Emerging Technologies in 2024: How They Will Shape Digital Marketing

Wondering what the future holds for the digital marketing space? How will AI revolutionize our interactions, and what’s the secret behind Blockchain’s decentralized magic? Step into the future with our latest blog! 🚀 We’re diving deep into the tech trends that will shape the digital landscape in 2024. Exploring the brilliance of AI to the decentralized power of Blockchain, and the immersive experiences of AR, VR, Voice Search, and IoT – this is your guide to what’s next. Let’s navigate the tech frontier together!

The Rise of Emerging Technologies

In the evolving landscape of digital marketing, the rise of emerging technologies is at the forefront of transformative possibilities.  As we step into 2024, understanding these innovations becomes paramount for businesses who want not just to survive but to thrive.

The current digital landscape is witnessing a revolution, with technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Augmented Reality, and the Internet of Things reshaping the way we connect, communicate, and market. This introduction sets the stage for an exploration into the dynamic trends that are propelling us into the future of digital marketing. Buckle up as we travel into the heart of innovation, where staying updated isn’t just a choice – it’s a necessity.

The Future of AI in Marketing

As we step into 2024, these AI trends are poised to redefine how marketers connect with their audience and shape the future of marketing innovation.

  1.  Conversational AI and Advanced Chatbots
  • Elevate customer engagement: With natural language processing, Conversational AI creates more meaningful and dynamic interactions. It understands context, making conversations with your brand more intuitive and valuable.
  • Enhance user experience: Advanced chatbots go beyond scripted responses. They learn from user interactions, providing more personalized and helpful responses over time.

 

  1. Predictive Analytics 2.0
  • More accurate predictions: AI algorithms, powered by machine learning, continually refine their predictive capabilities. Expect even more accurate forecasts, helping marketers anticipate trends and consumer behavior with unprecedented precision.
  • Actionable insights: Beyond prediction, AI-driven analytics will offer actionable insights, guiding marketers on specific strategies to implement based on the data.

 

  1. Hyper-Personalization
  • Deep understanding of preferences: AI algorithms analyze vast amounts of data to understand individual preferences. This level of insight enables hyper-personalization, allowing marketers to tailor their messaging and offerings to each segment of their audience.
  • Crafting tailored content: Marketing efforts will focus on creating content that resonates on a personal level with each customer, fostering stronger connections and driving engagement.

 

  1. AI-Generated Content
  • End-to-end content creation: AI is set to take a more significant role in generating creative content, from writing compelling copy to designing visual elements. This streamlines the content creation process, allowing marketers to produce high-quality materials more efficiently.
  • Saving time and resources: By automating certain aspects of content creation, businesses can allocate resources more effectively, freeing up time for strategy and higher-level creative tasks.

 

  1. Augmented Reality (AR) in Marketing
  • Immersive brand experiences: Combining AI and AR opens the door to highly immersive brand experiences. Marketers can create campaigns that blend the virtual and physical worlds, offering consumers interactive and memorable interactions.
  • Bridging virtual and physical: AR enhances the way consumers interact with products and brands, providing a bridge between the online and offline realms.

Blockchain’s Impact: Elevating Security and Transparency

As we navigate the digital landscape, blockchain emerges as a game-changer, introducing a new era of security, transparency, and trust in digital marketing practices.

  1. Immutable Security Infrastructure
  • Tamper-proof data: Blockchain’s decentralized and cryptographic nature ensures the security of marketing data. Once data is added to the blockchain, it becomes immutable, reducing the risk of tampering or unauthorized alterations.
  • Enhanced trust: Marketers can build trust with their audience by ensuring the integrity and authenticity of the information they share, from product details to customer testimonials.

 

  1. Smart Contracts in Advertising
  • Transparent transactions: Smart contracts, powered by blockchain, automate and execute agreements when predefined conditions are met. In advertising, this translates to transparent and verifiable transactions, reducing the risk of ad fraud.
  • Efficient collaboration: Smart contracts streamline collaboration between advertisers and publishers, ensuring that all parties fulfill their commitments transparently and fairly.

 

  1. Data Privacy Reinforcement
  • User-controlled data: Blockchain enables users to have more control over their personal data. With decentralized identity solutions, individuals can selectively share information with marketers, enhancing privacy and consent.
  • Building consumer trust: By prioritizing data privacy, marketers can build trust with their audience, fostering a positive brand image and creating a more respectful and ethical digital ecosystem.

 

  1. Fraud Prevention Mechanisms
  • Combatting ad fraud: Blockchain’s decentralized ledger helps combat ad fraud by providing a transparent and traceable record of transactions. This makes it more challenging for malicious actors to manipulate ad metrics or engage in fraudulent activities.
  • Validating authenticity: Blockchain verifies the authenticity of digital assets, ensuring that marketers can confidently invest in genuine online spaces and experiences.

Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR): Creating Immersive Experiences

AR and VR technologies are not just trends; they are powerful tools transforming marketing into a dynamic, interactive, and unforgettable journey.

  1. Product Visualization Revolution
  • Try-before-you-buy experiences: AR is transforming how consumers interact with products. Virtual try-ons and product visualizations allow customers to experience products in a virtual space before making a purchase, enhancing their confidence and reducing returns.
  • Interactive advertising: AR ads enable users to engage with brands in a more interactive and memorable way. From trying on virtual clothing to visualizing furniture in their homes, consumers actively participate in the brand experience.

 

  1. Virtual Showrooms and Experiential Marketing
  • Bringing the showroom to the consumer: VR provides the opportunity to create virtual showrooms, allowing customers to explore products in a virtual space. This is particularly impactful in industries like real estate, automotive, and travel.
  • Immersive brand experiences: Brands can leverage VR to transport consumers to different environments, whether it’s a virtual vacation destination, a behind-the-scenes look at product manufacturing, or an interactive tour of a historical location.

 

  1. Interactive Advertising Campaigns
  • Engaging storytelling: AR/VR offers new dimensions to storytelling in advertising. Brands can create interactive and immersive narratives that captivate audiences, fostering a deeper connection between the consumer and the brand.
  • Gamification of marketing: Incorporating gamification elements in advertising through AR/VR enhances user engagement. Interactive games and experiences leave a lasting impression and encourage sharing on social media platforms.

Voice Search and Conversational Marketing: The Language of the Future

In the ever-changing landscape of search and consumer interaction, voice is the new frontier. Embracing the nuances of voice search and conversational marketing can set businesses apart in the auditory realm of the digital space.

  1. The Rise of Voice Search and SEO Strategies
  • Changing search patterns: With the proliferation of voice-enabled devices, users are shifting from typed queries to spoken ones. This trend is reshaping SEO strategies, emphasizing the importance of long-tail keywords, natural language, and conversational content.
  • Localized and personalized results: Voice search often delivers localized and personalized results, impacting how businesses optimize for local SEO. Tailoring content to match conversational queries becomes paramount for businesses targeting voice search users.

 

  1. Conversational Marketing Through Voice-Enabled Devices
  • Engaging with your audience: Voice-enabled devices open up new channels for conversational marketing. Brands can create interactive experiences, answer queries, and provide personalized recommendations through voice-activated interactions.
  • Building brand personality: Voice interactions allow businesses to infuse their brand with personality. Whether it’s a helpful assistant or a witty conversationalist, the tone and style of voice interactions contribute to brand identity and customer experience.

 

  1. Adapting Content for Voice-First Experiences
  • Conversational content creation: Businesses need to adapt their content to align with the natural flow of spoken language. Crafting content that answers common questions and addresses user intent becomes crucial for voice search optimization.
  • Optimizing for featured snippets: Voice search often pulls information from featured snippets. Optimizing content to appear in these rich snippets enhances the chances of being the chosen result for voice queries.

The Internet of Things (IoT) in Marketing: Connecting Beyond Boundaries

  1. Smart devices, intelligent insights:
  • IoT devices continuously gather diverse sets of data, offering marketers unprecedented access to real-time consumer behavior.
  • From wearables tracking health metrics to smart refrigerators noting consumption patterns, every interaction becomes valuable data.

 

  1. Tailored experiences:
  • Hyper-personalization thrives as marketers leverage IoT data to understand individual preferences and craft bespoke campaigns.
  • Customized recommendations based on real-time insights ensure marketing messages resonate with each consumer.

 

  1. Seamless interactions:
  • IoT seamlessly connects devices, transforming customer experiences. For example, a smart home system coordinates with security cameras and thermostats for a cohesive living experience.
  • Connected cars provide in-vehicle entertainment and navigation, creating a holistic brand engagement.

 

  1. Context-aware content:
  • Marketers utilize real-time context from IoT devices to deliver precisely timed and relevant content.
  • Proximity-based marketing triggers promotional messages when customers are near physical stores, driving spontaneous engagement.

 

  1. Beyond traditional boundaries:
  • Interactive product packaging with embedded sensors opens innovative avenues for brand-consumer interaction.
  • IoT-driven campaigns break conventional molds, fostering creativity and transforming everyday objects into marketing touchpoints.

Challenges and Considerations in Adopting Emerging Technologies

As marketers embrace the wave of emerging technologies, they must confront several challenges and considerations integral to a successful integration.

  1. Data Privacy Dilemmas

Balancing personalization and privacy: The wealth of data collected through these technologies raises concerns about privacy infringement and so marketers must strike a delicate balance, ensuring personalization while respecting user privacy to build and maintain trust.

 

  1. Integration Complexities

Harmonizing the tech orchestra: Integrating diverse technologies poses challenges in terms of seamless collaboration and data synchronization. The need for interconnected systems requires robust strategies to avoid silos and optimize the synergy between different platforms.

 

  1. Cybersecurity Imperatives

Guardians of digital fortresses: With the increased reliance on interconnected technologies, the vulnerability to cyber threats amplifies. Robust cybersecurity measures are imperative to safeguard consumer data and maintain the integrity of marketing operations.

 

  1. Skillset Evolution

Upskilling for the future: Marketers need to upskill to keep pace with the rapidly evolving tech landscape. Training teams in AI, blockchain, and other emerging technologies ensures proficiency and maximizes the potential of these tools.

 

  1. Consumer Education

Bridging the knowledge gap: Educating consumers about the benefits and functionalities of these technologies is crucial and transparency in communication helps manage expectations and fosters a positive perception of tech-driven marketing initiatives.

By addressing these challenges head-on and proactively considering these factors, marketers can navigate the evolving terrain of emerging technologies more effectively.

Preparing for the Future of Emerging Technologies

  1. Embrace a Culture of Adaptability

Foster a culture of continuous learning: Encourage teams to stay abreast of emerging trends through workshops, courses, and industry events. A culture that values adaptability positions businesses to swiftly embrace and integrate new technologies as they evolve.

 

  1. Invest in Upskilling Initiatives

Equip your team for the future: Prioritize ongoing training programs to enhance the skill sets of your marketing teams. Investing in the development of competencies in AI, blockchain, and other emerging technologies fortifies your workforce for the challenges ahead.

 

  1. Stay Informed About Tech Trends

Knowledge is power: Regularly assess emerging technologies relevant to your industry and audience. Staying informed allows businesses to anticipate trends, evaluate potential applications, and make informed decisions about integration.

 

  1. Forge Strategic Partnerships

Collaborate for innovation: Explore partnerships with tech-savvy organizations to leverage their expertise. Collaborative efforts can accelerate the integration process and provide access to cutting-edge solutions.

 

  1. Prioritize Flexibility in Strategies

Be agile in approach: Design marketing strategies with built-in flexibility to accommodate evolving technologies. Agile strategies enable quick adjustments, ensuring businesses can harness the benefits of emerging technologies without major disruptions.

 

By proactively preparing for the future, businesses can position themselves as pioneers in the dynamic landscape of emerging technologies, driving innovation and staying ahead of the curve.

Navigating the Future of Marketing

As we stand at the crossroads of technology and marketing, the journey forward is paved with innovation, challenges, and boundless opportunities. The infusion of AI, blockchain, AR/VR, voice search, IoT, and other emerging technologies is reshaping the very fabric of digital marketing. So don’t forget to:

Embrace Change, Propel Growth: In the face of this transformative era, businesses must not only adapt but embrace change as a catalyst for growth. The dynamic landscape calls for a strategic approach, blending tradition with innovation to create unparalleled marketing experiences.

Embrace Continuous Learning: The quest for knowledge becomes the engine of progress. Continuous learning, upskilling, and staying attuned to technological shifts are the cornerstones of a future-ready marketing ecosystem.

Balance Innovation with Responsibility: As we step into this new frontier, it’s imperative to balance innovation with responsibility. Addressing data privacy concerns, navigating integration complexities, and upholding ethical standards are essential for sustainable growth.

Engage In a Collaborative Future: Collaboration emerges as a beacon guiding us forward. Strategic partnerships, both within and outside industries, will fuel innovation and redefine what’s possible in the marketing landscape.

Focus on Agility: Lastly, agility stands as the linchpin of success. Agile strategies empower businesses to pivot swiftly, adapting to the ever-evolving tech landscape and positioning themselves as leaders in the digital realm.

In this exciting era of possibilities, the future of marketing belongs to those who dare to innovate, learn relentlessly, and navigate the consistently expanding landscape of emerging technologies. Where every challenge becomes an opportunity, every innovation propels us into a brighter, more connected future!

Excited about the future of digital marketing? Contact us to kickstart your journey into the tech landscape of 2024 and elevate your brand strategy!

by Lauren Hansen

GoViral Case Study: Setting Up an NFT Campaign

As we venture deeper into the Web3 era, many marketers wonder what role NFTs play in their work, and how they can get more hands-on with this new type of digital asset. At GoViral Blockchain we recently tackled these questions for a client, artist Jennifer Strings.

We’re committed to learning from experience, and we invite you to learn along with us.

First things first: Are you still fuzzy on what NFTs are and how they can be useful for marketers? Start with our essential guide, Intro to NFTs for Marketing.

Got the basics down? Great. Let’s go over the process of minting NFTs and listing them for sale.

How to Mint NFTs on OpenSea

Our client, artist Jennifer Strings, created a new collection of stop-motion animations during the COVID-19 pandemic. She wanted to share them with the world as NFTs, so GoViral got to work on the first step of making NFTs available: minting them.

Minting an NFT is another way to say creating an NFT. In simplified terms, minting means converting a digital file (in this case, a stop-motion video) into a digital asset to be stored on blockchain.

Because it is stored in a decentralized database or distributed ledger, the newly minted NFT cannot be edited, modified, or deleted.

OpenSea, which operates the largest NFT marketplace, is the gold standard NFT platform. See the overview below for the steps involved in minting NFTs on OpenSea.

1. Set up a crypto wallet and connect it to OpenSea

In order to mint NFTs on OpenSea, you will need cryptocurrency stored in a crypto wallet.

OpenSea accepts a range of cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum being the most popular. If you don’t already own Ethereum or another accepted currency, get started by buying cryptocurrency on an exchange such as Coinbase or Binance. These exchanges accept “fiat currency” (traditional currency like US Dollars or euros) in exchange for cryptocurrency.

How much do you need to get started? The number can vary based on your goals, your budget, and the ever-changing gas fees. A good range to have in mind is the equivalent of $100-$300 USD.

After purchasing cryptocurrency, choose a crypto wallet for storage. We recommend using MetaMask, the most popular wallet.

2. Create an OpenSea collection

After you’ve connected your crypto wallet to OpenSea, follow the steps below to create a collection:

A. Click the menu icon in the top right corner of the OpenSea homepage.

B. Select “My Collections” from the dropdown menu.

C. Click “Create a collection.”

D. Fill out the form with your collection’s name, description, and other relevant information, including categories and tags to help potential buyers find your work.

E. Choose a Logo Image, Featured Image, and Banner Image for your collection.

F. Choose whether to use your own contract or use the “Lazy Minting” method. If this is your first time minting NFTs, we recommend using Lazy Minting. The benefits include not paying any gas fees until someone buys your work.

G. Click on “Create” to finalize the creation of your collection.

3. Upload your work

You’re in the home stretch! Now it’s time to decide which of your assets you’d like to make available as an NFT in your collection.

Visit your new collection page and click “Add item” to mint and add an NFT.

OpenSea accepts the following file types for the creation of NFTs: JPG, PNG, GIF, SVG, MP4, WEBM, MP3, WAV, OGG, GLB, and GLTF.

How to List NFTs for Sale on OpenSea

Once you’ve uploaded your work to your OpenSea collection, you can list each item for sale. Simply click on the Profile icon on OpenSea and select the NFT you’d like to list from your wallet.

When listing an NFT for sale, you can choose Fixed Price or Auction. There are pros and cons to each.

In general Fixed Price is a good choice for those who are new to OpenSea, don’t want to negotiate on price, and have limited time to monitor the sale.

Auctions can be unpredictable and require more monitoring. Consider choosing Auction if your top priority is generating excitement and having the chance to sell for greater than a chosen list price.

Tips for Campaign Success

Congratulations! If you’ve followed the steps above, you’ve entered the new and exciting world of NFTs. A few more important tips from GoViral to ensure campaign success:

Interested in starting your own NFT campaign? Tell us about your idea and we’ll be in touch.

by admin

Building a Digital Trust Ecosystem with Blockchain

Although we are connected through the digital world now more than ever, the term digital trust isn’t new. Digital trust refers to online security and data protection, usually in terms of how companies are collecting and using our personal data.

Customers are increasingly more aware and more interested in privacy policies and how their data is being used on the Internet. We all want to avoid having our personal data stolen or used in a way that we haven’t consented to. The number of incidents where data is mishandled is alarming, and this fosters mistrust among customers, which isn’t good for business.

It’s important to build digital trust within your company and assure customers that their data is safe and secure. In this article, you’ll learn more about what digital trust and a Digital Trust Ecosystem (DTE) is. We will also give you some examples of companies implementing digital trust at its core, and how blockchain technology fits into all of this.

What Is Digital Trust?

Digital trust is the “ability of an organization to inspire confidence within their digital ecosystem about their intent and capability to deliver the promised services.” Your business needs to be trusted by customers in order to succeed in the long run. Without trust, customers will run to another company with more secure offerings.

One example of how digital trust is implemented can be seen in Subex, a company devoted to digital trust that provides solutions to the world’s top 50 telephone companies. As you can see in their model, digital trust is a multi-layer matrix that works across various processes and systems. Digital trust looks different depending on the industry and technology used.

What About a Digital Trust Ecosystem (DTE)?

The technology research company Gartner defines a digital ecosystem as “an interdependent group of actors (enterprises, people, things) sharing standardized digital platforms to achieve a mutually beneficial purpose.” These various entities that are working together are independent, yet collaborating together through digital platforms and solutions. 

A Digital Trust Ecosystem (DTE) uses standardized digital solutions that are working together within a trusted network. You can think of it as an intricate web, connecting various companies, people and organizations.

PharmaLedger: A Case Example of Implementing a Digital Trust Ecosystem (DTE)

One of our clients, the PharmaLedger Association (PLA), has built a DTE in healthcare to investigate, develop, and deploy blockchain-enabled solutions. Their philosophy is built on trust, where network participants are encouraged to collaborate and push innovation forward. The DTE is the external framework through which PLA operates.

PLA’s DTE is made up of regulatory authorities, healthcare providers, services providers, distributors and wholesalers, research and academia, insurers and NGO Payers, Biopharma manufacturers, and most importantly, patients.

What does blockchain have to do with a Digital Trust Ecosystem (DTE)?

Some of the key features of blockchain technology are the security provided, the immutability of data (everything stored cannot be changed or tampered with), and the traceability of data. Adding these and many other features of blockchain solutions to your company’s network creates the trust that customers need to do business with you.

Watch the short PharmaLedger Project explainer below to learn more about blockchain technology.

Tell Us About Your Blockchain Project

Are you interested in creating trust in your business with the use of blockchain solutions? If so, our specialized GoViral Blockchain Team can help. We are experts when it comes to inbound marketing, community management, and creating funnels for online sales – but we especially know how to write and create content around blockchain that gets others talking. Tell us about your blockchain idea.

by Karolina Kucerova

Web3: What Is It and Why Should You Care?

You may or may not have heard the terms Web1, Web2 or Web3. Don’t worry if you haven’t. With so much technological change underway, it’s hard to keep up. In this article, we will cover the basic history of the World Wide Web and how Web3 will affect how marketers do business.

What is Web3?

Web3, or Web 3.0, is the third generation of the World Wide Web that is built, operated and owned by its users. New technologies are used to make a decentralized infrastructure of the internet, all while protecting personal privacy. Our GoViral Managing Director also talked a little about Web3 in the Takeaways from a Blockchain Convention blog. But before we dive deeper into Web3, here’s a little background information about how we got here.

Web1: 2001 to 2004

Web1 was the first iteration of the internet where you could view “read-only” content on static pages. Most of the users were consumers who didn’t produce any of the content. In this era the internet was decentralized, and there weren’t many protocols to govern what was posted.

Web2: 2004 to Today

In the Web2 era, the internet became a platform where you could create content, publish to forums, post on social media, create blogs, or buy and sell in marketplaces. This is the “read-write” second iteration of the net, where we currently stand today. Websites and social channels are centralized and governed by a few large tech companies. 

Large companies use the internet to market to target audiences by collecting data from individuals. In a few short years, our personal data has become a valuable commodity and a debatable topic in terms of privacy concerns.

Web3: Progressing Toward the Future

In 2014, co-founder of the cryptocurrency Ethereum Gavin Wood was the first to term Web3 as a “decentralized online ecosystem based on blockchain.” Web3 uses blockchain and decentralized technologies to create a more democratic and fair online environment. The idea is that users would own the material they post and create, and even get compensated for it. The use of personal data would be transparent, both in how it is used and by whom.

Web3 would be the “read-write-own” internet where large tech companies don’t own pools of data in centralized points. Instead, data would be stored across multiple servers and not owned by one entity or group.

Gavin Wood also founded the Web3 Foundation, which is building the blockchain infrastructure of this next era. The Web3 Foundation believes in an internet where:

  • Users own their own data, not corporations
  • Global digital transactions are secure
  • Online exchanges of information and value are decentralized

There are many other companies that are also working on similar projects to make Web3 a reality.

Why should you care about Web3?

We all get unwanted ads online. With Web3 and increased personal privacy regulations, marketers will have more difficulty accessing third-party data that is collected to run targeted campaigns. Marketers will have to find new ways to get customers to grant access to their personal data.

Web3 is still developing, but it’s good to stay informed and ahead to understand how these changes can affect your business. Here are some marketing tips that will help you grow your brand and customer loyalty in the next era of the internet:

  • Community and Relationship Building – this might seem obvious, but brands will have to genuinely build trust with their customers in order to access them and their data and to stay connected.
  • Better Products and Service Quality – over baseless ads and promises. Brands and businesses will have to live up to their promises to gain customer trust.
  • Non-Fungible Token (NFT) Limited-Items – brands have already been starting to play around with using NFTs to reach their customers, like Nike selling 600 NFT sneakers. You can read more in our Intro to NFTs for Marketing article to find out how you can apply this to your business.

  • New Loyalty Reward Systems – we all love loyalty reward systems and customers will want to be rewarded for sharing their personal information with other businesses. Digital tokens or other forms of reward systems will appeal to customers in the new Web3 era.

The Future of Web3: Is it Certain?

As we said before, Web3 is still in progress and there isn’t a complete Web3 infrastructure created as of yet. Some even are speculating that it’s a fad that won’t be developed, and questions of sustainability and scalability are at play.

What is certain is that as Web3 continues to develop, it’s best to stay informed and to prepare yourself for the possible changes in your marketing strategy. Need some help growing your blockchain business? Make sure to contact us below and we will be sure to reply!

by Karolina Kucerova

Intro to NFTs for Marketing

What’s the deal with NFTs? You may have heard “non-fungible tokens” defined as digital artwork, but the applications of NFTs are so much greater. Here we explain what NFTs are, and how you can include them in your marketing strategy.

What is an NFT?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with fungi. Non-fungible means the token is unique and can’t be replaced or duplicated. 

And what’s a token? A token is a cryptographic asset that lives on the blockchain and acts as a certificate of ownership.

In short, an NFT is a unique certificate of ownership. 

NFTs are not synonymous with digital art. An NFT can represent art, either digital or physical, but it can also represent music, images, or clothing. Almost anything can be tokenized.

Why should I care about NFTs?

The movement from Web2 to Web3 promises to empower individuals by giving them ownership over their content and data. This includes decentralizing control—from a few large companies to individuals—through technology such as blockchain.

NFTs, which use blockchain for ownership verification, have become a symbol of the greater transition to Web3. An enthusiastic market for NFTs exists, waiting for brands to embrace decentralization and the shift in ownership from the few to the many.

Reasons to Use NFTs for Marketing Purposes

First things first, NFTs are relatively new, and the NFT market can be volatile. Think carefully before you use NFTs for marketing, and keep in mind there isn’t a long history to draw on to define best practices. That said, let’s take a look at how you can use NFTs for marketing to build your brand awareness, increase customer loyalty, and create new sources of income.

1. Increase Brand Awareness

You can use NFTs to build awareness around your brand. Awareness can be difficult to measure, but it’s essential to your success. If you create and sell NFTs in conjunction with a new product or service, you can gain attention while also communicating your brand’s values.

More and more, customers care about your values, and investing time and energy in NFTs can show that you’re committed to decentralization and individual ownership of content and data. In short, that you believe in the democratization of the internet.

Norwegian Cruise Line recently minted six NFTs to mark the launch of a new class of cruise ships. The initiative created buzz and attention for the brand, and communicated Norwegian’s commitment to freedom, flexibility, and cutting-edge technology.

2. Convert Customers Into Evangelists for Your Brand

When you’ve engaged a lead enough to become your customer, it’s time to delight them. One way to do this: create NFTs out of the building blocks of your brand. For example, you can mint a series of unique versions of your logo, or the original hand-drawn concept for your brand’s visual identity.

Think of this as pulling back the curtain for your loyal customers to more deeply connect with your brand. Giving them the opportunity to own a piece of your creation story will demonstrate your openness and transparency.

3. Raise Money by Monetizing Exclusive Content and Experiences

Once you have a group of loyal customers who evangelize your brand, consider using NFTs to monetize exclusive content. Evangelists may be willing to pay for videos, how-to articles, or other content they wouldn’t otherwise have access to.

Exclusive content can make your evangelists feel appreciated. You could set up an NFT that unlocks this content, much like a one-time charge for premium membership. You can also hold in-person events in which ownership of an NFT acts as a ticket for admission.

Take Anheuser-Busch’s recent event, NFT Beerfest, which gave Budweiser NFT owners a chance to tour their flagship brewery, participate in giveaways, and enjoy live performances.

Interested in using NFTs for marketing but not sure how to get started? Share your ideas with our GoViral Blockchain team, and we’ll be in touch!

by admin

Takeaways from a Blockchain Convention

Our Managing Director Belinda Filippelli recently attended the European Blockchain Convention (EBC) in Barcelona. As Europe’s premier blockchain event, EBC brought together more than 1,500 attendees from around the world to discuss the current state of blockchain and its promise for the future.

Keep reading for a Q&A with Belinda on her impressions of the event, thoughts on marketing for blockchain, and key takeaways for the GoViral Blockchain team.

Q: What was your overall feeling after attending EBC?

A: What was interesting to me about going to the European Blockchain Convention was that a lot of the excitement and passion around the event was very similar to what I experienced when I started working in the digital world in 1999. I was working in Switzerland for a nonprofit association for languages, localization and globalization. And during that time people were saying “Wow so if I have a website in another language then I can sell in different countries” and everybody was really excited about all of the opportunities that was going to bring. 

But also during that time there wasn’t a lot of regulation. This industry was really young. A lot of the talk was very idealized, but you could see that it was going to take a while for the rest of the world to catch up because technology runs so much faster. 

And now 25 years later, sitting in an event about blockchain and Web3 had the same kind of feeling. It was exciting once again to see this is an internet revolution that’s coming. But it’s going to be a very crowded marketplace, and it’s going to take a while before industries and legislation come together to make solutions more seamless for the user.

So my overall feeling was excitement. People are working on solutions for the future but my overall impression is that we’re still very far behind. The industry is still very immature.

Q: In terms of end users, what do you expect to come first? What would end users potentially notice first in the future?

A: One of the things that was really interesting was that one of the speakers, Benjamin Bilski from Nagax, showed statistics that in 1998 there were 200 million people who were using the internet and now in 2022 there are 200 million people who are using blockchain. So the idea is that we’re basically at the same place with Web3 as we were with the internet in 1998.

If you put yourself back in that place, what were people doing internet-wise? In 1998 there were 200 million users but people didn’t have it in their homes. They didn’t have it in their hands. They didn’t necessarily need it to work or so on. But it was something that was out there being used. And some people were saying “oh it’s just a trend, you know, it’s nothing.”

And then by 2006 smartphones were really starting to penetrate the market. So if you look at those eight years, you can see that we went from nobody really knowing what the internet was to people having the internet in their homes, starting to have to use it for their jobs, to actually having smartphones and internet in their hands at all times. And I think we’re looking at the same thing with blockchain. 

What exactly will enter the market I can’t say for sure, but I know specifically that with GoViral we’re working in the healthcare industry with the first industry backed movement to implement blockchain, the PharmaLedger project. You can see why they have the ability to do this because already these companies have implemented or taken on the technology they need to move to the blockchain. And that’s going to be handed to the user through different use cases, like eLeaflets that help you to see all the information about your medication. 

So what I see for end users is that it’s going to come from big providers, probably in the supply chain space. Definitely blockchain is not going to infiltrate the US by people getting on OpenSea and doing NFTs or trading cryptocurrency. That’s not going to be the mass way. It’s going to be just like in 1998 when people were on the internet to develop and create things, and then it started to come to users through their telephone providers, through their home TV providers and so on. That’s how I believe it’s gonna come.

Q: You’ve mentioned Web3 a few times. What does Web3 mean?

A: Basically Web1 was the first iteration of the internet where you could only read it. It was information that was up there for us to read. 

Web2 is what all of us know now. It’s what GoViral is built on. In Web2 you can publish and you can create: blogging, people being able to make off-the-shelf websites, social media. We suddenly had all this power to say “oh I have a voice now within the internet. I can talk back to my company, I can complain about a situation.” And that was awesome. 

That’s what I built GoViral on 11 years ago was empowering users and customers and teaching companies that they now needed to listen. And that meant a lot to me. But over a decade of me running this company, people are feeling less and less empowered by this voice they have on the internet because they have no control over their data, they have no control over where their data is sold and they have no governance within these platforms. So Web3 is going to be a shift like blockchain to decentralized content, where I as the publisher own my material, it’s transparent how my data is being used, and I can take part in governance.

One of the projects at EBC I particularly found interesting was Distrikt. I actually learned about them first in Dubai at the blockchain summit in October 2021. Distrikt is the first ever community-owned professional social network completely on the blockchain. So it’s definitely something that people can try right now. Right now they have 20,000 registered users. I just love the idea behind it. It’s a great way to show what I was talking about before, which is the idea that with Web2 users had a voice, but now they don’t feel so empowered and Web3 is going to give that empowerment again with ownership, transparency, and governance.

Q: From the marketing side, for Web3 and blockchain-enabled projects, it seems like one of the challenges would be to communicate what you were just talking about: the problems that this technology solves. What other challenges do you see in marketing for blockchain?

A: One of the questions on the marketing side is that there are so many barriers to people adopting new technology because they have so many years of mistrust. And there needs to be a real shift in the idea of what it means for our data, our digital data, to be centralized or decentralized. We also have to be able to explain in a simple way the importance of the shift from centralized to decentralized. 

But there are still going to be barriers. The most important thing is to show people how the technology is going to make their life better. And that’s not going to happen through a marketer like me, but through an industry coming and creating a solution.

I’m also working in pharma, and there’s a big mistrust of pharma. So it will be interesting to see how people accept this kind of information. But again, it’s technology that’s being offered to users that is not owned by someone, it’s not owned by these companies in pharma, they can’t use the data in any way. So I feel excited about it, but we’ll have to deal with a lot of negativity as well. Quite frankly in the 11 years of GoViral we’ve dealt with negativity because there are a lot of people who still hate social media and hate online marketing in general.

We just strive to make sure we’re doing work within the digital field that really matters to us, that isn’t taking advantage of users in order to gain money for companies, but really creating a nice community where companies are reaching the people that are most likely to want and need and appreciate what they’re offering. And without taking advantage of those users. At GoViral our way of creating inbound marketing and digital we’ve been really successful at that, and that’s the approach we take with blockchain solutions as well.

Q: What is your perspective on the vocabulary of blockchain and Web3? How do you address that as a marketer when, for example, people think of blockchain as synonymous with cryptocurrency?

A: When it comes to vocabulary and understanding, it just takes time. We can joke about having a family member that still calls it the world wide web, you know? Even in my own company we still will have conversations with clients where they’re describing their profile as a page or vice versa, so as a communicator words are important. 

This technology is going to give us a whole new language that nobody really understands. I think blockchain, NFTs, the metaverse – it’s all going to be kind of interchangeable and there’s not going to be a lot of understanding around it. And that is always the challenge.

But I find the most important thing is to always tell real-life case studies. It’s not so important to explain to the user “oh but this is ledger technology. We’re using crypto but it’s a blockchain-based, etc.” it’s more important that they just understand that now you don’t have to pay fees on transactions at your bank, you’re gonna see the money come up automatically, or you don’t have to go to a mortgage broker or use a lawyer to manage your money, or to refinance your home, or to create a will and testament in the future. 

All these things are going to empower us to be able to do things on the blockchain that we weren’t able to do before, but the most important thing is to show people that they now don’t need third-party intermediaries and that they’re going to save money. And that’s going to speak to them and make them adopt way more than even transparency, trust, and governance. Which is the blockchain line right now. I think the future will be: “Cheaper, Easier, and You Don’t Need to Talk to All These Other People.” That will be enough for people.

Are you working on a blockchain-related project? We want to hear about it! Share your ideas with us and we’ll be in touch.

by admin