, Fantom has one of the best communities....
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First, Fantom has one of the best communities....
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Fantom has some of the smartest, eager to help, well-spoken people who outwardly represent the chain well.
It's one of their biggest assets.
Fantom also has fantastic representatives and influencers...
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It's one of their biggest assets.
Fantom also has fantastic representatives and influencers...
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People like @crypto_klay, @FTMAlerts, and @FtmAlphaFiendz (and several more) do an awesome job keeping people up to date on the chain's goings-on.
Also many take the time to walk people through how to use new protocols and other super helpful content.
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Also many take the time to walk people through how to use new protocols and other super helpful content.
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Fantom also has some of the best NFT art.
Look at @riotgoools, @FantomKnights and @chimps_teen (just to name a couple).
That, coupled with the branding of the chain and protocols on it, make everything Fantom sleek and aesthetic.
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Look at @riotgoools, @FantomKnights and @chimps_teen (just to name a couple).
That, coupled with the branding of the chain and protocols on it, make everything Fantom sleek and aesthetic.
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These reasons, and more, are why I love the chain and it's ecosystem. However, I have some critiques.
I don't believe the Fantom Foundation does an excellent job on-boarding non-crypto-native "normies."
My observations...
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I don't believe the Fantom Foundation does an excellent job on-boarding non-crypto-native "normies."
My observations...
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First, Youtube lacks leaders explaining "what is Fantom?"
Ranking page one is mostly disparate YT educators, whose YT views on the topic combined are a bit underwhelming.
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Ranking page one is mostly disparate YT educators, whose YT views on the topic combined are a bit underwhelming.
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There isn't a lot of quality content answering the question "what is Fantom?" ranking on Google either.
The top results don't get a ton of web traffic.
Observe when Googling the term, the top result is from Decrypt, which gets SOME traffic...but nothing amazing.
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The top results don't get a ton of web traffic.
Observe when Googling the term, the top result is from Decrypt, which gets SOME traffic...but nothing amazing.
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Fantom Foundation's own website doesn't rank top spot for the search term "what is Fantom," but even if it did, the site gets less traffic than Decrypt.
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The highest authority site talking about Fantom for this term is the Motley Fool, and that piece likely drove a good bit of traffic...but clearly that isn't enough.
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One of the things Fantom does VERY WELL is #DeFi.
Yet, when searching for information about what DeFi is, you see tons of content from big sites like Investopedia or the NY Times.
None of it points to Fantom, however.
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Yet, when searching for information about what DeFi is, you see tons of content from big sites like Investopedia or the NY Times.
None of it points to Fantom, however.
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In fact, Investopedia links people to eToro to get involved in DeFi, and NY Times mostly just fuds talking about how dangerous and unregulated it is.
Next observation...
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Next observation...
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FTM Alerts is by far one of the most valuable and amazing resources in the Fantom ecosystem, yet it rarely ranks highly on Youtube for terms including "Fantom."
However, even if it did, there'd still be a slight problem...
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However, even if it did, there'd still be a slight problem...
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Even the most simplified how-to content is still pretty advanced. Austin does an amazing job breaking things down, but I don't think he has the TOTAL newb in mind while making these videos.
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Another great account is @milesdeutscher and he is also awesome at breaking down complex protocol concepts.
But even then the language and steps would be hard to follow for someone not already familiar with crypto.
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But even then the language and steps would be hard to follow for someone not already familiar with crypto.
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But no newbie friendly content easily found through search points people to anything related to Fantom.
Ok...now you may be thinking that's not their target audience. Maybe Fantom is going after a more sophisticated user.
Here are my 3 reasons I think that's bad.
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Ok...now you may be thinking that's not their target audience. Maybe Fantom is going after a more sophisticated user.
Here are my 3 reasons I think that's bad.
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WHY FANTOM SHOULD BE MARKETING TO "NORMIES"
1. DeFi is a movement. It feels like we've forgotten this. Nowadays DeFi seems to only be a collection of financial instruments for ROI. But at it's core, DeFi is about taking control of our value back from banks and gov's.
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1. DeFi is a movement. It feels like we've forgotten this. Nowadays DeFi seems to only be a collection of financial instruments for ROI. But at it's core, DeFi is about taking control of our value back from banks and gov's.
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As long as DeFi remains a complex string of smart-contract automations that make earning yields easier, and nothing more, it will be as elusive and gated as TradFi opportunities.
If we want the movement to grow, regular people need to learn it's a level playing field.
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If we want the movement to grow, regular people need to learn it's a level playing field.
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And if we're growing the userbase of DeFi, doesn't it make more sense to route those new users directly onto the Fantom chain?
2. There's less competition for normies...
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2. There's less competition for normies...
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As long as Fantom continues to only focus on winning over sophisticated users, they'll be competing with every other innovative L1.
So far this competitive landscape includes #Avalanche, #Metis, #Near, and many more.
And next year, there'll be even more.
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So far this competitive landscape includes #Avalanche, #Metis, #Near, and many more.
And next year, there'll be even more.
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3. Marketing to normies helps fight FUD! In traditional media channels, for every one article on new DeFi innovations, there are 20 on the latest #rugpull or how people lost money.
The media seems hell-bent on fudding DeFi, but Fantom can fight that.
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The media seems hell-bent on fudding DeFi, but Fantom can fight that.
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OK, so what should Fantom be doing?
In short, marketing.
But not SuperBowl ads or Time Square billboards. That stuff gets attention but it's only effective for building brand recognition.
That isn't efficient for Fantom, here's why...
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In short, marketing.
But not SuperBowl ads or Time Square billboards. That stuff gets attention but it's only effective for building brand recognition.
That isn't efficient for Fantom, here's why...
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Brand recognition only works on consumers that understand what you do.
Everybody knows that you drink soda for flavor, so Coke competing for brand recognition makes sense.
Fantom won't mean anything to most people because most people don't have a CLUE what DeFi is...
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Everybody knows that you drink soda for flavor, so Coke competing for brand recognition makes sense.
Fantom won't mean anything to most people because most people don't have a CLUE what DeFi is...
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So what kind of marketing SHOULD Fantom be doing?
I'm happy to lay out the WHOLE strategy here.
Also, if @FantomFDN would like my resume for consideration on implementing this strategy, please send me a message.
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I'm happy to lay out the WHOLE strategy here.
Also, if @FantomFDN would like my resume for consideration on implementing this strategy, please send me a message.
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For reference, in my past life I've implemented this strategy for agencies and software companies with great success.
Let's dive in.
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Let's dive in.
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First, blanket the web with "top of funnel content"
These are blog articles on topics such as:
- What is crypto?
- How do you get started in crypto?
- What is DeFi?
- How does DeFi lower the barrier of entry for regular people?
etc etc
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These are blog articles on topics such as:
- What is crypto?
- How do you get started in crypto?
- What is DeFi?
- How does DeFi lower the barrier of entry for regular people?
etc etc
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These should not just be FTM Foundation blogs. Someone from the foundation should sign up to be on the Forbes business council, & Entrepreneur.com as well. Then articles can be posted on those hugely reputable sites.
Also these can be guest posts on other websites.
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Also these can be guest posts on other websites.
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These articles will serve as "pillar content" which can then be chopped up and turned into social content for:
- Facebook
- LinkedIn
- Twitter
Also, it can be turned into videos for:
- Tiktok
- Youtube
- Instagram
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Also, it can be turned into videos for:
- Tiktok
- Youtube
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(well presented explainer videos on complex topics like 'what is blockchain' would probably do really well on Tiktok)
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There should be a concerted effort in ranking these articles on top of search engines. The idea is to beat out the old content that only talks about ETH and make FTM the new authority on DeFi.
And none of the content promotes FTM. It just points people to the ecosystem.
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And none of the content promotes FTM. It just points people to the ecosystem.
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Next would be the "lead magnets." These are pdf guides that break down into the simplest terms, step by step, how do participate in DeFi (using the Fantom ecosystem).
Guides like:
- How to earn interest in weeks instead of years
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Guides like:
- How to earn interest in weeks instead of years
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- How to get bribed by multi-million dollar companies legally
- How to lend your money for high interest
And the guides would walk people through how to do things like participate in Liquidity pools or lending platforms on specific Fantom protocols.
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- How to lend your money for high interest
And the guides would walk people through how to do things like participate in Liquidity pools or lending platforms on specific Fantom protocols.
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These guides would be available to anyone for the price of their email address.
They would serve as pillar content & be chopped into bite-sized components to be distributed on sites & social platforms.
This opens the door to email marketing and advanced ad targeting.
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They would serve as pillar content & be chopped into bite-sized components to be distributed on sites & social platforms.
This opens the door to email marketing and advanced ad targeting.
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Finally, Fantom should either designate team members, or hire new members, to act as in-house influencers.
These would be represtentatives (doxxed, with faces shown on social media rather than a nameless logo) ...
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These would be represtentatives (doxxed, with faces shown on social media rather than a nameless logo) ...
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...who make excellent and engaging social content specifically and exclusively for Fantom.
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What these efforts would achieve is, essentially, a traditional marketing funnel that would move people along an educational path directly into the ecosystem.
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People could then learn about DeFi from the ground up, experiment and/or participate fully in protocols on Fantom, and connect with Fantom representatives directly.
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It would establish Fantom as the go-to source for all things DeFi, open up the world of decentralized finance to more people, & build up both the network and the industry as a whole.
Using traditional, bootstrap web2 marketing tactics to attract a web2 audience into web3
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Using traditional, bootstrap web2 marketing tactics to attract a web2 audience into web3
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So back to the original point, I believe Fantom is undervalued because it is currently swimming in a sea of sameness and needs to break out into wider adoption from a less sophisticated crowd.
And this marketing strategy could help.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
🧵/finis
And this marketing strategy could help.
Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.
🧵/finis
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