One of the crypto sector’s many wonders is airdrops. For crypto users, airdrops represent a way to get ‘free’ tokens from different projects and to engage with the community. For digital currency marketing, airdrops can drive engagement, create more sales, and generate visibility for the project in question.
However, you’ll need to be careful when using airdrops as a marketing tool to avoid giving away tokens while not benefiting. Here are a few ways to make the most of airdrops:
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Time Them Correctly
There is a certain art to airdrops, and part of this is timing. If an airdrop comes out at the right time, it can secure maximum exposure for the brand in question. At the same time, there is no hard and fast rule regarding airdrops and when to release them.
On the one hand, you can release them on major days like Christmas and Bitcoin Pizza Day for maximum exposure. BONK was famously released as an airdrop in Christmas 2022 and is now one of the biggest tokens. The risk with this is that many other projects might have airdrops simultaneously, and you risk being overshadowed. Another option would be to release them as part of promotional activities (we will expand on this in the next point), and this can be a way to drive engagement.
Finally, you can leverage the element of surprise and release your airdrop without warning on a random day. This could either make waves due to the unexpectedness or could fall flat. Ultimately, each airdrop release method has its pros and cons.
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Link Them With Your Digital Currency Marketing
Digital currency marketing involves several activities, and airdrops should be one of them. To get the most out of your airdrops, ensure they are tied to other marketing activities. Say you’re offering access to a new gaming platform or new merchandise. Offer a discount to airdrop holders! This will incentivize people to look out for the airdrop. But more than this, it reinforces in people’s minds that the airdrop is part of a wider effort to push a new token.
Random airdrops happen all the time in the crypto sector, and the last thing you want is for people to take free tokens and forget all about your token rollout.
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Publicize Them
If airdrops are part of your digital currency marketing efforts, you must publicize them as much as possible. If the airdrops will be pre-announced, ensure they are prominently listed in your roadmap and the days and weeks leading up to it. This includes announcing the date on social media and the requirements to benefit from the airdrop.
A countdown can drum up excitement around the airdrop and the overall project. Once it is completed, publicly congratulate those who won and maybe announce how much was given out in total. If it is a surprise airdrop, announce it after it has happened and try to engage heavily with the community around that time. Ensure you link back to your main project within all of these announcements.
For example, you could say, “Sign up for our 1 billion token airdrops launching March 3rd, and also sign up for our ongoing presale!”. At every point, remind your customers that you’re not holding an airdrop for its sake but have more things coming up.
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Make Them Part of a Contest
Businesses have used contests to drum up publicity for years, and airdrops are one way to do this. Airdrops can involve giving tokens away for free or having users participate in a contest. Attaching conditions to the airdrop can guarantee that the tokens go to those passionate about your project, not those who signed up.
If you can, attach airdrop benefits to participation in the project. For example, presale participants could be prioritized for airdrops, or people might have to follow your project online or purchase before being considered. A classic contest setup would be to have them engage with or boost a social media post (possibly a marketing one) to be eligible. This helps to enhance your digital currency marketing efforts and gives you maximum gain from your airdrops.
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Create Future Action
Perhaps the worst-case scenario for running an airdrop is for people to collect the token and take no action before or after. In the last point, we covered the importance of rewarding those who’ve taken action prior to the airdrop, but what about after? One way to get the most out of airdrops for your digital currency marketing is to inspire future action from participants.
For example, have them sign up for your newsletter or follow you on social media to hear about future airdrops. This will also allow them to hear about other announcements and make them likelier to patronize you.
Another idea would be to offer presale winners priority for future projects. You could airdrop a code and tokens that let them buy future products at a discount. This can help drive sales and encourage customer loyalty. Finally, push winners to engage with the project as much as possible by joining your private communities.
Conclusion
Airdrops are exciting for the company to run as they are for the consumers who benefit from them. From a digital currency marketing standpoint, there is a lot to be gained from running an airdrop, but it has to be done with intention.
First, it must be held at the right time to maximize benefits. It also must tie back into current marketing efforts. Rewards must activate participants and encourage them to engage more with the project afterward. If this can be done, the project could gain even more than it gives.
