How can you win in the battlefield of crypto Twitter (CT)?
Written by: eNate, Growth Director at Eclipse
Compiled by: Luffy, Foresight News
To be honest: I hate Twitter. I really hate Twitter, and I wish I had never used it.
Life is too short. As we age, we increasingly see how fragile life is (illness, accidents, wars, etc.). Time on earth is limited, and I would rather be around uplifting people, whose company is a joy. I don't want to spend time with negative people, and Twitter is filled with toxic and carcinogenic energy. But I still invest time on this damn platform every day because if I’m not active on crypto Twitter (hereafter abbreviated as ‘CT’), I can’t do my job well.
I wrote indirectly about this topic a month ago (how to filter for quality marketing talent), and mastering CT has become a necessity for success in the crypto space.
But there are also some exceptions:
Some businesses almost monopolize specific markets (e.g., Dexscreener). They quietly make huge profits, and frankly, they don't need to be that active on CT because their competitors are weak.
If your customers are entirely institutional clients (i.e., market makers or liquidity providers), then winning attention on CT is less critical. The key decision-makers you interact with will make decisions based on how much profit they can achieve when executing strategies, and that decision-making process will not happen on Twitter.
But if you don't belong to these categories (most people don’t), you need to stay active on CT. Unlike a few years ago, the current crypto industry is filled with competition in almost every vertical. There are now not just dozens, but hundreds of various CEX, DEX, wallets, cross-chain bridges, and blockchains emerging daily. In the past, launching the best technology could win, but now there is no consensus on what 'the best technology' is. For example, three years ago, launching an L2 was considered novel; now I have lost count of how many L2s there are.
It’s important to adapt to the times and evolve continuously. We live in an attention-driven economy, and the future super users are only half our age. Simply providing technology will not drive usage, as the competitive landscape has fundamentally changed. ‘Build it, and they will come’ is a failed and naive strategy.
90% of these companies will die within 5 years. Even if they perfectly execute their product roadmap (this 'if' is not easily achievable), many companies will run out of funds before they find product-market fit/profitability. Or they will fail because their competitors attract all the users. Other companies will take on all the risks and heavily invest because market conditions have improved, and then when the next bear market inevitably comes and funds run dry, they will be discarded by the market.
The goal of marketing and growth work is to strategically distribute and promote the technology that engineers are developing to attract attention and subsequently gain adoption. If done well, this is crucial for extending the company's life. Solidifying your brand positioning and building brand image is just one aspect of this work. If you can't execute on marketing channels, all of it is meaningless.
People need to know of your existence (awareness) before you can expect them to use your product (conversion); if they enjoy the product experience enough, they may ultimately promote your product (advocacy).
When it comes to user acquisition, the funnel model is basically the bible. The top of the funnel is referred to as ‘brand awareness’, which cryptocurrency insiders colloquially call ‘mind share’. Effectively leveraging different distribution channels is how you win mind share for your company. This, in turn, increases the chances of converting people who learn about your brand/product into users. The more ways you reach your audience, the greater the likelihood of acquiring more users.
But the question here is two fundamentally different issues:
How can I get more people to learn about my product/brand?
How can I convert people who learn about my product into users?
In the early stages of a product, companies can focus on the top of the funnel. They don’t yet have a functional product to use, so they can focus on marketing spending and efforts to build strong mind share. But as you get closer to and eventually launch the product, this situation will change. The pre-product and post-product phases are entirely different games, and many crypto startups struggle to formulate go-to-market strategies in the post-product phase because they try to solve two different problems at the same time.
A quote I often reference is:
‘If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’
In other words, if people don't know about your product, how can they use it? Conversion happens after awareness, and the team needs to face the reality that without first investing effort to ensure people are aware of your product, you cannot achieve usage. You can invest in both the top and bottom of the funnel simultaneously, but if you haven't achieved the top's KPIs, then the bottom's KPIs won't be achievable.
This is because at each step of the marketing funnel, the percentage of people who proceed to the next step decreases. What does this mean? Let’s break it down:
You first need to win awareness
A smaller portion of these people will consider using your product
The proportion of people who ultimately use it is even smaller
Frustratingly, only a small number of people can retain long-term
This is why CT is so important. Cryptocurrency insiders often mention 'mind share' in the context of CT for a reason. CT is the most important distribution channel in cryptocurrency because it is the channel most likely to convert audiences into users. But as I talk to more founders trying to elevate their marketing game and offer advice, I realize that many people do not understand why CT is such an important distribution channel. This article will explain the reasons for CT's importance and the successful strategies I think about.
Why is CT so important?
Before I started working in cryptocurrency, I worked as a marketing consultant for clients in various industries. These clients included cosmetics giants like L'Oréal and Revlon, social media companies like Instagram and LinkedIn, sports leagues like the NFL and NBA, and more. These companies invest millions in advertising/collaboration each year and rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of different distribution channels (i.e., digital ads, billboards, social media marketing, etc.) to continually optimize their marketing strategy mix. If a channel performs well, clients will look for ways to improve it to increase ROI; if it doesn't, they will quickly cut spending and allocate funds elsewhere.
One important lesson I've learned at this stage of my career is that not all distribution channels are equal. The specific distribution channels that are most effective for your business vary based on your key audience/user demographics. With this in mind, you can imagine how surprised I was when I first joined a cryptocurrency company (dYdX) and realized that very few cryptocurrency companies were trying to use different distribution channels to improve user acquisition. Years later, I sadly say that most cryptocurrency companies still are. Perhaps it's because most of these companies are early-stage startups with limited funding, but at some point, you need to have multiple distribution channels to scale your audience.
It's commendable that when I first joined dYdX, Twitter was one of the few channels they invested resources in to attract followers. Honestly, it took me about a year to understand why Twitter is such an important distribution channel for cryptocurrency. In fact, before joining dYdX, I intentionally avoided using Twitter and had long refused to create a personal account. But when you think about it seriously, it becomes clear why Twitter is the primary medium for cryptocurrency companies to engage with potential users.
The ordinary user journey in the cryptocurrency space is filled with friction and pain points. Generally, to use any DApp, you first need to create a wallet. After completing this process and storing your private keys, you need to convert fiat currency into stablecoins or assets like ETH. Then, you need to connect your wallet to a specific DApp and learn how to use it. Honestly, this is a simplified description of what is a highly complex user journey.
After using crypto products for a while, you forget the complexities of joining as a new user. Compared to simply going to a store to buy something or registering for a social media account, you have to go through more steps before using these products. This has significant implications for overall marketing strategy.
For resource-constrained cryptocurrency startups, trying to hand-hold newcomers through every process of entering the cryptocurrency space is extremely inefficient. In the short term, you need to focus your marketing efforts on channels with a high concentration of existing cryptocurrency users to see positive ROI. While there are some nuances (e.g., many people use Kakao in Korea, and many use WeChat in China), for Western markets (US/Canada and Europe), CT is by far the channel with the highest user density. In many cases, I can clearly see:
The trading alpha circulating on CT far exceeds any other public channels (like Reddit or YouTube). Many excellent traders I know make decisions by monitoring new product launches and Twitter information. Interestingly, nearly every tenfold gain I encountered in memecoin trading was discovered on Twitter, or by one of my friends who found it on Twitter and then shared it with another group.
Airdrop hunters on Twitter shared fairly accurate predictions about which protocols to farm weeks or even months before the incentive programs began.
The most popular NFT collections often create a buzz on Twitter even before they open for whitelist or public minting.
Venture capitalists request to see Twitter profiles when evaluating new startups as part of the due diligence process.
In short, if you are not active on CT, you will lose a group of people who would definitely pay attention to new product launches. While you figure out which other channels work for your specific product, you need to win on Twitter because it is basically the only channel where you know the audience will pay attention, and you have a fairly good chance of converting them into actual users.
Moreover, the importance of CT is not just in user acquisition but also in user retention. When a place has such a high density of daily active users, they inevitably talk a lot. CT is where you can most accurately understand audience sentiment, as well as receive honest, unfiltered feedback on what’s wrong with your protocol. Without CT, your company will struggle to successfully fend off FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).
There are many aspects of the FUD topic that need interpretation. I could write a novel on this topic, so I will follow up with another article in the future. Here are the key points outlined:
CT will help you understand the severity of the fire drill situation so you can respond accordingly. Is this a survival crisis, or will it blow over quickly? Why are people actually upset or anxious? What is the extent of the impact?
Compared to any other medium, CT will provide you with more contextual information to help you make key growth decisions. When you are active on Twitter, you will learn to distinguish between real communities and profit-driven impostors. You will gain a reference framework to understand why past decisions or even industry history affect your perception of a brand/product.
Yes, I admit that filtering out a lot of noise to find truly beneficial and high-quality information is necessary. But the information above is crucial for guiding the company through multiple stages of growth (pre-funding, post-funding, pre-product, post-product, etc.). The biggest danger sign is when senior leaders/marketing teams do not have a solid strategy for Twitter, indicating they will not succeed.
If you can't focus some resources on the most successful distribution channels, it will be difficult for you to achieve significant usage. Your understanding of how to retain your users will also be very limited.
So I’m sure your follow-up question is, ‘How do I succeed on crypto Twitter?’
The winning strategy for CT
Simply put, the winning strategy for CT consists of three key elements:
Authenticity
Consistency
Understanding audience scope
Let’s start with authenticity. I've seen people try various strategies on CT to gain attention:
Founders are quiet as mice in real life but post crazy comments on Twitter to engage users.
Women post enticing or foot pictures to gain more views and likes.
Leadership engages in LARPing as technical experts in hopes of winning points with thought leaders, but they lack expertise in engineering trade-offs.
It is important to note that I am not criticizing anyone. Don’t hate the players, hate the game! If these strategies can win more attention, then it might be a successful strategy, right? That said, I want to warn that if these online personas are not authentic, then the strategies are likely to be difficult to sustain.
People will eventually discover that the identity you present online is false, and the illusion will fade when you make too many mistakes. Moreover, no one can be an expert on every topic. I have several examples from Eclipse that illustrate how authenticity has helped us gain more attention on Twitter:
Before eVijay became the CEO, many suggested he act crazier and more explosive on Twitter. This is completely contrary to his style. If you’ve seen eVijay or watched his podcast, you quickly realize that ‘crazy’ is almost a term to describe his opposite. His calm demeanor, elegance, and extensive experience are key reasons many respect him as a leader. People follow him not to see a continuous stream of trending topics.
Most Eclipse teams are active on Twitter, but you will notice that the content we publish is different because we have a deep understanding of different topics:
My expertise is in go-to-market strategies and growth hacking. I don't publish content on technical topics because that wouldn't be authentic. For example, I know nothing about zk-rollups, so I won't talk about them on Twitter. But I write these long articles about marketing, which people find valuable.
This is not my first time talking about the importance of CT.
etaetaehoho previously worked at 1kx and published a significant amount of research. Therefore, he has unique insights on some topics. He wrote articles about how venture funds evaluate portfolio companies when investing. He also posts articles on Twitter about technical topics and advanced strategies because he has a deep understanding of these subjects. That’s why people respect his intellect and engage with him.
eSe is one of the best traders I know. This guy has brought me several 50x gains (although I often lose them due to my own stupidity). He publishes trading strategies and trends he observes in the market. People follow him because he is a profitable trader, not a KOL pushing his own positions.
This all-hands-on-deck approach works well for us because it allows us to engage different audience segments. Our Twitter content benefits from our thought sharing, as it resonates with different people for various reasons. Cryptocurrency marketers and founders may like my content because I share insights on marketing strategies, but traders may not be as concerned with what I write. In contrast, traders may read eSe’s tweets.
The second key element of a robust strategy is consistency. Whether through a company account or a personal account, you should regularly publish content. If you don’t have a large following yet, your account's followers won’t grow if you post occasionally and then disappear for long periods. Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity, but post as much as possible about topics you genuinely want to discuss, as this will greatly increase your engagement. Start with a company account, keep experimenting until you find the best point of combination between the right rhythm and content type.
To encourage everyone to post more consistently on Eclipse, we started holding regular meetings to help people brainstorm tweet topics and enhance their social influence. Eventually, your colleagues will master the knack and can handle it themselves, but when they first engage in this process, please guide them! Not everyone is a natural social media expert.
At the beginning, focus on staying active on CT and showcasing yourself. Regularly interact with other builders and community members. Identify general trends in the industry and common pain points for users. As long as you are regularly on CT, you will gain a broader understanding of your business. You can also strategically contextualize your business decisions by looking at mistakes others have made in the past.
Don’t believe it? Try it. I guarantee that if you spend an hour a day on CT for 30 consecutive days, you will learn more about the crypto industry and related current events than anywhere else, and you will raise awareness of your company while learning. It’s a win-win situation.
As a leader, you can also turn it into a fun game! Every time I outpace them on Slack, I tease all the younger teammates. Social media is a young person's game. If I'm older than you, your follower count should be much higher than mine 🥱
Finally, you must learn to narrow your audience scope. You will never connect with everyone on crypto Twitter. There are many different ways to segment the crypto Twitter audience (e.g., maximalists vs. agnostics, DeFi vs. consumers, etc.). Trying to find a way to resonate with everyone on CT is a waste of time. Find out who is most important to your company and prioritize them.
Prioritization is key because having a small group of loyal fans who consistently engage with your content is more impactful than having a large number of disinterested followers. Your core audience should be the group that has the greatest impact on your business, not those on CT who will never care about your product.
For example, if you are a B2B company, which companies or developers do you need to attract? Is your strategy aimed at winning the audience's attention? If you are a gaming company, is institutional funding really important to you? Tailor your content based on the audience most relevant to your core KPIs; you don’t need to win everyone's attention.
There is a strong causal relationship between trying to win everyone's attention and being unable to win any attention. When you try to be relevant to everyone, you become irrelevant to anyone because there is no differentiation. Start with a targeted and clear approach, and then expand from there after achieving success. As the business grows, you will organically gain more relevance, and then you can expand the audience.
This is a marathon, not a sprint. Over time, you will naturally start delivering more important things to new areas of CT.
Finally, I want to repeat what many successful people on CT have said. Don’t overthink it, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.
The attention span and memory on CT are both extremely short. If you don’t post enough, it is likely that no one will notice you. Even if they do notice and you mess up, they will forget within weeks. Pull yourself together, get back up, and return to the ring. Don’t be shy about trying new things.
Moreover, some companies that launch cutting-edge, technically advanced products have very low mind share because they have not effectively leveraged CT. The opposite of this statement is also true. Many people in the cryptocurrency industry will tell you that some of the companies with the best reputations on Twitter have countless problems behind the scenes because their technology simply doesn’t work.