Chapter 9. Social Media and Influencers

"You never get a second chance to make a good first impression."

– Will Rogers

Whether you agree or disagree, like or dislike it, use or don't use it, you cannot deny the power of social media, and the power of influencers in today's world. A growing number of people are trying to create a following, build a brand, or increase their ability to influence in an ever-growing and connected world.

The crypto and ICO world is really no different, with the focus still very much on building a community of followers, users, investors, and evangelists, who can then help to spread the word. The bigger the community, the more people there are to potentially buy the token.

In this chapter, we start a little off the beaten track by first of all considering what social media is. We then look at how ICOs use social media, before understanding the world of influencers, and who some of the key influencers are in the ICO space...

The deeper meaning of being social

Social media, influence, and influencers are three subjects that are deeply misunderstood around the globe. Things are not what they seem and the information flowing at each of us every day, across multiple platforms, is overwhelming, confusing, unreliable, often fake, and hard to contextualize.

This affects our minds, our behavior, and our decision-making. It can also make us fearful of missing out and create a sense of personal loneliness. Does anyone really care about me or my opinion? Does my point of view have any value? What is my point of view? Do I need to have a point of view?

Let's begin, then, with the messages we receive every day. These might be via iMessage, SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Line, Snapchat, or Telegram. Typically, people receive more than 100 messages per day. Do these messages have an influence on your behavior and decision-making, and can they change your mind? The answer is probably yes. Are these messages social...

What is social media?

Social media is the art and science of brand building through community building. It's the building of a following or a fan base. It's the next generation of market analysis, corporate intelligence, and reconnaissance. It's the new culture mechanism for engaging, educating, and motivating teams of people and evolving them into a movement, a force, or a community. It's a new form of communication designed to bring about change through Gentle, Tiny, Daily, Nudges (#GTDN).

One of the many misperceptions of social media is that it's about posting things, such as images, tweets, videos, and blogs. Social media is not about posting. Social media is about listening, researching, reconnaissance, understanding, uncovering, and discovering. It's about filtering information and finding the right information that you seek. Social media is about market analysis and contextualizing markets.

How has social media arisen?

Social media arose because of a desire for people to connect with...

Social media in ICOs

All the ICOs to date have recognized the requirements of social media, and the need to communicate and connect with their audience. The following images are a sample of social media platforms used by various ICOs.

Figure 2: ICONOMI social media platforms: Medium, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Slack

Figure 3: MobileGo social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Slack, and Telegram

Figure 4: Humaniq social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, GitHub, YouTube, Slack, LinkedIn, and Telegram

Figure 5: Bancor social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, Medium, YouTube, Steemit, LinkedIn, and Reddit

So, what should one do? How does one balance between not enough social media exposure on the one hand, versus overdoing it on the other. At the very minimum, an ICO should have a presence on the following: Twitter, LinkedIn, GitHub, a video platform, a blogging platform, an instant messenger platform, a community forum, and a channel:

• Twitter is a must. It...

Influencers

Influencers are experts in their chosen niches. Influencers have extraordinary power among groups of people with the same motivation, lifestyle, product, platform, focus, or purpose. Influencers are about nudges and education. Influencers are change agents who build communities. They create ideas and publish content. Influencers are a new force in marketing, who begin and lead conversations. They are a new power and reside on every social media platform now available.

Influencer power is rising and will continue to rise and become bigger than company brand power - unless, of course, the brands do the right thing and hire (retain or sponsor) them all. The latter, by the way, is highly recommended.

AAs Influencers grow their follower base, their power grows, and so do their incomes. The more followers, the more money. Income is a direct function of follower size and is typically $1 per year per follower. Thus, influencers are heavily incentivized to grow their follower base before...

Summary

In this chapter, we started out with a deep look at social media, which involved a different mindset. It's not about just sending a tweet or posting a picture on Instagram: it's reading, analyzing, pondering, ruminating, considering, and hunting for information from some of the best minds in the world. Jenner doesn't aimlessly post Instagram pictures for the sake of it. Each post has a purpose: to help her build her empire.

We then learned what social media channels are required at a minimum for an ICO and that these tweets, blogs, and chat channels allow users to keep up-to-date, and interact with the project or company members.

Finally, influencers, or experts in their chosen niches, play a crucial part in the crypto community by sharing their technical knowledge or evaluating ICOs. There are also numerous ICOs creating platforms where celebrities can create and sell their own token in return for providing their die-hard fans with a more unique experience.

With all the right social...