Right, so, community is king (or queen!) in crypto, yeah? We all know that. My team’s been hammering away at building ours for our new token launch, and honestly, it’s been a rollercoaster. We were just brainstorming how to really boost our reach, and influencer marketing kept cropping up. I was grabbing a coffee with Imogen, a mate who’s been around the block a few times in the crypto world, and the topic came up. Her experiences were… eye-opening, to say the least.
“Look,” she started, stirring her latte thoughtfully, “influencers can be amazing. They can get your token in front of a whole new audience. But you’ve gotta be super careful. Think of it like navigating a minefield filled with shiny promises.”
Her initial warning was enough to get me thinking more about the problems faced in the space. Her warning was very timely considering my planned use of influencer marketing in growing my token’s community.
First things first: The Red Flags. Oh, So Many Red Flags!
Imogen then got down to the real nitty gritty of our discussion on the warning signs involved in crypto influencer marketing. “The first thing I would consider,” she said, “is a potential influencer’s follower counts and engagement rate. So many people buy fake followers. You need to use tools, there are loads online, to analyse their follower base. How many are real accounts? How many are bots? If a huge chunk are fake, walk away. It’s a scam.”
That was my first takeaway: Deep dive into those follower lists. It’s not enough to just see a big number. You need to know if those followers are genuine, engaged, real people. Tools like Social Blade or HypeAuditor can help you do this, giving you a breakdown of their audience demographics and authenticity scores. These tools use various metrics to assess the quality of an influencer’s audience, including the presence of bot accounts, the activity level of followers, and the consistency of engagement.
She continued, “Engagement is another huge warning sign. Look at their like to follower ratio, and most importantly the quality of engagement. Look for meaningful comments, discussions, and interactions. If it’s just generic ‘Great post!’ or emojis, it’s probably engagement farming. They’re paying for bot accounts or engagement groups to artificially inflate their numbers.”
So, step two: Scrutinise the comments section. Are people actually engaging with the content, asking questions, and contributing to the conversation? Or is it all superficial and meaningless? This is a crucial step in determining the authenticity of an influencer’s audience. I noted this down straight away.
Next, Imogen explained that any potential influencer’s history should be looked at for warnings of their past behaviour. “Do your research,” Imogen insisted. “Has this person promoted questionable projects in the past? Have they been involved in any rug pulls or pump-and-dump schemes? If so, massive red flag! It’s not worth risking your project’s reputation.”
That means digging deep into the influencer’s past activity. Check their social media history, search for news articles or forum discussions mentioning them, and see if they’ve been associated with any controversial or unethical projects. It’s time consuming, but vital. The best way to think of this, is to think about what an investor could see when looking at your token if they engage with an influencer you engage with. If they have been involved in prior scams or controversies then that will be associated with you.
Finding the Right Partners: Authentic Connections
Once you’ve weeded out the shady characters, how do you find genuine influencers who can actually help your project? Imogen had some solid advice.
“Focus on relevance,” she said. “Are they actually interested in your niche? Do they have an audience that’s likely to be interested in your token? Don’t just go for the biggest influencer; go for the one who resonates with your target demographic.” This point felt particularly important, as it ensures that the target audience is more likely to invest.
So, target your influencers and conduct detailed research on their histories. These key considerations are likely to weed out a good portion of fraudulent people. Always remember that even in the crypto space, a good reputation is vital and that can easily be ruined by engaging with the wrong influencer.
We have to remember the importance of authenticity and building real relationships with your community. This isn’t just about slapping a logo on a sponsored post. It’s about finding influencers who genuinely believe in your project and are willing to advocate for it to their audience in an authentic way.