With a plethora of crypto platforms and apps to choose from, companies are in heavy competition with each other to stand out and win over users. Their marketing strategy is often an instrumental factor in determining whether a potential customer is gained or not, and throughout this article, we will explore how 5 of the top cryptocurrency platforms attempt to do so.
Binance
Widely known exchange Binance dominates the global cryptocurrency scene due to its strong focus on providing as many altcoin options as possible to its users. With over 50 cryptocurrencies available, it is ahead of many of its competitors and its platform is designed for the more advanced user featuring in-market charts, leveraging, and peer-to-peer (P2P) trading.
A popular method amongst numerous crypto platforms is the idea of referrals and rewards, and Binance is no stranger. The Binance Fiat Invite Program allows you and a friend to earn 5 BUSD each – a regulated USD-backed stable coin. This is a smart strategy offering its own currency to its users to drive adoption.
Binance offers its users other features such as an education academy, another popular strategy seen amongst other platforms to provide new investors with the fundamental knowledge on how to buy/trade cryptocurrencies. Binance Labs is an exciting addition that empowers blockchain entrepreneurs and start-ups by providing financing to projects that help grow the blockchain ecosystem. With a wealth of projects already backed, Binance appears to be spreading its influence in the B2B scene as well.
With a branding palette of black and gold, Binance communicates a premium/luxury platform to its customers with a focus on professionalism. It's evident that Binance is an exchange that is more aimed at the experienced investor.
Coinbase
Fully regulated and licensed exchange, Coinbase has become a staple in the crypto community known for its easy-to-use trusted platform since its founding in 2012. The platform’s minimalistic design greatly lowers the barrier of entry to users and is a strategy being adopted by many other new apps. With high liquidity and a decent variety in currencies, Coinbase has and will remain a popular platform for all types of customers.
Coinbase has seen a surge in its userbase recently due to the spike in cryptocurrency popularity and bullish Bitcoin trends. Additionally, their learn-to-earn feature is a great opportunity for new and experienced users alike to gain some free cryptocurrencies whilst learning about the newest coins on the market. Users can learn about The Graph (GRT), Celo (CGLD), Compound (COMP) and more to earn a nice sum of up to $30 just for watching a few short videos – a great opportunity for anyone looking to start investing in crypto but does not want to put their money on the line. This programme benefits the coin founders as well by spreading awareness and exposing a large user base to the latest coins. Much like Binance, Coinbase also has its own incubation program called Ventures.
“At Coinbase, we’re committed to creating an open financial system for the world. We can’t do it alone, and we’re eagerly rooting for the brightest minds in the crypto ecosystem to build empowering products for everyone. We provide financing to promising early stage companies that have the teams and ideas that can move the space forward in a positive, meaningful way.”
Coinbase’s branding clearly displays modernity, simplicity and trust and stands as a well-established platform for any level of investor trying to get started with crypto.
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eToro
The chances are, you may have already heard of eToro – a trading platform that offers commission-free transactions and its social trading feature, giving users the ability to “copy-trade” popular and successful traders. Their adverts are everywhere! And for a good reason, too – their marketing strategy is extremely unique and stands out amongst others due to their USPs. Their branding is smart too, with the name literally meaning “bull” in Spanish and the green logo with horns (A colour associated with positive returns), eToro is portraying the “bullish” nature of the market (Rising prices) and the idea that customers can make money through their platform.
eToro aims to boil down and simplify trading to its most basic form so that even someone with zero market knowledge can make returns – an idea heavily focussed on in their video advertisements. By copying an experienced trader, the user does not have to spend time doing research looking into company fundamentals or performing qualitative and quantitative analysis, they can just press “copy”!
Tied with the fact that their trading is commission-free unlike many other platforms, eToro offers a truly unique service to its customers.
Kraken
Kraken is another popular platform that uses referral and educational tactics to gain new customers. Their mission statement of "accelerating the adoption of cryptocurrency so that you and the rest of the world can achieve financial freedom and inclusion" provides consumer appeal as customers feel that they are being offered an ethical value of some sort.
Their clean and colourful branding is eye-candy, to say the least, with the aim to make investing in cryptocurrencies more easy-going and attractive, as compared to the bland but more professional tones used by other platforms. It appears that Kraken’s branding is more aimed at the younger generations who are interested in learning and building their personal finance.
You can find a more extensive review of Kraken’s marketing strategy here.
Gemini
Gemini is an exciting new platform taking pages out of the successful exchanges to create a minimalistic and streamlined app. With their focus on user interface simplicity and "Cryptopedia" education platform, they are a great choice for newcomers.
Much like Kraken, Gemini brands cryptocurrencies as “not just technology, but a movement”. Indicating that their customers are a part of something larger than building wealth, but the bigger picture of challenging the financial system and returning power to the consumer. This resonates with the users who want to believe that they are making an impact.
The success of basic user interfaces is evident through the likes of Coinbase’s app, and Gemini realises this. Their super clean and minimal design makes the already complex process of investing more manageable and attractive.
Gemini Earn allows its users to earn up to 7.4% APY on their crypto held at Gemini. This is a nice incentive for customers trying to make a bang for their buck.
Gemini places heavy importance on security to its users, being the first cryptocurrency exchange being SOC 1 Type 2 compliant. Accounts are also secured with hardware security keys and insurance coverage - Trust is essential in this field to reassure customers that their money is safe.
Gemini has future plans this year to launch its credit card, with a reward of earning 3% back in bitcoin on spending. This is an exciting addition to their platform and could be paving the path for what future credit cards could look like in a more crypto-accepted world.
To conclude, here are the top 5 crypto marketing strategies for you to try in 2021:
Use referrals and product incentives
Use content marketing to educate and connect with your target audience
Create a strong and loyal brand community by actively engaging with your customers and involve them in your product development process
Create a distinct brand that resonates with your audience
Focus on providing the best value = product marketing