Ever wondered what Web-3 marketing meant and how your business/establishment could benefit from it?
It seems that it’s a term that’s been going around the marketing & business space – bringing with it more questions than answers and leaving many confused as to what it is, and how it can be applied to benefit their business. This article sheds light on what’s meant by Web-3.0 marketing, how it differs from Web-2.0, and what types of businesses are able to leverage it.
First, let’s clarify what Web-3.0 is (at a very simple level) and how it differs from Web-2.0. Fundamentally, Web3 refers to the blockchain and its unique characteristics (as shown below) which are in contrast to Web2.
The characteristics of Blockchain (Web-3) are:
- Decentralization (Web-2.0 is centralized, e.g. Facebook, Google, Amazon, etc.) – data is not held on a specific, controlled server but distributed across many different servers.
- No Intermediary (Web-2.0 has intermediary/s) – the transfer or store of value (whether that’s financial or non-financial assets) doesn’t need a central authority to manage and execute on that information/asset.
- Transparency (Web2 lacks transparency as it’s dependent on a central authority)
- Trustless – relying on code to ensure transactions go through and specific expectations/conditions are met (Web-2.0 requires trust in a centralized entity to complete the transaction)
These characteristics aren’t absolute and many blockchain-based projects can still be centrally managed (which we won’t delve into here), however, those characteristics are the essence of what Web3 is.
So what is Web 2.0 Marketing, and how does this differ from Web-3.0 Marketing?
Web 2.0 involves the use of centralized platforms to advertise (whether paid or organic) and ultimately generate conversions (leads/sales/app downloads, etc.). The following are examples:
- Social Platforms (Facebook/Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.)
- Email Marketing (MailChimp, Klaviyo, etc.)
- Web-Design/Landing Pages
- Google Ads
- Search Engine Optimization – SEO (ranking high on Google)
- SMS-based Marketing
- Community Management (Discord, Telegram, etc.)
These are the common ‘centralized’ platforms used today by businesses to build and grow their brand. So what’s the difference between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0? Well, the difference is in how these web2 platforms are used to market a service/product a business offers, and whether that product/service is built using web3 technology. For example, an NFT (non-fungible-token) project can promote its unique digital asset through Web-2-based platforms, such as using Discord/Telegram for community management/engagement; Social Platforms for exposure and community growth; Web-Design/Landing pages for conversions/data-capture; SEO for Google Ranking; and so on. The only decentralized (or web-3.0) aspect of this is how the product/service/asset is managed – whether it’s on a blockchain or not.
Now, if we were to discuss actual Web-3-based marketing strategies/initiatives we would delve into the areas of Social Tokens, Tokenomics, and DAO governance strategies, which are focused on user-incentivization and building value-driven ecosystems. An effective web3 strategy will have an incentivization model (or ecosystem) that’s in line with all of the primary stakeholders involved in enabling that ecosystem to exist and grow. More information on this topic will be discussed in an upcoming article.
To conclude, Web3 Marketing as it’s known in the mainstream usually refers to the use of Web2 methods/platforms to sell out a certain project – at Unreal Growth, we’ve established an effective method of implementing this strategy.
