Marketing in Web2 vs Web3

As a marketer, it has been rather intriguing to observe the similarities and differences between Web2 and Web3 products.

Here are some that I observed:

Unique Selling Points

In Web2, the focus is typically to use the USPs as key messaging factors to attract new users. These USPs can also solve certain problems that the target audience has.

In Web3, the USPs for products can come in different forms: Strong product roadmap, reputable investor base, lucrative incentives for users, community, doxxed team etc. It seems to me that problem solving is not as much of a key selling point here.

Users

For Web3, users and community play a huge role. They can serve as volunteers and agents assisting with onboarding new users, and as a Word-of-Mouth marketing channel as they shout about the project across different channels.

This is perhaps due to the vested nature that many of these users have in these projects as well - they have likely profited from the project, or have incentive for it to do well in the long run.

In Web2, this is also visible in selected brands, but seems to be more muted overall. Brand building is key for users to feel connected to the brand, rather than to a community.

Paid marketing

In Web2, paid marketing is a complex web of targeting demographics and interest groups across channels, retargeting people who have interacted etc. There is rather clear distinctions between paid and organic posts.

For Web3, paid marketing is typically done in the form of paid posts and tweets from crypto influencers with a huge following. There is often a lack of clarity behind each influencer’s posts (whether it is paid or organic), which may lead to paid shills disguised as genuine, organic posts.

What are some other marketing strategies you see that are unique to Web3? Let me know!