240
Venturing into crypto has been an eye-opening experience in more ways than one. Not just about the nature of the assets itself, but also in the ways crypto firms promote their businesses.
For the sake of context, I keenly follow the social media sites of one bank (POSB), two roboadvisors (Syfe and StashAway) and one crypto firms (Gemini). It was interesting for me to observe how they all reach out to their target audiences in different ways.
Given the prevalence of social media in our lives nowadays, all of them maintain a presence on established networks like Facebook and Instagram. POSB's FB page is called 'The Burrow' and the administrators regularly post polls and portfolio updates to keep their consumers in the loop and abreast of any upcoming changes. Curiously enough, the administrators recently encouraged users to participate in a community forum that was embedded within the POSB website. I guess they didn't want people to post insensitive or malicious remarks, so they required prospective users to log in with their username and password every time they wished to access the forum. Given that people were already used to browsing Facebook to get the latest updates, I wonder how many people really made the switch so as to exchange information with other like-minded people. POSB seemed to be taking one step backwards, if you ask me honestly, but I guess the necessity to log in and make yourself accountable is befitting the regulated nature of banks.
As for Syfe and StashAway, YouTube seems to be their preferred social media website as they host market commentaries and deep dive reports via webinars regularly. Interested consumers can just watch the webinars in real time and even post their questions in the chatbox provided. More often than not, the moderators will devote part of the time to a Question-and-Answer session, in which they will read aloud frequently asked questions and seek insights and clarification from the panel of speakers. Syfe is also very active on Instagram as it consistently features influencers who share candidly on the Syfe products they use and even the size of their portfolios. I guess Syfe wants to make itself seem relatable to the millennials who are actively engaged in IG.
Moving on to Gemini and Hodlnaut, the social media sites they choose are again different from those undertaken by conventional banks and fintech companies. Gemini, for instance, maintains a healthy presence on Telegram as it not only posts weekly news on crypto developments, but also hosts giveaway contests so that users will be prompted to share their views. Just today, Gemini released a landmark survey on the State of Crypto in Singapore and posed its readers this question: What about the report surprised you? Here is my answer.
So, 5 lucky readers will win $100 worth of Gemini swags. Now, I don't know what a swag refers to, but if/when I win this giveaway contest, I will be sure to report here! Anyway, it stunned me how eager Gemini was to get up close and personal with Singaporean users. Soliciting our learning points and familiarizing themselves with our quirks help to remove the emotional distance between them and us users. I guess this also means that Singapore is still in the early adoption stage when it comes to crypto. Hence, Gemini is fighting hard to deepen client loyalty.
How do different financial service providers conduct marketing activities in your country? Let me know in the comments below.
The thumbnail showcases a t-shirt with the kanji characters for "Free Man". This is what I am aiming towards!
