What underpins the blockchain, crypto, and DeFi industry is the strong sense of community, an aspiration to create an alternative to modern-day and mainstream financial currency and offerings. Any blockchain community's motivations and intentions are to grow an ecosystem capable of counterbalancing modern western economies and capitalistic notions of private property, private control of industry, capital accumulation, and competition. Inasmuch as Apple’s developer community saved the company from financial ruin in the late 90s, the power of blockchain community evangelism is a powerful force you must manage and nurture.
The blockchain ethos is the antithesis of centralized and private control. The foundation of all blockchain projects is based on Satoshi Nakamoto's decentralized ledger — the origin of Bitcoin. Unlike mainstream economies, supporters and participants of projects/businesses do not purely have the financial end-game in mind, although there are financial rewards available within the blockchain system. Rather, the end-game for blockchainers and crypto enthusiasts is a completely democratic system with a low barrier of entry that is ruled by code.
"Community is about ownership — feeling not just that I am part of something bigger than myself, but that I have some skin in the game. It doesn't matter so much whether that stake is economical or not — in fact, I think non-economic stake (e.g., reputation) can be a much bigger motivator," Lane Rettig, Independent Ethereum Core Developer.
Decentralization and democracy are people-powered ideologies, and in the world of blockchain, these ideologies are moderated by code and technology to create a trustless environment. In true decentralization, the code is voted or agreed upon and instituted by a community of operators who have a vested interest in the project's success.
"Having a strong community definitely has an impact on the success of the project," Saber Maram, CEO and Founder, BitTube
These highly invested community members are builders, developers, or miners in the blockchain system. They typically have a technical background and may already be involved in other projects or are in the process of developing their own. It's a wonderful thing to spot promise in a new project and become involved and actively participate in decisions that lead to the project's eventual success. There is a direct correlation between a robust community and the success of a project.
"Having a strong community is paramount to the success of the project, especially in cryptocurrency. They're the most important part of cryptocurrency's lifespan, the use case, without a use case, a cryptocurrency has no reason to exist. That's why we strive to increase our trusted community and, with that, gain more use cases & more users that pay with/utilize zero," explained Rick Howe, Founder and Project Manager, Zero
Mentioned earlier were financial rewards; it should be noted that projects do require an initial investment, and to participate in and steer a project you deem to have potential, you do need to put your money or cryptocurrency where your mouth is. There is no guarantee that projects come off the ground, so the community invests at risk, and with the hope that the project blossoms — it's a long game. A community can become really close in the process — so relationships and trust, and belief in something greater than themselves are what drives a community.
"A project can't go further and faster without receiving feedback from their audiences and users because they don't know where to improve and develop," revealed Alex Le, Community Manager, TomoChain
It's for that reason that it is worth your time, energy, and effort that you care, nurture and grow your community authentically. Community commitment makes and breaks even the most wonderful projects all the time. AmaZix's mantra is "Community Matters". It is the foundation upon which we have built our full-service blockchain marketing consultancy.
AmaZix was founded by community managers in the industry, and the first service we offered wascommunity managementbackin 2016. Since then, we have broadened our services, but we have never stopped listening to and consulting blockchain communities.
So, here are some tips on how to engage, grow and nurture your community to sky-rocket your project:
Be real, authentic, and set the tone for the community with your tone of voice
Make sure you don't leave your community hanging — engage regularly
Listen to your community and get back to them with actions or reasons for your response
Ask for input, opinions, and feedback
Be transparent — don't hide details from your community as this breeds distrust — avoid FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt)
Stick to your roadmap or timelines as this builds faith in the project — if you can't be honest/transparent about why not
Educate your community, especially newbies that are just entering the industry — provide links to helpful and relevant resources
Share interesting news and exciting happenings that have a bearing on the project
Be grateful to your community — thank them for their feedback and intervening when you weren't around
Be real, authentic, and set the tone for the community with your tone of voice
Make sure you don't leave your community hanging — engage regularly
Listen to your community and get back to them with actions or reasons for your response
Ask for input, opinions, and feedback
Be transparent — don't hide details from your community as this breeds distrust — avoid FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt)
Stick to your roadmap or timelines as this builds faith in the project — if you can't be honest/transparent about why not
Educate your community, especially newbies that are just entering the industry — provide links to helpful and relevant resources
Share interesting news and exciting happenings that have a bearing on the project
Be grateful to your community — thank them for their feedback and intervening when you weren't around
Managing a community and building a project can be a lot of heavy lifting, so if you are battling to find that balance, then reach out to us, and we will use our years of experience to ensure your community is looked after. We will research, learn about and tailor our community management to the brand you are building.
For more information on the importance of community, please visit some of our previous blog posts:
3 Critical Steps to Building a Powerful Blockchain Community
How to look after the heart of your blockchain project -- putting your project community first!