User Acquisition Fundamentals: Web2 vs Web3
User Acquisition Fundamentals of web2 vs User Acquisition Fundamentals web3 highlight the evolution of strategies in the mobile gaming industry, incorporating insights from blockchain gaming trends, economy design, and marketing strategies. In Web2, centralized platforms like app stores and social media are the primary channels for acquiring users through targeted advertising campaigns. These campaigns rely on traditional metrics like click-through rates and installs. In contrast, Web3 focuses on decentralized ecosystems where blockchain games leverage tokenized rewards and NFTs to engage players and build communities. For example, airdrops provide free tokens to wallets, creating initial user interest and incentivizing participation.
From 2021 to 2022, blockchain gaming investments exceeded $2 billion, with the two phases of blockchain game lifecycles focusing on early development funding and user engagement through tokenomics. Web3 games effectively market globally by utilizing Web3 guilds to pool resources and incentivize player collaboration, thereby enhancing gameplay economies. Additionally, strategies like the MNLTH NFT drop demonstrate how token releases can rival influencer-driven user acquisition campaigns.
Key insights reveal that Web3 gaming success relies on designing inclusive economies that prioritize ownership and user engagement. By aligning economy design with global marketing strategies and leveraging community participation, Web3 games redefine user acquisition and engagement compared to Web2’s reliance on centralized, data-driven approaches. This shift underscores the importance of decentralized growth models in the evolving mobile gaming landscape.
What Are the Key Investment Trends in Blockchain Gaming From 2021 to 2022?
2022 Q1: $2 billion
2021 Q4: $1.6 billion
2021 Q3: $1.2 billion
2021 Q2: $400 million
2021 Q1: $430 million
With these figures invested, we are about to see a new wave of games built on blockchain or mobile games with a blockchain layer. The question is:
- How do you soft launch, global launch and market blockchain games?
- Can you use the “old web2” UA framework?
- Are there similarities or you need to use totally different marketing methodology?
How Can Blockchain Games Be Effectively Launched and Marketed Globally?
Blockchain Games can be Effectively Launched and Marketed Globally in following way:
This was published some time ago on mobiledevmemo.com:
“Currently, launching and scaling a web3 game is mostly done via Discord, the community management platform, and through PPC web advertising on platforms like Facebook, Google AdWords.
Some large crypto communities and blogs also offer revenue-share promotion opportunities, in which they advertise a web3 game in exchange for a share of the revenue generated by any new users engendered by the campaign.
Often the marketing beats that utilize these promotional channels are organized around pre-release token sales for in-game assets and at game launch, but few web3 games run the type of performance marketing common to the mobile free-to-play gaming category, which is referred to as user acquisition.”
While I agree with some stuff like web-based advertising via Facebook & Google, there is a huge crypto audience on twitter and reddit. Its just not that black and white honestly.
Lets take a look and make a comparison between web2 and web3 marketing activities::
Marketing Activities of Web2
Marketing Activities of Web2 are given below:
Traditional UA – facebook, google, adnetworks, tiktok
ASO
AEO, VO optimisation (ad roas vs iap roas)
AEO engagement events
Influencer marketing
Fb fanpage
Appannie/Sensor tower
MMP tracking
Marketability tests
Marketing Activities of Web3
Marketing Activities of Web3 are given below:
Twitter, Facebook, Google, Reddit, Tiktok
Landing Page CRO
Discord, Telegram
KOL / airdrops
Written AMA, live AMA
Medium blogs (developer updates, news, announcements)
Twitter spaces
Dapp Radar, Nansen, Rarity Tools
Whitelists contests, Tokenomics, Whitepaper
Google analytics, Matomo, Segment, Mixpanel
NFT Pre-sale market validation
Guilds
Email marketing
What Is a Web3 Guild and How Does It Function?
Web3 guild are generally considered to be a collective of crypto-enabled developers, designers, and thinkers that share resources (be it knowledge or labour) in the pursuit of a common goal.
There is no one single definition for what a web3 guild is, they’re generally considered to be a collective of crypto-enabled developers, designers, and thinkers that share resources (be it knowledge or labour) in the pursuit of a common goal.
In a way, you can think of web3 guilds like craft-specific DAOs where members work together and contribute to projects.
As they do so, they earn financial rewards/equity in the organization in the form of tokens. P2E gaming guilds are unique in that instead of bringing together people to work together on projects, members of P2E guilds like Guildfi and Yield Guild contribute by playing blockchain-based games (e.g., Axie Infinity) together; sharing earnings, rewards, and crypto knowhow in the process.
Guilds are entities that can have a lot of active members all adding to DAU of the game, retaining at an incredibly high rate.
What Is an Airdrop?
An airdrop is a distribution of a cryptocurrency token or coin (or NFT) usually for free, to a large number of wallet addresses. Airdrops are primarily implemented as a way of gaining attention and new followers, resulting in a larger user-base and a wider disbursement of coins/NFTs.
How Does the MNLTH NFT Drop Compare to Influencer Integration in Gaming?
MNLTH NFT Drop Compare to Influencer Integration in Gaming in following ways:
RTFKT Studios and Nike have finally released their first NFT with the “MNLTH” drop. Airdropped exclusively to Clone X and PodX holders, the NFT is as ominous as it was heavily anticipated.
The co-branded NFT is built with a dark metallic look with various patterns carved into it. The Nike Swoosh and RTFKT logos shine on the box, which houses an unknown object.
All in all, nobody knows what is inside but MNLTH went immediately on sale for $30k. It created so much buzz around the company and brand (plus 2.6mill in revenues for RTFKT, pretty good eh?
Does this remind you of something? To a certain extent, I would compare it to influencer integration into games. Very similar to Ninja & Raid Shadow Legends. You are trying to get to the new audience by using him in the game.
Ninja->RAID, MNLTH -> clone x & podx .
I guess the only difference is, you can’t sell Ninja for 30k.
How Can Blockchain Games Leverage Web3 Strategies for User Acquisition and Engagement?
Blockchain Games Leverage Web3 Strategies for User Acquisition and Engagement in following ways:
Last year our friends at Lucky Kat sold 5,555 NFTs for its forthcoming game Panzerdogs in 15 minutes, making $1.1m. The team announced the game in crypto-friendly online communities and built followers on Twitter and Discord. The tanks and the avatars were minted as NFTs and placed on Solana marketplace Magic Eden. They had an amazing start. 15 minutes and everything was sold. This is a great validation of the project. Players really want to engage with this project.
What are the Key Insights on Web3 Gaming User Acquisition and Economy Design?
Key Insights on Web3 Gaming User Acquisition and Economy Design are given below:
1/ Really enjoyed this @naavik episode. Great thoughts from @matejlancaric and @NicoVereecke on UA in web2/web3 games. I think one very important web3 UA tool not discussed on the pod is the play-to-earn rewards which is driven by the economy/tokenomics design. https://t.co/NPw9k3uWXf
— DeFi Vader (@DeFiVader) February 14, 2022
3/ On the LTV side, in addition to 2 existing Axie revenue sources of breeding + marketplace fees. I’d also assume that IAPs (non-monetary items) would be paid in SLP and then be burnt. One needs to carefully balance/optimize the LTV and the economic sustainability.
— DeFi Vader (@DeFiVader) February 14, 2022
5/ Economy/tokenomics design itself is a product that is as crucial as the gameplay. A good design of P2E/NFT rewards can increase LTV (ownership vs expenditure “feeling”) and decrease CAC (conversion, wom) while a bad one can result in an unsustainable ponzinomics model.
— DeFi Vader (@DeFiVader) February 14, 2022
7/ Another important prod is the Discord server. A good Discord community that makes players feel like “home” and subconsciously provides desirable emotions can flourish. This won’t help with widening the top of the funnel but will help with conversion (CPI) and engagement (LTV).
— DeFi Vader (@DeFiVader) February 14, 2022
8/ The Discord community should ideally be led by 2; a product manager who continuously optimizes processes through various tests/experiments and a well spoken, high EQ marketing/PR/communications/social media manager who executes on the tests/experiments.
— DeFi Vader (@DeFiVader) February 14, 2022
What are the Two Phases of Blockchain Game Lifecycle and Effective User Acquisition Strategies?
Two Phases of Blockchain Game Lifecycle and Effective User Acquisition Strategies are given below:
I think we need to distinguish two phases of the blockchain games lifecycle.
Before the game is live: community building, social media hype approach, NFT pre sale, airdrops etc
After launching the game: more traditional UA comes to place that consists of marketing campaigns on Twitter, reddit, google adwords and facebook.
UA will still make the majority of the expenses for a web3 game studio.
Totally agree with what DefiVader mentioned in the thread:
Web2 UA -> Brand marketing + Performance marketing
Web3 UA -> Web2 UA + P2E/NFT rewards + Discord community + Influencer marketing
Building community is definitely important, but not scalable marketing solution!
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