Are you starting off with 0 followers & 0 connections in the NFT space?
That’s okay.
This blog will help you with building credibility without it. Even if you have the following, I’ll help you learn what you can do. It’s simple, but time consuming: engage with the NFT community.
In the last post (Part 3), I discussed the second theme from my interviews with 8 NFT projects on how to build trust with your NFT community: be online & active. This 8 part blog series is based on my Master’s research project. If you haven’t already, read Part 1. It provides the research context and the 8 interview participants.
Everyone I interviewed mentioned becoming active participants in the NFT community is important. Pick the blockchain you want to launch on (e.g. Cardano) and engage with the established community.
There are three groups to engage with to build credibility overtime.
1. Engage With General Members in the NFT Community
Find the top projects in the blockchain you choose and interact with members in those communities. They’ll help you understand the landscape like:
- Top Projects from the community viewpoint (not by volume)
- Well-known developers
- Respected members of the NFT community
- Influencers
This is only possible if you ask people on Twitter and go into Discord chats and ask.
Cris from Goofy Gang explains, “I started from ground zero. I didn’t even have a Twitter back then. I created a Twitter account with zero followers. I created a discord with zero members. And built it all from zero.” When asked how he built credibility, he stated, “I started by following and engaging with other Twitter accounts and members from other cNFT projects.”
Overtime, you’ll surround yourself with a community that sees what you build. This approach is not scalable, but building connections in the pace early attracts a core group of loyal members.
2. Work with Respected Members in the NFT Space
You can work with influencers, developers, Twitter Space hosts, and other well-known members of the space. This builds trust by association.
For example, John from Goat Tribe understood the awareness and trust their NFT PFPs will generate if given to established members of the community.
He says, “There were 33 NFTs that were created for marketing purposes only.” John continues, “The purpose was to get support from the Cardano community. In order to say that we’re part of the community and there are some people that you respect that are part of OUR community.”
By giving NFTs to well-known, respected members, some participants believed this would build trust with people outside of their project community. However, this is only one strategy. You can also work with influencers and respected members to spread awareness and talk about your NFTs project, co-host events with them, or join Twitter spaces with them.
3. Collaborate with Other NFT projects
According to John, “working together with other communities is collaborating.”
Collaborating entails co-creating NFTs, co-hosting events, and working together on a milestone together.
But, why are collaborations important?
Collaboration builds bridges between project communities and increases trust within one’s project.
Cypherkicks’ founder, Peppers, explains the importance of collaborations, “it creates a link between communities. In a way, people who didn’t know about our project from another project community came to learn about our project.” Cris elaborates on this point, “if other members from other communities see that this certain project is working with us. Then, we must be of trust as well. Because they would not work with a project that isn’t legit, right? So if they see us working together it means that both projects are legit and we can trust them.”
By collaborating with NFT projects that already established trust, your NFT project gains trust from the community.
Conclusion
If you want to build trust with the NFT community, engage with the community as a whole, work with respected members in the community, and collaborate with established NFT projects.
It’s simple. Yet, it’s time consuming. Sometimes, you have to do things that don’t scale.
The next blog (Part 6) will cover theme 4: Manage the Community’s Expectations.