Building Trust and Credibility in Crypto Ads

Trust may take decades to build, but one poor decision to lose it all. In the world we live in, 74% of consumers will only trust a brand depending on the quality of product it delivers, and how it treats employees, customers, and the environment.

In 1994, Microsoft’s then tech evangelist Robert Scoble wrote “People don’t trust corporations to do the right thing, particularly the big and successful ones like Microsoft.  

If this is the case, and yet we both know trust is the foundation of every successful sale, according to Shopify’s Adam Rogers – What should businesses do to ensure they showcase their trustworthiness to both prospects and consumers?

For sectors involving investment or finances, winning trust and credibility is not easy. In fact, Ipsos ranks financial services as one of the industries that faces the greatest reputational challenge. 

Building trust and credibility is even tougher for brands in the cryptocurrency space. The success of such brands usually depends on harnessing communities for adoption and distribution. The basis of these communities is transparency, trust, autonomy, reward, shared values, and governance. 

If people cannot trust your business, 83% of them will not do business with you, says Gartner; with such a staggering percentage, how will you even build a strong community that believes in your brand? In this article, we will walk you through best practices for achieving trust and credibility in crypto ads.

Bitmedia.IO assists with cryptocurrency projects that want to widen their reach through effective advertising. With its track record in developing tailor-made marketing solutions for reputable companies in the space, Bitmedia will also help your brand achieve trust and credibility in your crypto advertisement.

Addressing Misconceptions

The most prevalent misconception about cryptocurrencies is they operate in an unregulated environment. In fact, the space is overly regulated. Debatable as that might, remember how oversight authorities like the SEC are watching every move and any slight wrongdoing lands you in court. 

Sam Bankman-Fried would have gotten away with it in an unregulated environment, already Coinbase Exchange is battling in court over various allegations of violating security laws.  What the environment lacks is a written framework or constitution to oversee the space but to say crypto is unregulated, we bet not. 

There are many more misconceptions surrounding cryptocurrencies, namely: it is a Ponzi or get-rich-quick scheme, a burble that awaits bursting, has no real-world applications, and is only for tech wizards.

All these misconceptions are far from the truth, and the more prospects believe in them, the harder it becomes for them to convert once they see your advertisements. As such, brands in the blockchain space must address these myths and misconceptions to ensure their audience will trust them. 

Transparent and Honest Communication

For brands in industries facing reputational challenges, transparency and honesty are the key to demonstrating credibility in an increasingly doubtful market. 

According to a study by Inc Africa, 73% of customers will even pay more for products and services promising total transparency. However, the same study goes on to claim that transparency and accountability are two of the most overused, abused, and unproductive words in business. Perhaps this also leads us to why Robert Scoble penned corporates are the least trusted entities, because a brand will always fail its market if it goes on promising transparency and accountability but ends up doing the opposite. 

As a result, there has never been a better time for businesses in the internet age to practice transparent and honest communication than now. Guides about transparency will tell you to infuse the word into your brand’s mission, or vision. This is  a really good tip. However, the winning brand will always be the one maintaining clear and consistent communication throughout its sales funnel. 

Even Scoble admitted the only way for Microsoft to show you they are trustworthy is by inviting you “deep inside the company’s corporate structures and talk to you like human beings”, according to the technical evangelist, achieving trustworthiness is one of the reasons for companies to blog. Traditionally, companies may have blogged to generate leads but the approach might also be effective for cryptocurrency brands to achieve trust.

Compliance with Regulation

Adhering to compliance is an express ticket for cryptocurrency brands to win trust and credibility. While projects in the industry lack the luxury and time to wait for regulators to straighten their requirements, they still need to do business in a way that does not go against existing financial protocols. 

Even the projects known to stick by the book such as Coinbase are taking agencies like the SEC to court because they want these oversight authorities to sit and write down regulations they can abide by. The authorities are also doing their work in nubbing lawbreakers and businesses that are compelling consumers into bad deals. 

However, if you want your business to reduce risks and also inspire trust, complying with mechanisms such as Know your Customer (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) is the first step to achieving credibility in the space. This is not something you just say or place on your mission statement without doing the work. 

Walking the talk in things like AML procedures must also involve infusing crypto-specific analysis and monitoring tools to identify risks and/or wallets associated with illicit activity. Undertaking regular internal and external audits also demonstrates a crypto company’s effectiveness in mitigating risks and abiding by regulatory requirements. 

When customers, prospects, and the community see you are doing these things, they will perceive your company as diligent enough to be trusted with any business. 

Community Engagement and Feedback

Doing crypto marketing without community engagement is like shouting into an empty abyss. The most inspiring thing that marketers can learn from Bitcoin is the community behind it. It’s one of the most principled communities surrounding a tech product. Moreover, it has grown strong over time thanks to the shared philosophies that Satoshi Nakamoto wrote down in his whitepaper, “A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” and for most of its existence, Bitcoin has drawn strength from three major overlapping communities. The investor community, the blockchain connoisseur, and the speculator. In 2023, another community emerged, art participants who can inscribe media on the Bitcoin network or spend several satoshi’s for a digital wearable. 

Many say that cryptocurrency is money that chose to have philosophy instead of a central bank. Marketers might think a community only grows where there is utility but we’ve seen memecoins like DOGE launch and become successful with none. A community like the one surrounding DOGE is united by the Dogecoin manifesto, being useful, personable, welcoming, and reliable. While the memecoin has utility now, it did grow a sizable following due to its values. 

What all the above means is that projects must incorporate strong principles and effective values, no matter how good their utility is. Because these values and principles will bring your community together and make them believe in a common goal that everyone can trust. Keeping the members engaged is the next step for a successful community. Your team can take advantage of airdrops, social media memes, polls, rewards, video content, and blogging to ensure a high-level of community engagement.

Here are concise descriptions for the key concepts mentioned:

1. Transparent Communication: The practice of openly sharing information and intentions with stakeholders, ensuring no hidden agendas and fostering trust.
2. Regulatory Compliance: Adhering to laws, regulations, guidelines, and specifications relevant to business operations, particularly those concerning financial activities and consumer protection.
3. Community Engagement: Actively involving and interacting with the community of users, investors, and enthusiasts through various platforms and activities to build a loyal and supportive base.
4. Cryptocurrency Misconceptions: Common false beliefs or misunderstandings about cryptocurrencies, such as them being unregulated, only for tech-savvy individuals, or associated with illicit activities.
5. KYC (Know Your Customer): A process of verifying the identity of clients to prevent fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing, ensuring a safer financial environment.
6. AML (Anti Money Laundering): Policies, laws, and regulations to combat the practice of generating income through illegal actions, ensuring the integrity of the financial system.
7. Community Values and Principles: The foundational beliefs and guidelines that unite a community, guiding behavior and decisions, and fostering a sense of belonging and purpose.
8. Cryptocurrency Advertising: The strategies and methods used to promote cryptocurrency projects, focusing on building trust, credibility, and awareness among potential users and investors.

Building trust and credibility is essential for the success of cryptocurrency projects that want to conduct effective advertising. It all starts with what we mentioned in the article, bursting people’s misconceptions about the industry or your product. Ensuring honest and transparent communication throughout your sales channels, complying with regulations, as well as fostering a supportive and passionate community that is fully engaged. If you need assistance to polish up your approach to crypto ads, Bitmedia provides specialized marketing and advertising solutions for brands in Web3.