Mentor: Yawn Rong, Co-Founder of StepN
Edited & compiled by BeWater
Preface: On September 21, the second two-day BeWater Growth Hacker Camp concluded successfully in Singapore. During this event, mentors from top projects and VCs in the Web3 field discussed in depth core topics such as personal branding, growth strategy, community building, user retention and conversion, and brought valuable insights and inspiration to the audience.
This growth training camp has been well received. BeWater has compiled the content shared by the instructors into articles and built a series of "Growth" topics for readers! The third article in this series is "Make NFTs Great Again" by Yawn, co-founder of StepN. The following is a summary of Yawn's speech:
The current NFT market is at the forefront and facing many challenges, but NFT is still an important bridge for traditional Internet users to move towards the Web3 world.
Why is NFT no longer popular?
NFTs can generally be divided into two categories: production NFTs (including GameFi) and collective NFTs (such as PFP).
Production-based NFTs are experiencing a true “grow or die” dilemma. Due to the growing demand, uncontrolled issuance leads to market inflation, unstable value and ultimately a death spiral. The ecosystem of this type of production-based NFT is too fragmented, and each project is separated from each other and unconnected, making it difficult for users to get a clue and participate deeply.
Collective NFTs have shaped a closed small circle culture due to their scarcity. It is difficult for people in the circle to expand their value, resulting in a community with only three to five thousand people at most. Spontaneous movements by people outside the circle, such as making T-shirts that print "monkeys on 20-yuan short-sleeved shirts", have lowered the brand tone from another dimension. Brands are born based on tone, and tone represents the attitude of the community. Behind the crazy copying is the lack of prevention mechanisms and benign soil. At the same time, the popularity supported by storytelling marketing lacks the support of actual application scenarios, that is, how to transform "Situational Storytelling" into "Sustainable Narrative". In the end, it can only be a flash in the pan, leaving only a sense of emptiness in user experience.
Why do we need to Make NFT Great Again?
In essence, compared to cryptocurrencies, the non-financial characteristics of NFTs can actually lower the psychological threshold of users. The low liquidity that has been criticized makes users psychologically classify this type of asset as a safer category, making it easier to accept.
At the same time, NFT can convert Web3 assets between tokens and NFTs to improve asset liquidity, and also allow project owners to design a series of activities around NFTs to increase the sense of participation and belonging of the community, forming a superposition of different gameplays on the plane. This user experience has, to a certain extent, solved some of the inferiority complexes of Web3 in front of Web2.
Most importantly, NFTs also have unique social and emotional value, and can represent personal identity and interests in social networks, thereby showing personal characteristics. This is a huge part of the digital lifestyle.
What experiences has StepN accumulated in the past 3 years?
1. Verification of Move-To-Earn Mode
After three years of operation, the Move-To-Earn model has been validated by the market. Annualized revenue, price stability and local community stability (such as 3 offline events per month in Vietnam and Japan), and the non-financialization of the community have proven the feasibility of this business model. Builders should pay attention to the potential of this model, especially in the fields of health and fitness.
2. The importance of anti-cheating systems and activation codes
In order to ensure the sustainability of user growth, it is crucial to establish an effective cheating prevention system and activation code mechanism. In terms of cheating prevention, it is particularly important to identify witch attacks and bot attacks. Without an effective anti-cheating system, user growth may be seriously affected, resulting in damage to the reputation and development of the project. In terms of activation codes, we must understand that the growth of consensus takes time, and Builders should master the rhythm of growth. We release 1.5% of activation codes every day. It is important to allow users who really need, want, and cherish the right to use our products to participate. It is not all in a "high-profile" mode. Sustainable growth is even more precious in Web3.
3. Web2 User Onboarding Challenges
At present, it may be the most difficult period in the history of Web3 to increase user growth. Compared with Web2, the guidance of Web3 users is more complicated. Users' acceptance and understanding of new technologies vary. The development team needs to invest more energy in education and guidance to improve user participation and retention. It is particularly important to make Web2 users feel comfortable and smooth in the field of Web3. Only by turning the anti-human settings in Web3 into an experience that users don't feel, can Web2 users consider it (even if they may not come in). Here we must have an adjustment in our mentality.
4. The real needs of Web3 social networking
Web3 social networking is a rigid demand. Web3 users have spontaneously organized many Web3 social networking groups. The rise of Web3 social platforms reflects users' demand for real social interactions. This trend shows that projects should focus on building a real and credible social environment to enhance user stickiness and participation. How to make Web3 and Web2 users make a non-financial pairing through social networking is a top priority.
How does StepN Go achieve sustainable growth?
How to get users' attention?
Scarcity of attention: User attention is the most valuable thing in the modern world. In an era of information overload, user attention has become more and more precious. Projects need to design content that attracts users to increase engagement.
Timeliness of information transmission: The earlier the key information is transmitted, the higher the probability of success. The project party should respond quickly to market changes and convey important information to users in a timely manner.
Zero-investment incentive mechanism: Allowing users to earn returns without upfront investment helps maintain user enthusiasm and attract more potential users to participate.
Simplifying the mechanism to improve understanding:Complex mechanisms may cause user confusion, and simplifying the user experience can effectively improve user understanding and engagement.
StepN Go rental system: the future of social networking
The HAUS System and FSL ID are new mechanisms of StepN. The HAUS system is a running shoe rental system launched by StepN Go, where Web3 users can rent running shoes to Web2 users through a revenue sharing plan. FSL ID allows Web2 users to enter the platform completely seamlessly through email and FSL ID.
1. Advantages of social networking with acquaintances
The biggest advantage of social networking among acquaintances lies in its depth and trust. When interacting with strangers, you often need to go through multiple screening and verification, while the interaction between acquaintances is based on existing trust. This trust makes information dissemination more efficient and users are more likely to accept recommendations and opinions from friends.
2. Six Degrees of Influence
According to the six degrees theory, a person can get to know anyone through at most six referrals. This means that a person's social network can expand rapidly as long as he can influence five relatives and friends around him. Among each friend, at least one person is particularly interested in a certain field or activity, which provides the basis for the effectiveness of the acquaintance social platform.
3. Potential of rental systems
Under the framework of acquaintance social networking, the introduction of the rental system will provide users with more opportunities. Users can obtain resources or experiences through rental services. This model can not only meet the needs of users, but also promote interaction and cooperation among them. Through acquaintance recommendations, users are more willing to try these services because they trust the recommender.
4. The Importance of Real User Experience
To promote the success of acquaintance social networking, we must start from the real experience of users. Traditional social platforms often focus on the number of users and activity, but acquaintance social networking needs to focus on the real interaction and experience between users. Platforms should focus on providing valuable content and activities, rather than relying solely on test coins or virtual rewards. By creating real social scenarios, users will be more likely to participate and establish deep social connections.
The social network of the future will no longer be a cold connection between strangers, but a warm interaction between acquaintances. By making full use of the advantages of acquaintance social networking, we can achieve a more efficient way of socializing and establish a deeper level of trust. With the continuous optimization of user experience and the effective use of the rental system, acquaintance social networking will become the mainstream of future social networking.
Sustainable growth
Consensus takes time. Bitcoin’s consensus has been around for more than a decade. We need to slow down the growth. In addition to onboarding more Web2 users to curb inflation, we can also extend the product life cycle, reshape the design of the economic model, and remove Web2 thinking. At the same time, the activation code plays the role of the entry setting to ensure slow and continuous growth. In addition, the improvement of the mechanism eliminates the biggest inflation - renewable resources.
With sustainable growth, people will feel at ease, which will promote community development, consensus and consumption. This will drive demand for StepN Go's native Collective NFTs as a symbol of social status, further suppressing inflation because Collective NFTs do not generate tokens.
Facing the End-game: Strategies for dealing with growth cessation
1. Understand the nature of End-game
The life cycle of popular Telegram games is very short. "End-game" does not mean the end of the project, but a turning point. At this stage, the project needs to re-examine its market positioning, user needs and competitive strategies. Understanding the consumer psychology and behavior of users at this stage is the key. Web3 projects should focus on how to improve user consumption experience and satisfaction.
2. Strategies to promote user consumption
In order to motivate users to continue consuming, the following strategies can be adopted:
Establishment of internal consensus: First, the project needs to establish consensus within the community and clarify the goals and direction. Through the joint efforts of the team, a consistent marketing strategy and user experience can be formed. Internal unity will directly affect the external user experience.
Cooperation with big brands: Cooperation with well-known brands can not only enhance the company's brand image, but also attract more user attention. Through joint marketing activities, companies can leverage the influence of big brands to expand their market share. For example, launching co-branded products (Adidas) or jointly hosting events to attract user participation.
IP cooperation: Purchasing or cooperating with well-known IPs is an effective strategy. This cross-border cooperation can not only enhance brand awareness, but also provide users with a unique consumption experience.
3. The power of social sharing
In the End-game stage, social sharing becomes an important means to promote user consumption. Users are willing to share their consumption experience, especially when they think a product or service is unique or valuable. Projects can promote social sharing in the following ways:
Show off mechanism: Encourage users to show their consumption results on social media. For example, launch user sharing activities, where users can share their purchase experience, participate in lucky draws or get discounts. This "show off" behavior can not only enhance user participation, but also attract more potential users' attention.
Social media marketing: Use social media platforms for precision marketing, publish user-generated content (UGC), and enhance brand credibility and affinity. Through interaction with users, projects can better understand user needs and adjust marketing strategies in a timely manner.
