You will, perhaps, think I am hallucinating when I say this…
A digital roll of toilet paper brand Charmin secured a bid of 1.85 Wrapped Ether (WETH) or $3,102.95.
Here is the tweet to validate what I just wrote:
And that’s not all.
Welcome to the amazing world of non-fungible tokens where digital farts and three-course meals command unheard-of prices.
What are non-fungible tokens?
If you are confused between Bitcoin 2.0 and non-fungible tokens, you have every right to…
Bitcoin 2.0 was rechristened into non-fungible tokens.
In plain terms, a non-fungible token or NFT is a unit of data stored using blockchain technology.
What about the non-fungible part?
Essentially, it means that it cannot be replaced with something else, aka, it is unique.
Here is another way to understand this.
A bitcoin is fungible since you can trade one bitcoin with another.
Non Fungible Tokens: Use Cases
But what on earth do you use these NFTs for?
Non-fungible tokens started with digital art.
Yeah, virtual art.
How about a $69.3 million price tag for a digital artwork called “Everydays – The First 5000 Days”?
Mike Winkelmann couldn’t be happier (yeah he was the artist behind the aforementioned artwork)
NFTs are also being used in games, music, films, sports, fashion, and even porn (didn’t want to mention that).
You can check out a list of non-fungible tokens on CoinRanking.
Collectibles
These tokens can be used to create a new breed of digital collectibles.
Does CryptoKitties or CryptoPunks ring a bell?
You can also tokenize collectors’ favorites such as the good old baseball cards and stamps.
Gaming
Trading card games such as Axie Infinity or Gods Unchained have already welcomed NFT.
The day is not far when these tokens will enter the world of Fortnite or CS:GO.
Art
Tradeable digital art is a hot topic today.
Crypto investors are in no mood to stop investing in NFTs.
Vignesh Sundaresan, aka, MetaKovan, recently put in $69 million to buy Beeple’s NFT.
And he says he would have paid even more.
Business leaders are joining the game too.
Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is eager to sell his first tweet as an NFT.
You can check the Valuables platform to see the bids.
As of writing this post, the highest bid was $2.5 million.
History of Non-Fungible Tokens
When did non-fungible tokens start?
The birth of Bitcoin in 2009 had people thinking of innovative ways to leverage blockchain technology for creating more powerful tokens.
Colored Coins
Yoni Assia christened the term colored coins via a blog post in 2012.
Think of colored coins as tiny, colored units of Bitcoin.
Due to issues such as lack of Bitcoin network support and large transaction size (0.000543 BTC), colored coins failed to survive.
Counterparty.io
Back in 2014, Counterparty aimed at using colored coins to issue non-fungible and semi-fungible tokens.
Recall the 2015 mobile game Spells of Genesis or the 2016 trading card game Force of Will?
Yeah, Force of Will was behind, you guessed it, Pokémon.
Counterpart started gaining momentum when users started issuing Rare Pepes on the platform.
Did you know that the Homer Simpson Pepe fetched $38,500?
CryptoPunks
Come June 2017, and John Watkinson and Matt Hall introduced CryptoPunks.
Living on the Ethereum blockchain, these unique 24×24 pixel characters quickly became popular.
For instance, an Ape Punk with a Hoodie was sold for 150 ETH (US$71,403).
CryptoKitties
The Internet and cats are difficult to separate.
The virtual game CryptoKitties, founded in 2017, caught the eye of mainstream media such as CNBC and CNN.
Their value started growing exponentially, with one CryptoKitty selling for 600 ETH.
Back then, that was the equivalent of USD 172,000.
Stablecoins
When the value of a cryptocurrency is tied to an asset such as the USD or gold for price stability, it is known as a Stablecoin.
Diem (previously Libra), Tether, USD Coin, and Dai are the most popular Stablecoins.
As of May 2020, Stablecoins were worth more than $10 billion.
NFT marketplaces have started using dollar stablecoins such as the USD Coin (USDC).
Since USDC is backed 1:1 by US dollars, it earns the right to serve as a crypto-native currency for buying and selling NFTs.
Where to buy and sell non-fungible tokens?
Welcome to the world of the NFT marketplace where you can buy and sell non-fungible tokens with ease.
OpenSea, Crypto.com, Rarible, Enkjin, KnownOrigin, MintBase, and SuperRare are the top names in this domain.
How to market non-fungible tokens?
I had to address this subject, given my passion for marketing (and NFT marketing).
Content Marketing, PR, Influencer Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, SEO, and Email Marketing play an important part in making an NFT project a success.
Community-Based Marketing: Educate & Engage
I believe that community-based marketing is perhaps the most important aspect of NFT marketing.
Given its niche character, businesses need to adopt a storytelling approach to market non-fungible tokens.
Platforms such as Telegram, Discord, Reddit, Medium, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and BitCoinTalk are the ones that you should start with.
NFT Marketplaces
Marketplaces such as OpenSea, Crypto.com, Rarible, Enkjin, KnownOrigin, MintBase, and SuperRare should be your go-to channels as well.
A word of caution though…
Ensure that your NFT project aligns with the marketplace.
Not all marketplaces have the same attributes.
Search Engine Optimization
Where would NFT buyers start when trying to find the best tokens?
Search engines, most likely.
Right?
Do you see where I am going with this?
SEO can help rank your NFT website better.
Public Relations
Public Relations aka, PR, give you a wider reach.
PR firms offer services such as media relations and targeted outreach to industry publications.
They also offer content creation, digital media campaigns, and celebrity relations as part of PR.
Content Marketing & Email Marketing
I always have had a soft spot for content marketing.
And rightfully so.
With targeted content marketing, you can build brand awareness.
In-depth educational articles and interviews with industry leaders can help you attract the right audience through platforms such as Hackernoon, Howtotoken, Cryptopanic, Quora, LinkedIn, and Reddit.
You can use email marketing to engage with your subscribers using the content types mentioned earlier.
Influencer Marketing
Niche NFT influencers can help you power through marketing your NFT project.
I see several brands not using influencer marketing the right way, thus giving it a bad rep.
Always remember this- as human beings, we trust human beings and their experiences over products.
Search Engine Marketing and Paid Social
If inbound marketing is your goal, you need to leverage search and social platforms such as Google/Bing, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and others.
NFT: Challenges
The inherent human nature to own rare and unique items is the key factor behind the success of NFT.
That, perhaps, explains why some digital artworks are selling for millions.
However, non-fungible tokens are far from having a mass appeal.
The inaccessibility, transaction fees, and potential regulations stand in way of these tokens becoming truly global.
Final Words
I hope you learned a thing or two about non-fungible tokens in this post.
Marketing non-fungible tokens is quite different from marketing other products or services.
Ensure you have a marketing strategy in place to attract, engage, and convert the right audience for your NFT project.
Talk soon!