5 growth marketing strategies to market to every demographic in the Metaverse

When it comes time to market your product or service, chances are, you’re turning to online social media and apps. But, one of the biggest mistakes we see people make is that they market to one demographic. You can’t just throw out the same piece of content and expect it to perform to the many different demographics in the Metaverse. Thankfully, we’re here to help. Here’s how to market to every demographic for your product or service.

How to market to the Gen Z demographic:

Gen Z cares more about fun than they do about money. Basically, they want to be at the racetrack even if they don't bet on the horses. So, how do you market to this intense demographic? The way to market to Gen Z is to give them a space where they can be themselves. They need the freedom to be themselves and don’t want to conform. The social media platforms that Gen Z hang out on are TikTok, BeReal, Snapchat, and occasionally Discord, Reddit, Twitter, and similar sites. 

Gen Z grew up on the internet and is used to being able to find what they want when they want it. The trick is to reach them where they spend most of their time and keep up with their fast pace because they are constantly on the move. You don’t have a lot of time to capture their attention, so you need to be creative and engage them right away. Because the Metaverse is built around social interaction, your marketing strategy should connect with them in an immersive and unforgettable way. Humor does extremely well with Gen Z, and they love real-time platforms where you can connect with them immediately. 

How to market to the crypto native demographic:

There are two types of Web3 crypto natives. For this demographic, you want to address their sophistication level. They know what they’re doing. They are invested in crypto and may even receive their salary in crypto. Your marketing strategy should address them as if they are blockchain experts (because they are).  

Web3 crypto natives get their news and signals from Twitter. They're typically hidden away in exclusive groups that correspond to geographies, events in the industry, alpha signal groups, or affiliations and institutions, like a Berkeley or Stanford group. They are also found on Telegram, Discord, and other sites as well. So, how do you use growth marketing with this group? Web3 crypto natives are interested in Alpha Signals, like how to make money, what's hot, and things like that. They also want to see postmortems on Twitter when something goes wrong, such as a massive hack or massive price crash.  

How to market to the crypto-adjacent demographic:

Web3 crypto adjacents are those people who are around the Metaverse, but don’t touch it. This might be because they aren’t ready to dive in or because they’ve never been exposed to it. You might find these adjacents working with a Web3 entity, or they could be on a team within a Web3 company. They might even have a friend who's mining a cryptocurrency. Whatever the reason, they’re on the cusp, but not yet in the Metaverse. Your goal is to get them to be invested.

Whereas Gen Z and crypto natives have a vested interest in being marketed to, want to be involved in the Metaverse, and want to play the game, crypto adjacents aren’t really in it. They’re familiar with it and may be kicking the tires, but they aren’t in the game. They need to be marketed to in a different way. They aren’t up-to-date on the complexities of the Metaverse, so your strategy should be to simplify things for them. Let them feel as if they’re smarter or better off after they've interacted with you without getting too complicated for them.

How to market to the crypto-curious demographic:

The crypto-curious people don't have a tie to the Metaverse. They haven’t been forced into it or even been exposed to it by chance. They might be hesitant to try something new, whether from a fear of losing money or a fear of technology. This is probably the biggest demographic, which makes them an important one to target. 

To reach the crypto-curious, your marketing strategy or a growth strategy should be to make a product that is more open to the mainstream versus the technology that the mainstream doesn't understand. They might need some education on the crypto world, but don’t want to be overwhelmed.

The crypto-curious are especially sensitive to marketing and advertising. They are likely to engage with ads they see on social media and they tend to have the money to spend on products they’re interested in. But they are leery of being misled, so your marketing campaigns should be presented to them as accurately and simply as possible. 

How to market to the crypto mainstream oblivious:

For the crypto-oblivious demographic, the trick is to direct your marketing towards them in a way that the mainstream oblivious demographic can also understand. The goal isn’t to get the mainstream oblivious into Web3. You want to target them where they are.

The crypto-oblivious might not even be aware of Web3 and Metaverse. They don’t know that they’re up against it. These are the people who might jump on Instagram or they might not. It isn’t part of their lives. The crypto-oblivious are wild cards who could develop a curiosity for Web3, but they might also develop an aversion toward it. This is why you need to market to them more as you would to the crypto-curious.  

Marketing the Metaverse

Deciding on how to market to each different demographic in the Metaverse is essential. Start by knowing which demographic you're targeting and create your marketing strategy to fit that demographic. Place the content where that demographic lives and in the format that will engage them. 

Also, consider the differences between Web2 and Web3. In Web2, marketing is like building a huge bonfire in the middle of a forest. You throw all your marketing efforts into one place. The fire might diminish at one point and grow stronger at others, but for the most part, it reaches the same people. Web3 marketing has a different objective. You want to spark little flames here and there and nurture the flames until you’ve created a ring of fire. Every part of that ring is different, and all are important. If you lose a segment, maybe by offending one of the communities, it affects the whole ring. The idea is to keep the ring intact. This means targeting each demographic differently and keeping each flame alive. 

The Metaverse can be a complicated and confusing thing to break into, but now is the time to do it. Not sure where to start? Let’s connect! As experts in the Metaverse, we’re here to help you reach your target demographic in an effective way.