Coin World Report:
Excellent marketing talent requires in-depth knowledge of Crypto Twitter and proficiency in data analysis.
Author: Nate, Director of Marketing and Growth at Eclipse
Translator: Luffy, Foresight News
One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is “How to recruit high-quality marketing talent.” In just the past month, more than 10 companies have contacted me, hoping to hire early-stage marketing professionals, and I have also seen three projects parting ways with their existing marketing directors/chief marketing officers.
I understand the feelings of these people very well. In the field of cryptocurrency, it is quite difficult to find excellent marketing talent, and it is even more difficult to find a CMO. This job is really tough, and the talent pool worth hiring is very small. Having said that, I also believe that many difficulties come from the founders, who do not know what qualities excellent marketers usually possess. This article will focus on why it is so difficult to find excellent marketing talent and what key qualities marketing executives at startups must have.
Before delving deeper, I would like to share the research by @divine_economy, who provided an accurate assessment of the current state of cryptocurrency adoption on a large scale.
I am quoting this tweet because many founders need to face reality. Since the collapse of FTX, we have entered one of the worst bear market cycles, and the cryptocurrency industry has been criticized by the public. We are no longer as important as we were a few years ago. Please step out of the cryptocurrency bubble and touch reality.
The current “cycle” is mainly driven by Memecoins. The cryptocurrency market is not like the DeFi summer a few years ago when major innovations attracted a large number of new users and builders. Not to mention, the regulatory environment in the United States is a mess, hindering many companies from effectively executing their product roadmaps and delivering brand new products. Do you really think we are welcoming a large number of new users? I mean millions of new users, not just a few newcomers trading junk coins.
To be honest, I don’t believe that cryptocurrency will have a place in mainstream culture unless the prices of major cryptocurrencies rise by more than 30% from current levels. I say this because most of my friends are not involved in cryptocurrency work. I have a few friends who are not involved in cryptocurrency work but have started trading junk coins on Solana using Phantom, but I haven’t seen the same level of interest in cryptocurrency among ordinary people as before FTX. Personally, my standard for when cryptocurrency will resonate with ordinary people again is when my friends and family start asking me frantically what to buy. I see signs that this could happen soon, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Over the past two years, the size of your marketing-related audience has not grown significantly. New wallet addresses do not equal new users.
This is why I believe that almost every cryptocurrency project is struggling with marketing. Have you invented a killer DApp that can attract millions of new users? I don’t think so. So when this is a common problem in the industry, why do you expect your marketing executives to bridge the gap between cryptocurrency and ordinary users all by themselves? Without sufficient organic demand, your marketing executives will not be able to magically attract users to your product. However, this does not mean that your marketing personnel are useless.
An excellent marketing executive needs to focus on both short-term and long-term trends. In the short term, they need to connect your brand with the existing crypto community. You are competing with a large number of projects (directly and indirectly) to attract the attention of a relatively small audience (Crypto Twitter). If you fail to win the attention of Crypto Twitter, you will fail. They are the core users you know will appear in the short term. This is how you survive.
But the real challenge is being able to capture new users when they arrive. Either because you have such an interesting innovation that it attracts completely new people to this field, or because the price has risen enough to create FOMO (fear of missing out) among people. Therefore, the long-term focus is to build your distribution channels so that you are ready to acquire the aforementioned new users. Do you have distribution channels outside of Crypto Twitter? Do you really believe that your project will be useful to completely new users who are not familiar with cryptocurrency? Most of the projects I have come into contact with cannot answer these questions with certainty. You need to be able to do this in order to thrive.
This is where I sympathize with founders. Employees who can handle or understand both short-term and long-term aspects are few, and people who are qualified to help you solve this problem are even rarer. Why is that?
In order to develop successful short-term and long-term marketing strategies, cryptocurrency marketers need to master two basic skills:
They need to dive deep into the frontlines and understand Crypto Twitter.
This is where enthusiastic cryptocurrency product users (those who trade junk coins, regularly use DApps) and experienced cryptocurrency professionals exchange ideas and track industry trends.
They need to be proficient in data analysis.
They should be able to collect data, understand data, and convey data to your team. Data proves that what you are doing is effective, not just based on intuition. Unfortunately, I have found that this quality is usually only present in professionals from other industries.
There may be exceptions under normal circumstances, but I have interviewed people without cryptocurrency experience, and even many people with cryptocurrency experience who simply don’t understand Crypto Twitter.
This is a very special area in internet culture, closely related to complex research, computer enthusiasts, and a degenerate gambling culture. If you have never experienced having your wallet emptied or waiting for funds to bridge, and have not interacted with the superbrains in the crypto field, you will not achieve immediate success here. You cannot communicate with an audience you do not understand.
On the other hand, most native cryptocurrency marketers I have come into contact with are poor in data handling.
They cannot build simple dashboards to quantify metrics. They do not know how to conduct A/B testing. They also cannot identify obvious danger signals when data trends are unreasonable. If you cannot do these things, you cannot test activities regularly and iterate continuously to improve your marketing strategies. Strangely enough, blockchain technology collects massive amounts of data, but most people are not good at interpreting this data. In contrast, I have found that data analysis is one of the core skills that well-reputed non-Web3 company employees usually possess.
The best metaphor I can give is that your marketing executive is driving a car (your marketing strategy). To be an excellent driver, they need to not only see the road ahead but also have a general direction to reach their destination (a killer brand). Understanding Crypto Twitter is like seeing the road ahead, and being proficient in data is like knowing how to use a GPS. An ideal marketer may also have many other skills, such as creativity, pop culture knowledge, adaptability, management experience, etc. But in my opinion, these two abilities are absolute prerequisites for effectively driving marketing tools.
Unfortunately, very few candidates meet this standard because they usually need rich experience both inside and outside Web3. Essentially, you are looking for an F1 driver… while the talent pool consists of a group of young people with driver’s licenses.
Most of the job descriptions (JD) I have encountered for CMOs or marketing directors lack this understanding. They use phrases like “drive our content strategy” and “oversee the creation of marketing campaigns,” but during the screening process, they do not fully consider the two qualifications I shared above. On the contrary, I hear a lot of interview questions such as “How can we become more like _____?” or “How can we acquire new users?”
You are screening the wrong things. An MBA won’t teach you anything about Crypto Twitter.
This is why current cryptocurrency project marketing is repetitive and boring, and it won’t get any attention for your project. An excellent marketing executive will leverage their understanding of Crypto Twitter and use data to form ideas and experiment. They won’t have a magical secret before they start working, but they will be able to provide you with a hypothesis to execute and develop a thoughtfully tailored strategic brand positioning for your project. They will stand out because they won’t be afraid to make bold attempts that others have never made, even if the founders/CEOs have doubts about the marketing strategy. While they may draw inspiration from other projects, they certainly don’t want to completely copy them.
Most importantly, they will deeply understand that Crypto Twitter is just one important bet. To build a company that can thrive in multiple cycles, you also need distribution channels in other places. To figure out how to achieve this, you need time and a savvy leader. Make sure you screen for the key qualities that can prove this level of savvy: Crypto Twitter warriors and data wizards.
In conclusion, I want to say something to the CEOs of cryptocurrency projects:
Throughout your time as CEO, you may have always believed that you are the best person for the job. You may have the sharpest mind, but you may not be the best marketer. For marketing, your audience is not just those clever people with super minds, or the venture capitalists who sign million-dollar checks; it is every person who interacts with your brand.
Once you find a qualified leader to manage your marketing work, are you prepared to give up some control over the direction of your brand? Because I can assure you that the most qualified candidates will have different opinions on many things, and they should. You need someone who knows your target audience better than you do. This person will formulate strategies for you and oversee the entire company.
So, do you agree to have another leader in your company? Or do you just want to find a scapegoat to blame when things go wrong?
