DISCOVER THE BEST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO CONNECT AND CHAT ABOUT WEB3 AND AI
As a marketer, I have observed that the general public tends to discuss advanced technology topics like blockchain and AI predominantly on social media channels such as Reddit, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram.
Particularly impressive is the total of 2,8B visits on Reddit and Discord in March 2023 (see graph below), although some of my colleagues still consider them to be 'niche' platforms.
This raises the question: what makes these platforms so attractive for discussing these cutting-edge topics, and why do they tend to accumulate such a high volume of traffic in this regard?
Particularly impressive is the total of 2,8B visits on Reddit and Discord in March 2023 (see graph below), although some of my colleagues still consider them to be 'niche' platforms.
This raises the question: what makes these platforms so attractive for discussing these cutting-edge topics, and why do they tend to accumulate such a high volume of traffic in this regard?
Graph 1. March 2023 Reddit vs Discord, by similarweb
The first possible reason is anonymity. These channels provide users with a level of anonymity, which can encourage more candid and honest conversations. Users don't necessarily have to reveal their real names or identities, which makes them more comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions.
Screen 1: Discord Chat
Another reason is the sense of community. These channels often have a highly engaged and passionate user base, and users on these platforms are typically interested in specific topics. This creates a sense of community and can lead to more in-depth and informative discussions. Additionally, these channels are extremely popular among gamers, who already have futuristic mindsets and are highly interested in technology, and many of them are early adopters of cutting-edge tech like web3 and AI.
Screen 2: Reddit Feeds
Best Social Media Platforms for Organic Discussions on Web3 and AI Topics
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject, I reached out to my colleague Daria Volkova, a Brand Marketer and Communications Expert for Web3 products. We explored the best social media platforms for organic discussions on Web3 and AI topics, emphasized the importance of understanding each platform's features and target audience's behavior, highlighted the need to create a community environment around shared passion or purpose, and suggested considering decentralized social media platforms, ultimately concluding the importance of understanding platform features and target audience behavior for effective engagement.
According to Daria, LinkedIn is currently the best platform for organically covering a target audience, building a personal brand of a professional, and having detailed analytics for maintaining business pages or developing professional groups. Twitter is also effective for organic growth and developing a startup founder's personal brand due to the effective use of hashtags and the ability to interact with outstanding people from the blockchain and IT field.
‘On Twitter, you can meet Vitalik Buterin, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Sam Altman. You can easily tag a CEO of a famous crypto exchange or an account of a brand, and you will most likely get an answer to your question. ‘ says Daria.
Understanding Each Platform's Features and Target Audience's Behavior
Daria emphasized the importance for marketers and community managers to understand the platforms where their target audience is most active and engaged. This includes understanding each platform's features and the target audience's behavior. She highlighted projects that had a dedicated community manager for each social network, recognizing that Twitter, Discord, and Reddit can be challenging for the average user to navigate.
For example, on Twitter, marketers should avoid tagging someone at the beginning of a post because this will mean you are commenting on that account and not creating your original post. As a result, your post will only appear in the comments section and will not be visible on the profile page.
On Reddit, people don’t like posts that look like advertisements. You can get hate or total ignore from users if your content does not carry any meaningful value or you are trying to sell directly.
Discord is well suited to highlight the community's most active members, giving them certain roles and additional powers.
When asked about how marketers can effectively leverage social media platforms to engage with their target audience and share information about advanced technology topics, Daria suggested that marketers should determine what they want to achieve with their communication and what their community is for.
‘You need to dive deep into Web3: use DeFi products and digital assets, read news, attend events online/offline and in metaverse spaces, communicate with everyone who can give feedback on your product and potentially become an ambassador of your brand.’ says Daria.
‘At the same time, Chat-GPT's simple interface and clear user cases contributed to the hype around generative AI. So it seems people are just now opening their eyes to AI and discussing its possibilities in offices, coffee shops and bus stops. It highlights that if you want your technology product or service to become popular with a large number of people, then as a marketer, you need to make it clear and be able to convey its value in a sentence or two. ‘
Creating a Community Environment around Shared Passion or Purpose
Daria explained that social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram play a crucial role in building communities around advanced technology topics. In my opinion, she made a valid point that 'directly connecting with your audience does not necessarily transform them into a community. When brands celebrate their biggest fans and reciprocate the support with additional attention, utility, perks, and benefits, it's a one-way, one-to-many interaction. So if people don't interact with each other, it's not a community.
As a marketer, instead of placing the brand at the center of all activity and value creation, you should create an environment where the brand becomes a facilitator and connector around a shared passion or purpose.
‘Social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram have become great alternatives to Instagram and Facebook. Facebook and Instagram are not relevant for promoting Web3 projects because, on the one hand, they scare off technical specialists with a lot of advertising and the fact that they trade personal data. On the other hand, censorship in these social networks does not allow talking about cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects.’
‘Such blockchain projects as Uniswap, Aave, Celo, zkSync Era, and Polygon have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers on Twitter, Discord and Telegram. And the question is not only in quantity but also in activity and involvement. You've probably seen how projects sometimes have public battles on Twitter, and an active community helps companies get more attention than their competitors (more likes, replies, and shares)’ Daria comments.
Decentralized Social Media Platforms to Consider
Finally, Daria recommended that marketers should be aware of decentralized social media like Steemit, Mirror, Bluesky Social, Amino, CounterSocial and Mastodon. Also, she suggested looking at Steemit, Mirror and Hackernoon that focus on creating articles and long reads. While Bluesky Social and Mastodon could be your alternatives to Twitter. As more and more of these decentralized platforms emerge, it becomes increasingly clear that the web3 community is growing tired of the censorship and one-sided narratives that dominate traditional social media.
To gain a more comprehensive understanding of the subject, I reached out to my colleague Daria Volkova, a Brand Marketer and Communications Expert for Web3 products. We explored the best social media platforms for organic discussions on Web3 and AI topics, emphasized the importance of understanding each platform's features and target audience's behavior, highlighted the need to create a community environment around shared passion or purpose, and suggested considering decentralized social media platforms, ultimately concluding the importance of understanding platform features and target audience behavior for effective engagement.
According to Daria, LinkedIn is currently the best platform for organically covering a target audience, building a personal brand of a professional, and having detailed analytics for maintaining business pages or developing professional groups. Twitter is also effective for organic growth and developing a startup founder's personal brand due to the effective use of hashtags and the ability to interact with outstanding people from the blockchain and IT field.
‘On Twitter, you can meet Vitalik Buterin, Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, Sam Altman. You can easily tag a CEO of a famous crypto exchange or an account of a brand, and you will most likely get an answer to your question. ‘ says Daria.
Understanding Each Platform's Features and Target Audience's Behavior
Daria emphasized the importance for marketers and community managers to understand the platforms where their target audience is most active and engaged. This includes understanding each platform's features and the target audience's behavior. She highlighted projects that had a dedicated community manager for each social network, recognizing that Twitter, Discord, and Reddit can be challenging for the average user to navigate.
For example, on Twitter, marketers should avoid tagging someone at the beginning of a post because this will mean you are commenting on that account and not creating your original post. As a result, your post will only appear in the comments section and will not be visible on the profile page.
On Reddit, people don’t like posts that look like advertisements. You can get hate or total ignore from users if your content does not carry any meaningful value or you are trying to sell directly.
Discord is well suited to highlight the community's most active members, giving them certain roles and additional powers.
When asked about how marketers can effectively leverage social media platforms to engage with their target audience and share information about advanced technology topics, Daria suggested that marketers should determine what they want to achieve with their communication and what their community is for.
‘You need to dive deep into Web3: use DeFi products and digital assets, read news, attend events online/offline and in metaverse spaces, communicate with everyone who can give feedback on your product and potentially become an ambassador of your brand.’ says Daria.
‘At the same time, Chat-GPT's simple interface and clear user cases contributed to the hype around generative AI. So it seems people are just now opening their eyes to AI and discussing its possibilities in offices, coffee shops and bus stops. It highlights that if you want your technology product or service to become popular with a large number of people, then as a marketer, you need to make it clear and be able to convey its value in a sentence or two. ‘
Creating a Community Environment around Shared Passion or Purpose
Daria explained that social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram play a crucial role in building communities around advanced technology topics. In my opinion, she made a valid point that 'directly connecting with your audience does not necessarily transform them into a community. When brands celebrate their biggest fans and reciprocate the support with additional attention, utility, perks, and benefits, it's a one-way, one-to-many interaction. So if people don't interact with each other, it's not a community.
As a marketer, instead of placing the brand at the center of all activity and value creation, you should create an environment where the brand becomes a facilitator and connector around a shared passion or purpose.
‘Social media platforms like Reddit, Twitter, Discord, and Telegram have become great alternatives to Instagram and Facebook. Facebook and Instagram are not relevant for promoting Web3 projects because, on the one hand, they scare off technical specialists with a lot of advertising and the fact that they trade personal data. On the other hand, censorship in these social networks does not allow talking about cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects.’
‘Such blockchain projects as Uniswap, Aave, Celo, zkSync Era, and Polygon have hundreds of thousands or millions of followers on Twitter, Discord and Telegram. And the question is not only in quantity but also in activity and involvement. You've probably seen how projects sometimes have public battles on Twitter, and an active community helps companies get more attention than their competitors (more likes, replies, and shares)’ Daria comments.
Decentralized Social Media Platforms to Consider
Finally, Daria recommended that marketers should be aware of decentralized social media like Steemit, Mirror, Bluesky Social, Amino, CounterSocial and Mastodon. Also, she suggested looking at Steemit, Mirror and Hackernoon that focus on creating articles and long reads. While Bluesky Social and Mastodon could be your alternatives to Twitter. As more and more of these decentralized platforms emerge, it becomes increasingly clear that the web3 community is growing tired of the censorship and one-sided narratives that dominate traditional social media.
In conclusion, to really engage with your audience and share valuable info, it's important for marketers and community managers to get to grips with each platform's features and understand their target audience's behavior. That way, they can create the most effective content and connect with their followers in the most meaningful way possible.
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