Let me just put it out there right from the start. I don't have all the ingredients, I am not a heavily-invested account and I don't have a lot of influence, but I have been around for several years and I have seen all the ups and downs. I want what's best for Hive and I have done dozens of things throughout my time on this blockchain to improve, help, encourage and inspire others, but I have done that in my own way.
In this article, I'll talk about things I personally believe- and to some extent also knows is the best things to do. I have a background in terms of brand building, sales, marketing and freelancing among other things, so even though I am not a blockchain-guru or cryptocurrency-expert, I do know a lot of things that goes hand in hand with success.
3 Things We Need
I have said this numerous times in various ways. I have tried to explain these things in-depth and in detail multiple times over the years and I have tried to simplify it more than once. While some obviously understand- and often agrees with the things I have said, many others seems to ignore it.
There are obviously more things to it than just these 3 things I am about to mention, but I personally believe that these three things are what we should put more focus on until we see results.
Let's talk about these three things:
- Marketing.
- Optimized content.
- Engagement.
I mentioned these three things recently and I also said that it's "all there is" to it. In no specific order. I know how some people immediately will raise their eyebrows now and think "What about more dApps?" or whatever. Ignore that for now while I explain more about these things..
Hive Ecosystem
Hive has a thriving ecosystem of apps, communities & individuals, leveraging the Hive blockchain & decentralised structure. - Hive.io
We can't deny the fact that we have a bunch of apps, or dApps. We also have a bunch of communities. Some of these are obviously more successful than others and that's not surprising at all.
LeoFinance.io was probably the first niche-oriented community that really started to pave the way for other communities. They set a standard to follow and the impact they've had on users are fantastic. I personally was blown-away by the outstanding communication, the development and how the team behind LeoFinance was able to improve the community week after week.
We have 3speak for videos, vimm for streaming, a handful of games, we have actifit and a bunch of things that exists to make life easier and more fun for its users. The list goes on..
However, you have probably heard of #POB recently, Proofofbrain.io. It has become "the new thing" on Hive and it feels like hundreds of people are talking about it. I actually think that it's near impossible to miss POB-related content nowadays. That is called hype.
- Hype and buzz are two vital ingredients for success.
Just look at Elon Musk and his tweets.
That being said, people are not only talking about POB, they are also sharing ideas with each other within the comment sections of content that has been published within the #POB tag. They spend time, talk, discuss and engage.
Remember the 3 things I mentioned above?
- Marketing.
- Optimized content.
- Engagement.
So, we've actually already covered some of these things. Even though we might have done it briefly. Hype and buzz = natural marketing because people who are successful are very likely to share their success-stories with others. That's word-of-mouth marketing.
The POB-community has a lot of engagement and even though it's likely to decrease a bit over time, just because people are used to spend less time like we've seen over the years, there's still hype and buzz around the project right now. I am sure a lot of time and hard work will have to be put it to keep the engagement level up with time, just like we see on LeoFinance..
We are setting a new standard with comments. We lead by example and show that people are supposed to engage. It's a battle, but we will conquer.
This takes us to the last thing I mentioned. Even though it's number 2 in the list:
- Optimized content.
I know that a lot of people would disagree and some people think it's idiotic to spend time to increase rankings on Google, but I know for a fact that it's possible and that it will yield us great results over time. Especially if we rank evergreen content. That's how we will eventually gain traffic for free.
I won't talk much more about this, it is what it is, and people will have to decide for themselves if optimized content is a good approach for them or not. I truly believe that optimized content is a game changer for us in the long haul along with evergreen content.
We Are Doing Things Wrong
This will be the last section of this post, and instead of kissing asses, I will just tell you how it is. According to me, we are- and have been doing things wrong for a long period of time.
We have focused entirely on bringing in "the masses", but we do very little things to actually bring them in. We focus on millionaires, billionaires and investors instead of the masses.
It might be, in theory a lot easier to bring in 1 billionaire instead of hundreds or thousands of people, but the truth is that most people who are here today are probably what I refer to as the "Average Joe's".
I know that when I joined back in July 2016 I had zero experience in blockchain technology, I didn't believe in cryptocurrencies and I honestly had zero interest to learn. I was just looking for a way to generate an extra income and I got here because one of my former co-workers convinced me to join.
It wasn't until I had been here, experienced some of the success and truly started to see the amazing opportunity a place like this had I became a passionate crypto-enthusiast that was eager to contribute, grow and help those around me.
That being said, we should focus on the "Average Joe's" instead of others because that will automatically translate in word-of-mouth marketing and hype, which this place is simply built upon from the ground up. We obviously need developers, dApps and all kinds of stuff to expand and grow further, but we already have all the ingredients we need to push a lot of new people to this place.
- We just need to put in time & effort. We need to become a healthy, thriving and active place and that is done through comments. After all, we are a social platform.
Wherever you look, you can read this or similar things like this whenever you search for how to make a social platform successful, or why they are successful.
Social media platforms are a powerful tool for connection. They help us stay in touch with friends that have moved away, and relatives far removed. They help us keep in touch with our siblings and even our parents. Being able to share a short status or a photo of what you’re up to not only informs people, it makes them feel like they are part of your day-to-day life.
In addition to connecting with those you already know, social media helps us forge connections with new people. Think about celebrities and bloggers. We might not know them personally, but, they share their lives with us via social media. Pictures and status updates give us insight behind closed doors, letting us know someone’s personality beyond what the cameras see. Stories posted can go viral, reaching far beyond one’s original network, and people interact with them through comments by sharing similar stories and experiences.
- Why would Hive be any different?
The "Average Joe's" doesn't care about decentralization. They don't care about owning their own content because they've been on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for decades. They don't care because they don't need to know, for now. They just want a place to share content with others..
Hive will let them earn from their contributions though, which is- and should be in every single pitch about Hive when we are trying to reach the masses. That is most likely why you got here. You joined for the money but you stayed for the community..
- How about having an active, healthy and thriving community?
That is how we will see hype and buzz, word-of-mouth marketing and a lot of new users. That is how we will distribute tokens far and wide and that is how we will attract outsiders.
Stay away from the "shortcut" you've been trying to take for years. Step up to the plate, do the necessary work and contribute towards a thriving place.
- It all starts with a single comment.