To the Web3 team: KOL marketing is a "double-edged sword". How to use it correctly?

Author: Esty

Compiled by: TechFlow

After working with several KOLs, including well-known figures like @Flowslikeosmo , I have summarized some practical KOL marketing experiences for reference.

1. Choose the wrong person, the project will easily go wrong

In every market cycle, there are always projects that invest a lot of money in KOLs, but almost every time it goes against their expectations. Many project parties have misunderstandings:

• I think that having KOLs can bring traffic;

• I thought that once "viral spread" would be considered successful;

• Treat the interaction volume as actual conversion.

However, the reality is: 95% of the cases, these investments don’t really translate into project results—they just make the surface data look better.

For example, your post received 200,000 views and 200 bot comments? It looks dazzling, but do these really drive your token generation event (TGE) or total lockout (TVL)?

Many project parties are chasing short-term "hot moments". As @madladshad said, this is a "short-term hype marketing method". They often ignore user retention and optimization of key indicators, which are the key to the long-term development of the project.

2.KOL classification and the issues behind it

KOLs will show interest in your project, but this interest often only lasts until funds stop flowing in. After that, they may not even remember your project name.

Overall, KOLs can be divided into the following categories:

• Speculative model (90%) : Chase all hot topics and post all content. Their goal is to extract the benefits as much as possible. Inflate data through tools like Socialplug, or form a network with other KOLs to fake interactions to deceive project parties. Such KOLs usually sell and sell project tokens quickly.

• Semi-speculative model (5%) : There is usually a specific field or point of interest, mainly discussing related content. Most of their fans and interactions are real and their attitude is more sincere, but when faced with some high-value cooperation, it may be difficult to resist temptation.

• Sincere type (5%) : These KOLs do not increase their accounts through brushing volume, but attract fans through professional content. They have in-depth knowledge in a certain field and rarely cooperate with advertising. Even if they accept it, they will give priority to the interests of fans. This type of KOL is the real partner that can bring market influence and conversion rates, such as Kaito's core circle members.

It should be noted that I do not blame any kind of KOL. In fact, these behaviors of KOL are only a reflection of the current situation in the industry. The real problem lies in the power of capital behind it - the greed and speculation of big capital, venture capital companies and project teams, which are the root of this phenomenon.

3. Constant and Variable: The Art of Controlling Narrative

If you don 't grasp your narrative, the market will define it for you, and the results may not be as you wish.

You need to realize that KOL is just an amplifier. Before considering using them, be sure to lay a solid foundation:

• Create products that can truly solve practical problems;

• Clarify your narrative, brand positioning and market differentiation;

• Agree within the team to determine core principles;

• Clarify your distribution channels and communication methods;

• Determine the importance of community building to you;

• Connect with partners with real value.

Unfortunately, most projects lack clear identity, clear goals, effective solutions, ethical values, and long-term vision.

4. Our choices determine our future

Learn to use the profit-seeking psychology in human nature.

When you lay a solid foundation, how do you turn these into practical actions?

Ideal : Your product has reached the product market fit (PMF), and users and KOLs talk about it spontaneously because it can bring them benefits while also creating quality content for them to attract more attention.

But in reality, this is a question of "there are chickens first or eggs first". Many people think you need to have "influence" first to reach PMF. This view is partially correct, but the key is that "influence" does not necessarily require reliance on KOLs, such as through partnerships and word of mouth communication.

A more realistic path : Once you have clarified your market segment and target audience, you can start looking for the right KOL. You can use tools like @_kaitoai to analyze their audience reach and real followers (if any). Building a strong network is also crucial, because referrals through connections often result twice as much with half the effort. Another way is to use @Tunnl_io to find the right KOL through filtering.

Actively interact with the target KOL on Twitter. Reply to their content seriously, communicate with private messages and provide support. You need to build relationships on an individual level, not simply business transactions. Although this method is helpful to the brand, it is often more effective based on personal accounts. Don’t expect to be effective within a week – long-term interaction and accumulation will bring results, so start early and use it as part of your core marketing strategy.

As the relationship is established, the discussion gradually focuses on the product you are developing. At this point, you can recommend the product in time and show how it brings practical benefits to KOLs. The goal here is still to build long-term relationships and networks, rather than short-term exchange of interests.

If your product can bring real economic benefits to KOLs while being in line with their brand positioning, the possibility of their active promotion will greatly increase because your success will also bring more benefits to them. In addition, you can also ask them to recommend other KOLs for you so you don't have to start cold starting from scratch. Relationships established through introductions are often more efficient and easier to succeed than cold starts.

Even if your product can make KOLs profitable, they will still want to receive additional compensation. Giving up tokens may seem like a simple solution, but in the long run, this may be bad for the project, as many people choose to sell tokens to achieve profits (which is understandable in itself). Furthermore, most truly influential KOLs prefer to accept cash payments directly, such as USDC. So, how to deal with this situation?

When negotiating cooperation with KOLs, long-term cooperation should be prioritized rather than just publishing promotional content once. Why? A single release is difficult to reach the main groups of KOL audiences, while multiple releases can significantly expand the coverage.

When a KOL continues to publish content related to you, the audience's perception of the project will gradually change from "simple paid promotion" to "real trust". Audiences’ perceptions will affect their realistic judgment of the project.

Meanwhile, other KOLs may notice your cooperation with a certain KOL and contact you actively, which will give you more advantage in future negotiations.

Also, you don't have to just focus on "large" KOLs. Working with "MicroKOL" (MicroKOL) is often more valuable because their audience is often more realistic and interactive.

5. There are no gods or kings, only effective marketing funnels

Viral effects are often short-lived, while a well-designed marketing funnel can bring long-term cumulative effects. The most successful brands in the crypto space do not rely on the hype cycle, but create true user loyalty by building a path to user participation.

Assuming your product is powerful, with an excellent user interface (UI/UX) and a smooth user boot process, here is an example of an effective marketing funnel:

1. Create a clear homepage on Twitter (now known as X), equipped with attractive avatars and banners. Users need to understand the main content of the page within 3 seconds. In addition, a simple profile should include links to landing pages and distribution channels such as Telegram or Discord.

2. The design style of the landing page should be consistent with the X page, be concise and easy to understand, and provide a clear call for action (CTA) to guide users to access the main product.

3. Inspire users’ interest through ongoing X postings, AMA events, team member postings, partner promotions, private interactions and reply to comments.

4. Users click on your homepage to see a clear introduction and further access to the landing page.

5. Users enter the main dApp (decentralized application) and complete the user guidance process of the product.

6. Satisfied users join the Telegram or Discord community to interact with other users.

7. In the community, users are warmly welcomed by the team and other members, while finding reasons to continue to follow the project.

8. Users gradually become members of the community and spontaneously promote projects based on trust and belief.

In this way, users are not only successfully converted into loyal users of the product, but may also become your brand communicator. Compared to short-term viral transmission, this approach can continue to bring value to the project.

How does sincere KOL work?

KOLs can greatly improve your reach and distribution capabilities – which is closely related to what we mentioned earlier (see point 3). Remember when I mentioned that you need to prioritize long-term cooperation and screen out the “right” candidates? The following is the process of forming a complete closed loop:

• KOLs continue to release content related to your project for several months, gradually reaching most of their audience;

• Interested audiences click on your homepage and are directed to your product due to your solid foundation;

• Your excellent UI/UX and product experience, coupled with the enthusiastic service of the team, successfully transforms these users into loyal users;

• Satisfied users will spontaneously recommend your project to others;

• The sincere KOL network of the early collaboration has noticed your project and became interested in it;

• More KOLs (including more influential KOLs) will actively contact you to seek cooperation;

• In negotiations, you take more initiative.

6. Millions of doors, one of which leads to real value

Let me share a story of myself. I wrote this because I made some mistakes in my entrepreneurial process that led me to be cheated and wasted a lot of marketing budget.

At that time, I was attracted by the so-called "Vanity Metrics" and trusted some speculators. These people try to create a "real" illusion by selling each other's content. As a result, although my X data improved in a week after the post was published, the actual effect was minimal. I felt very regretful about this and started looking for a better way.

During this process, I met a KOL that I admire very much. In my opinion, he is one of the most authentic KOLs in the industry. Why? Because he really cares about his audience, will not accept cooperation proposals casually, and he screens partners with extremely strictness. Moreover, his growth relies entirely on real efforts and has never used robots to brush data.

I connected with him through a connection at the time (“network=assets”). We started chatting and became familiar with each other and finally met at the Token2049 event. We talked a lot about life, goals, vision, crypto industry and marketing. Over time, we became very close friends.

Now, our relationship has developed to a stage where I can naturally ask him to recommend other like-minded KOLs, because I believe the people he recommends have been rigorously screened; or consult him about other KOLs and Exclusive information (alpha) to make smarter decisions. If I am working on a project that suits his audience, I can also suggest a cooperation plan that is beneficial to both parties.

I know this is not common, but in an industry full of fraud, special measures are needed for special times. Not only did I meet a trustworthy friend, I also found a lifelong business partner.

Summarize

Is your marketing campaign to build a real brand, or is it just a short round of hype?

• First, polish your story, brand positioning and product core;

• Remember, KOL is a power tool to amplify communication, not a panacea to solve all problems;

• It’s not ad-blind to be open to ads and hope for luck – it’s just a waste of your budget;

• Establish long-term and valuable relationships with KOLs, not just one-time transactional partnerships;

• Prioritize the quality of cooperation rather than quantity, long-term cooperation is more important than short-term promotion;

• MicroKOLs (MicroKOLs) also have their own unique value, so don’t ignore them;

• The number of fans is not the only criterion for choosing KOL. Compared with the number of fans, we should pay more attention to the quality of fans, the subdivisions of KOLs, audience sentiment, and the overall quality of content;

• Start your goal positioning as early as possible, because it takes a long time and continuous effort to build a successful brand.

Most projects are short-lived because they fail to leave anything that can be remembered. If you don’t provide your audience with trustworthy and faithful content, they will eventually forget you.