There is no Crypto or Web3 system without a community. These ecosystems are as strong as their community, and strong communities can’t be created magically. To build a strong crypto community, you need to employ result-oriented strategies and impactful people who can help implement them through precise moderation.
It is compulsory. It is a long and demanding process that requires patience and expertise. Let’s help you navigate the process with practical solutions and strategies that will usher your system into a new era of prosperity.
The Importance of Community Building for Crypto & Web3 Projects
A community is the heart of any Web3 or crypto project. In a decentralized system, every task, from governance to maintenance, is performed by the communities.
Communities also create network effects, meaning that the larger and more active a system’s community is, the greater its value in Web3 and crypto. This is evident in Ethereum, which has the largest community of crypto developers actively creating new dApps and DeFi protocols. This has made Ethereum the largest blockchain system on Web3, attracting millions of users from other networks.
A strong, diverse community also provides its users with a sense of identity. These users become loyal advocates, attracting more people to the system through their voice and experience. Solana has one of the most robust communities in Web3, and its advocates promote it nonstop to others.
Strong Web3 communities also drive the mass adoption of tokens issued by their systems. This enhances the token’s value and improves the system’s liquidity, creating better staking opportunities for the rest of the community. The UNI token from Uniswap disappeared in an instant at launch, and it helped shape the structure you see now.
When a Web3 system has a strong community that believes in transparent and user-centric governance, it sends a positive signal to other communities, enticing their users to join. MakerDAO is the prime example of such communities.
Crypto Community Management Can Be Challenging
While strong communities are essential to the growth of a Web3 system, they are not easy to manage. There are various hurdles, ranging from scams to language barriers, that can turn this utopia into a hellish nightmare.
- Misinformation & FUD: Misinformation spreads like wildfire in a crypto community, especially during Bear markets. This can create fear, uncertainty, and doubt amongst its members, which is almost impossible to control and dispel. While this can be mitigated with timely moderation, the results are often catastrophic, leading to the overnight destruction of token value.
- Scams & Impersonation: A plethora of fake ads, phishing links, and fake airdrops can be found on social media channels like Twitter and Discord. Using these links can result in users losing all their assets instantly. It is impossible to moderate social media channels. The only solution is to educate your users about such activity.
- Engagement Drop-Off: The worst nightmare of any crypto community. As the hype fades, the engagement falls off, leading to a fall in token value. This can be remedied by actively engaging with users through AMA, airdrops, regular updates, and bounties.
- Cultural & Language Barrier: As a crypto project attracts people from all over the world, it also gives birth to cultural clashes and language barriers. Sometimes it’s difficult to communicate with people who don’t speak English natively. The only way to solve this problem is through multilingual support in your crypto system. It adds an overhead, but it is a very small cost as compared to the reputation you will gain by doing it.
Managing a crypto community is not only fun and games. It requires expertise, since most users are also token holders, making them stakeholders in your system. Managing crises and educating your community are not easy tasks either. You need professionals to handle these matters to save your community from crumbling.
Core Principles of Crypto Community Management
To manage a crypto community successfully, you must be transparent with them to build trust. Other core principles include authenticity, providing education about your system, creating value for your users, including people from diverse parts of the world and various fields, ensuring easy accessibility, implementing proper security through moderation, recognizing and rewarding their contributions, and adapting your system to meet market demands to promote growth.
Transparency and Authenticity
A crypto community can’t be managed without transparency and authenticity. These traits are the core of Web3, and a community can’t survive without them. Be open about your goals and roadmaps. Explain “why” to your users and divide roadmaps into small, achievable tasks. Make sure to update them on the progress regularly.
In the event of a mistake, own up to it and explain how you plan to rectify the situation. Take community input and implement the solutions. Don’t create useless hype. It is okay to be hopeful about future results from your efforts, but don’t mislead your community with promises you can’t keep.
Education and Value Creation
For a crypto community to thrive, education and value creation are the keys. Educate your communities about your goals and how you operate. This will help them avoid confusion and FUD when a difficult situation arises. By educating users, you will also be able to pull developers who are the lifeblood of any crypto system.
You can use video tutorials, how-to guides, explainer threads on social media platforms, and community-led sessions. Create value among your contributors. Encourage them to create new dApps and DeFi systems. Provide them with bug bounties and reward them handsomely for their value in the system.
Inclusivity and Accessibility
Present your community in a way that welcomes everyone with open arms. There should be no discrimination regarding gender, race, region, or education. Welcome talented people from different domains of life, as everyone brings something of value.
Establish a clear code of conduct that demonstrates zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment. Include multilingual programs in your system to make non-English speakers feel right at home. Use text-based guides for people who don’t have access to fast-speed internet to make them feel included.
Do AMA and answer everyone. Include programs for people with disabilities in your learning sections. Go beyond to support them and the underprivileged communities.
Consistency in Engagement
Many crypto projects from years past have faded into obscurity because they lacked consistent engagement. It is the central pillar of your system, as it builds trust, strengthens your community’s identity, boosts retention, and encourages contributions.
You can keep your community engaged with content drops, such as newsletters. You can also provide interactive events, such as hackathons, or gamify certain activities to allow your community members to earn tokens.
Create surveys and interactive polls for feedback, and follow up on them with reports. Create stories about your community members’ contributions or achievements and share them across various channels. Do all these consistently but randomly. Mix surprise rewards, such as airdrops, to keep engagement fresh.
Security and Moderation
There is nothing like scams that make community members lose their trust and interest in your crypto system. Utilize automated tools, such as bot filters, to identify and block malicious activity. Educate your community about these risks and limit permission for new members to avoid any scams.
Only allow verified announcements through official channels. Create your unique font and style that helps users distinguish your content from the fake. Hire trusted and strict moderators. They are the true architects of any successful crypto community.
Ensure they are diverse and multilingual, and that they have a clear code of conduct. They should be allowed to ban malicious members or escalate any conflicts in accordance with the protocols. They should be visible, and anyone should be able to approach them.
Recognition and Reward
Publicly announce your heroes and make their contributions visible to everyone. Use social media platforms to weekly announce the best contributors. Give rewards publicly to the users who contribute new dApps or create new protocols for the system.
Make the amount for bug bounties public and announce it to the winner via social media. Turn your contributing members into heroes and industry voices. This fosters a healthy competitive environment within the crypto community, encouraging users to participate.
Identify and select ambassadors from users based on their activity levels and communication skills. Equip them with tools like decks and branded assets. Ambassadors play a crucial role in attracting new community members. Reward them with early drops or tokens to keep them excited.
Adaptability and Growth Mindset
Crypto communities are made of human beings who respond to market conditions, regulatory changes, tech upgrades, forks, and feedback. To keep them engaged, adapt to these changes and evolve your system to meet their expectations.
Always keep a growth mindset. Don’t be afraid of change; embrace it. Let your trusted developers help grow your system beyond your initial goals. Listen to feedback, conduct post-mortem reviews of your events, and experiment with new models.
Aragon DAO revamped its governance system based on community feedback, making it one of the most respected DAOs in the crypto community.
Strategies for Effective Community Management and Growth
Once you have a complete grasp of the core principles required to build a strong crypto community, you can implement them through the following strategies. It will enable you to substantially expand your communities and manage them effectively.
Target the Right Platform for Your Target Audience
Targeting the right platform is crucial to finding the ideal audience for your cryptocurrency system. Various platforms have different user types, some of which may or may not be a good fit for your system.
- Twitter: Mostly thought leaders and NFT traders.
- Discord: You can engage developers for DAOs and gaming projects here.
- Telegram: Home to DeFi users and airdrop hunters.
- Reddit: People who engage in long-form discussions and skeptics.
- YouTube: Mostly learners and newcomers.
- Lens: Native Web3 creators.
By defining your target audience first, you can check the table above and engage with the crypto audience there, convincing them to be part of your crypto ecosystem by promoting it.
A Structured Onboarding Process is Beneficial for Multiple Reasons
A structured onboarding process is like rolling a red carpet for your targeted audience. It not only makes their lives easier, but also allows you to make this process efficient and painless. You can use a welcome message, pinned posts, FAQs, intro channels, and tutorials to help new board members get started easily.
It saves time and resources for the brand and its projects while building a strong bond with your audience through a smooth onboarding process. Structured onboarding also boosts your retention, as educated newcomers have already gone through FAQs and pinned posts and are here to stay.
It also helps the audience avoid confusion, as all the rules and regulations are readily available to them from the start. This reduces friction and empowers the newcomers to the system.
Value of Interactive Events & AMAs
Live events and AMAs foster trust through transparency, as users and audiences can interact live with the system’s founders and ask them anything. These events humanize your brands and show that you are not afraid to answer tough questions.
These events create viral moments that can significantly increase engagement and boost your community’s presence overnight. Two-way dialogues feel personal and can increase your retention rate.
Gamification and Incentives Help Keep the Community Engaged and Grow
Gamification provides a sense of achievement and recognition to the community members. As they are rewarded with tokens or other perks for their participation, it creates a feeling of belonging and loyalty to the system.
Create simple quests and missions, and clearly explain their purpose to your community. Be open about the rewards and create leaderboards to drive competition amongst users. Start time-bound events to boost community engagement and spark their creativity.
These events and their rewards keep a community healthy, active, and increase their interest in the system.
Value the Community Feedback and Incorporate Where Possible
Always listen to community feedback generated through polls and surveys. This provides a gauge of the community’s temperament and informs your next steps.
If implementing the feedback doesn’t conflict with your system’s core values, implement it. Share it publicly on social media and express gratitude to the users for their feedback. This will not only improve your system but will make your community members more loyal by giving them a sense of belonging.
Moderators and Guidelines Play a Crucial Role in the Community’s Management and Growth
With excessive freedom for users, crypto communities can sometimes feel like a scene from a Wild West movie. Trained moderators can maintain safety by removing spam and phishing links. They foster inclusion and resolve conflicts through written guidelines. The most important part of moderation is making newcomers feel at home so they stay and become loyal members of the community.
Similarly, guidelines play a crucial role as they are written laws that no one can exceed or change. They are not about controlling users, but about maintaining law and order in a chaotic world. Guidelines set expectations and prevent abuse by malicious factors. They compel moderators to act justly and foster a positive culture within the community.
Collaborate With Influencers & Thought Leaders
Collaboration with influencers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) can amplify your community reach within minutes. These individuals have a large and loyal fan base that listens to everything they say.
Approach the right influencers and thought leaders and convince them to advertise your community. You can use sponsored content, such as ads, host AMAs through live Q&A sessions, or utilize ambassador programs with KOLs to promote your community.
A single shout by a thought leader can boost your brand credibility and drive people to your ecosystem in mass numbers.
Micro-Communities Help Gather Broader Audiences
To achieve sustainable growth for your crypto system, you need micro-communities that focus on a specific niche. If your goal aligns with a micro-community, collaborate with them to promote your system.
These communities can serve as a gateway for specialized individuals to access your system. As these users are acquired through highly specific communities, such as NFT collectors or DeFi creators, they tend to stay with your system.
An endorsement by a micro-community can also boost your crypto system’s overall credibility.
Track the Right KPIs to Analyze Impact and Optimize Accordingly
Tracking the right key performance indicators (KPIs) is essential to a community’s growth and sustainability. These indicators include engagement rate, community growth, active members, retention rate, sentiment, and feedback.
The engagement rate indicates the number of people actively engaging with events, such as AMAs and polls. As your community grows, you can define your outlook and identify the factors driving the influx of new members. A higher number of active members indicates that your community is offering engaging activities and keeping its members entertained.
Retention rate is an important metric because it reveals why people stay or why they leave your system. Listening to feedback gives you insight into the community’s sentiment and areas for improvement.
By analyzing these factors and improving them, you can enhance your community’s presence and significantly increase user numbers.
Benefits of Community Management for a Web3 Startup or Business
For any Web3 startup or business to thrive, strong community management is essential. The tangible benefits of community management in the crypto space include.
- Improved Trust and Transparency: By actively communicating with your community, you build their trust and reduce FUD. Real-time updates from you provide transparency, and the open governance allows the users to hold you accountable.
- Faster Onboarding and Adoption: Communities managed by good leaders boost adoption, and a smooth onboarding process increases your credibility.
- Organic Marketing and Advocacy: Members who are satisfied with your engagement become loyal and serve as advocates for your community. They help bring in new people to expand the ecosystem.
- Higher Investor Confidence: A strong, thriving community under effective management attracts major investors, signaling stability and long-term growth.
Is Hiring a Professional Community Building and Management Agency the Right Choice?
Community is the soul of any crypto or Web3 system. However, building and managing a strong community is not easy. There are two approaches to managing a crypto community, each with its own pros and cons.
In-House Community Management
In-house teams are loyal and fully dedicated to the community they serve. You can directly contact and control them to maintain tone consistency. By building an in-house management team, you develop lifelong trust and loyalty with your community.
However, in-house management teams require training, which can hinder your progress. The team members have limited knowledge, but they typically acquire new skills over time through experience. Because communities require 24/7 management, it can be difficult for in-house teams to handle everything with their limited resources.
Professional Agencies for Community Management
Professional agencies bring instant expertise to help moderate your community and grow it exponentially. They support various activities, including managing AMAs, assisting with NFT launches, and overseeing DAO governance. Professional agencies use advanced tools, such as dashboards, to track KPIs and engagement, and to help improve them by addressing underlying issues. These companies have global reach through influencer and KOL collaborations.
However, professional agencies can be costly to manage your crypto system 24/7. Their actions can create friction within your community because they may not fully understand its ethos and norms. Another risk is that you may become dependent on these agencies and fail to nurture your community for future roles.
Use a Hybrid Approach for Best Results
While it seems confusing and a difficult choice, going the hybrid way is he best approach. Hire a professional agency at the start when you need a massive expansion of your community. Leverage their expertise to nurture and train selected members of your community.
Over time, begin delegating roles to your community members and gradually complete the transition. This way, you will get the best of both worlds. Continue transferring knowledge and grooming newcomers to assume key moderator roles in the future.
Ensure Seamless Community Building & Management With Techtonic Marketing
Techtonic Marketing is a crypto and Web3 marketing agency that has established itself as a leader in managing new communities and helping existing ones thrive. We offer a trained staff with access to tools to help you set up a new community. We also provide custom strategies to increase engagement and provide moderator training to your selected community members.
We also promise authentic follower growth that converts to customers and provide community strategies that create genuine engagement. Our team has platform expertise across X (formerly Twitter), Discord, LinkedIn, and merging Web3 social channels.
When you work with Techtonic, you are not just getting marketing services. You are gaining a strategic partner committed to helping you establish yourself as a recognized leader in your space through authentic authority-building and inbound excellence.
At Techtonic Marketing, our motto is growth through trust. We can help increase your reach through powerful campaigns and influencer collaborations. Connect with us now and make your crypto community the best place in Web3 with our expert support.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between community building and community management?
Community building is a proactive process of strategic growth and culture creation. It is done by attracting the right people with a long-term growth vision. Community management refers to day-to-day operations and engagement with teh community. It focuses on moderation, support, communication, event hosting, conflict resolution, retention, and sentiment analysis.
How do you keep a crypto community engaged?
With consistent communication, education, purpose-driven conversations, live events, and incentives.
Which platforms are best for crypto and web3 communities?
Discord, Telegram, X (formerly Twitter), Farcaster, Lens Protocol, Mirror.xyz, and Snapshot are among the leading platforms for crypto and Web3 communities.
How do you measure the success of a crypto community?
Through engagement rate, conversion, retention, growth, on-chin activity, sentiment analysis, contribution, and ownership.
