Author:Esty
Compiled by: TechFlow
After working with several KOLs, including well-known figures like @Flowslikeosmo , I have summarized some practical KOL marketing experience for reference.
1. If you choose the wrong person, the project will go astray
In every market cycle, there are always projects that invest a lot of money in KOLs, but almost every time it backfires. The misunderstandings of many project owners are:
They believe that KOLs can bring traffic;
Thinking that once it goes “viral” it’s a success;
Treat interactions as actual conversions.
However, the reality is: 95% of the time, these investments do not actually translate into project results - they simply make the surface data look better.
For example, your post got 200k views and 200 bot comments? That looks cool, but did it actually drive your Token Generation Event (TGE) or Total Value Locked (TVL)?
Many project owners are chasing short-term “explosive moments”. As @madladshad said, this is a “short-term hype marketing approach”. They often overlook user retention and optimization of key indicators, which are the key to the long-term development of the project.
2. KOL classification and the problems behind it
KOLs will show interest in your project, but this interest often only lasts until the money stops coming in. After that, they may not even remember the name of your project.
Generally speaking, KOLs can be divided into the following categories:
Speculative (90%) : They follow all hot topics and post all kinds of content. Their goal is to squeeze out as much profit as possible. They use tools like Socialplug to inflate data, or form networks with other KOLs to fake interaction volume to deceive project owners. This type of KOL usually quickly promotes and sells project tokens.
Semi-speculative (5%) : They usually have a specific field or interest point and mainly discuss related content. Their fans and interactions are mostly real, and their attitudes are relatively sincere, but when faced with some high-value cooperation, they may find it difficult to resist the temptation.
Sincere (5%) : These KOLs do not increase their account size by inflating their traffic, but attract fans through professional content. They have in-depth knowledge in a certain field and rarely accept advertising cooperation. Even if they do, they will prioritize the interests of fans. This type of KOL is the partner who can truly bring market influence and conversion rate, such as Kaito's core circle members.
I need to clarify that I do not blame any type of KOL. In fact, these behaviors of KOL are just a reflection of the current state of the industry. The real problem lies in the capital power behind it - the greed and speculation of big capital, venture capital companies and project teams are the root cause of this phenomenon.
3. Constants and variables: the art of narrative control
If you don’t own your own narrative, the market will define it for you, and the results may not be what you want.
You need to realize that KOLs are just an amplifier. Before you even consider using them, it’s important to lay the groundwork:
Create products that can truly solve real problems;
Clarify your narrative, brand positioning and market differentiation;
Reach consensus within the team and identify core principles;
Define your distribution channels and communication methods;
Decide how important community building is to you;
Connect with partners who have real value.
Unfortunately, most projects lack a clear identity, well-defined goals, effective solutions, ethical values, and long-term vision.
4. Our choices determine our future
Learn to take advantage of the profit-seeking mentality in human nature.
Once you have the foundation laid, how do you turn that into action?
Ideal situation : Your product has reached product-market fit (PMF), and users and influencers are talking about it because it brings them money, while also creating high-quality content for them and attracting more attention.
But in reality, this is a chicken-and-egg problem. Many people believe that you need to have “influence” to achieve PMF. This view is partially true, but the key point is that “influence” does not necessarily need to rely on KOLs. It can also be achieved through partnerships and word-of-mouth communication.
A more realistic path : Once you have defined your niche and target audience, you can start looking for suitable KOLs. You can use tools like @_kaitoai to analyze their audience coverage and the number of real fans (if any). It is also crucial to build a strong network, because referrals through personal connections often get twice the result with half the effort. Another way is to use @Tunnl_io to find suitable KOLs through screening.
Proactively engage with your target KOLs on Twitter. Respond to their content, send them private messages, and offer support. You need to build relationships on a personal level, not a simple business transaction. While this approach can be helpful for brands, it’s often more effective to start with a personal account. Don’t expect results in a week—long-term interactions and accumulation will bring results, so start early and make it part of your core marketing strategy.
As the relationship builds, the discussion will gradually focus on the product you are developing. At this point, you can promote the product and show how it can bring practical benefits to the KOL. The goal here is still to build long-term relationships and networks, not short-term benefits.
If your product can bring real economic benefits to KOLs and fits their brand positioning, then the possibility of them actively promoting you will increase significantly, because your success will also bring them more benefits. In addition, you can also ask them to recommend other KOLs for you, so you don’t have to start cold from scratch. Relationships established through referrals are often more efficient and more likely to succeed than cold starts.
Even if your product enables KOLs to make money, they will still want additional compensation. Giving away tokens may seem like an easy solution, but it may be detrimental to the project in the long run because many people will choose to sell the tokens to realize the gains (which is understandable in itself). In addition, most of the truly influential KOLs prefer to accept cash payments directly, such as USDC. So, how to deal with this situation?
When negotiating a partnership with a KOL, long-term cooperation should be prioritized rather than just publishing promotional content once. Why? A single release is unlikely to cover the main groups of the KOL audience, while multiple releases can significantly expand the coverage.
When a KOL continues to publish content related to you, the audience's view of the project will gradually change from "pure paid promotion" to "real trust." The audience's cognition will affect their realistic judgment of the project.
At the same time, other KOLs may notice your collaboration with a certain KOL and reach out to you, which will give you more leverage in future negotiations.
In addition, you don’t have to focus only on “large” KOLs. It is often more valuable to work with “micro KOLs” because their audiences are usually more authentic and the interactions are more sticky.
5. There is no god or king, only an effective marketing funnel
The effects of virality are often short-lived, while a well-designed marketing funnel can bring long-term cumulative effects. The most successful brands in the crypto space do not rely on hype cycles, but instead build real user loyalty by building user engagement paths.
Assuming your product is powerful, has an excellent user interface (UI/UX) and a smooth user onboarding process, here is an example of an effective marketing funnel:
Create a clear homepage on Twitter (now X) with an attractive avatar and banner. Users need to understand the main content of the page within 3 seconds. In addition, a concise bio should include links to landing pages and distribution channels (such as Telegram or Discord).
The design style of the landing page should be consistent with the X page, be concise and easy to understand, and provide a clear call to action (CTA) to guide users to visit the main product.
Stimulate user interest through continuous X posts, AMA activities, team member content releases, partner promotions, private message interactions, and replying to comments.
Users click on your homepage, see a clear introduction, and further visit the landing page.
The user enters the main dApp (decentralized application) and completes the product's user onboarding process.
Satisfied users join Telegram or Discord communities to interact with other users.
In the community, users will feel warmly welcomed by the team and other members, while finding reasons to continue following the project.
Users gradually become part of the community and spontaneously promote the project based on trust and belief.
In this way, users are not only successfully converted into loyal users of your product, but may also become your brand evangelists. Compared with short-term viral communication, this method can continuously bring value to the project.
How do sincere KOLs play a role?
KOLs can greatly increase your reach and distribution capabilities - this is closely related to what we mentioned earlier (see point 3). Remember when I mentioned that you need to prioritize long-term cooperation and screen out the "right" candidates? Here is the process of forming a complete closed loop:
The KOL continues to publish content related to your project for several months, gradually covering most of their audience;
Interested audiences click on your homepage and are directed to your products because of your solid foundation work;
Your excellent UI/UX and product experience, coupled with the enthusiastic service of your team, successfully converted these users into loyal users;
Satisfied users will spontaneously recommend your project to others;
The network of sincere KOLs you initially collaborated with noticed your project and became interested in it;
More KOLs (including more influential KOLs) actively contact you for cooperation;
This gives you more power in negotiations.
6. One of the millions of doors leads to true value
Let me share a personal story. I wrote this article because I made some mistakes in my entrepreneurial journey that led to me being scammed and wasting a lot of my marketing budget.
At the time, I was drawn to so-called “vanity metrics” and bought into some of the speculators who were trying to create a false sense of “authenticity” by promoting each other’s content. The result was that even though my X statistic improved within a week after the post was published, the actual effect was minimal. I regretted this so much that I started looking for a better way.
During this process, I met a KOL whom I admire very much. In my opinion, he is one of the most authentic KOLs in this industry. Why? Because he truly cares about his audience, does not accept cooperation proposals casually, is extremely strict in screening cooperation partners, and his growth is entirely based on real efforts, and he has never used robots to brush data.
I connected with him through a connection I had at the time ("network = assets"). We started chatting and got to know each other, and eventually met at a Token2049 event. We talked a lot about life, goals, vision, the crypto industry, and marketing. Over time, we became very close friends.
Now, our relationship has developed to a stage where I can naturally ask him for introductions to other like-minded KOLs, because I believe that the people he recommends have been strictly screened, or consult him about other KOLs’ opinions and exclusive information (Alpha) to make more informed decisions. If I am working on a project that is suitable for his audience, I can also propose a cooperation plan that is beneficial to both parties.
I know this isn't the most common situation, but in an industry rife with fraud, special times call for special measures. Not only did I gain a trusted friend, I also found a lifelong business partner.
Summarize
Is your marketing campaign designed to build a real brand, or just create a short-lived hype?
First, polish your story, brand positioning, and product core;
Remember, KOLs are tools to amplify communication, not panaceas to solve all problems.
It’s not advisable to blindly place ads and hope for luck – it will only waste your budget;
Build long-term and valuable relationships with KOLs, not just one-off transactional collaborations;
Prioritize the quality of cooperation rather than the quantity. Long-term cooperation is more important than short-term promotion.
MicroKOLs also have their own unique value, so don’t ignore them;
The number of followers is not the only criterion for selecting KOLs. Compared with the number of followers, we should pay more attention to the quality of followers, the niche field in which the KOL is located, the audience sentiment and the overall quality of the content;
Start targeting early, as building a successful brand takes time and sustained effort.
Most projects fail because they don’t leave anything to be remembered. If you don’t provide your audience with something they can trust and believe in, they will eventually forget you.
