Hello Polkadot Community!
Buckle up, because you’re about to meet a marketing maverick who’s a little too short and a bit too British 
I’m the Portfolio CMO at ForceField, which in layman’s terms means I’m part of the strategic team behind the growth of not one, not two, but over 280 tech companies, some of which you might’ve heard of (hint: Ethereum and Solana ring any bells?). Check out my LinkedIn to see the full story: Claire’s LinkedIn.
My journey in the marketing cosmos has been nothing short of a rollercoaster, with more twists and turns than a Polkadot parachain. From overseeing budgets that would make even the most seasoned CFO’s eyes water (over $100 million, no big deal 
) to advising top-tier blockchain companies, I’ve done it all with a dash of a competitive streak that would give any high-stakes poker player a run for their money (try me).
Now, my modus operandi isn’t just throwing darts in the dark and hoping they stick; it’s more of a Sherlock-Holmes-meets-Marketing kind of approach. Analyzing, strategizing, and occasionally mesmerizing (or so I like to think) with my keen sense of market trends. I’m a bit of a numbers and data nerd, so you’ll bet that any strategy is backed up by key insights. 
Curious about my approach? Dive into my insights on how to tailor Web3 marketing in Bull vs Bear markets here: Bull vs Bear Post. And let’s not forget my recent deep dive into what I’ve learnt from analysing 100s of the biggest and baddest Web3 companies: Disruptive Web3 Companies Analysis.
In my spare time, which is as rare as a bug-free code on its first run, I dabble in turning stablecoins into rockstars of the crypto world. The latest hit? A stablecoin venture eyeing a cool $1 billion market cap. 
When I’m not immersed in the crypto-verse, you can find me answering to Dr_Loaded on Call of Duty or reliving the glory days on my Nintendo 64 (quick quiz: am I GenZ or Millenial…).
So, why am I here? Well, let’s just say I’m intrigued by the tech, captivated by the community, and ready to sprinkle a little of my marketing fairy dust on the Polkadot ecosystem. Let’s make magic happen together!
Now let’s get to the main event on how myself and ForceField can help Polkadot and Decentralized Futures. I did a really extensive audit and analysis of Polkadot (summarized and linked below), benchmarked competitors, and created a 90 day strategy and action plan from this. It’s a lot of detail, so if you have any questions, please give me a nudge and I’ll be happy to explain and expand.
Lets go!
About ForceField:
We, at ForceField Digital, part of Kenetic Capital, a prominent Web3 fund in Asia, with over 280 investments, including Ethereum, Solana and Algorand, are excited to share our proposal for marketing services to Polkadot. Our history in the blockchain space, impressive case studies, glowing testimonials, coupled with strategic investments and marketing expertise, positions us uniquely to contribute significantly to Polkadot’s growth.
Background:
Since our inception in 2016, we have been at the forefront of the blockchain revolution, demonstrating our commitment to Polkadot’s potential through early investments in Parity’s seed round and continuous support for various Polkadot projects. Our deep involvement in the ecosystem aligns us closely with Polkadot’s vision.
Our USP:
We aren’t your typical marketing agency with junior-level account managers running the show. We are a growth-partner to the biggest projects in the industry, helping to direct and manage growth strategies by deploying experienced Web3 CMO’s and full-stack growth teams of up to 30 people. We focus on everything from strategy to execution, not just singular marketing campaigns. We continually audit and analyse data to direct our decision making. The devil is always in the details!
Recent Developments:
With Parity announcing significant organizational changes, especially in marketing and business development, and the release of a decentralization fund, the timing is perfect for a renewed marketing strategy. We are prepared to collaborate closely with the Parity team and Polkadot stakeholders to craft a narrative that resonates with the latest Web3 trends.
Situation Analysis:
Polkadot wish to expand their Developer Ecosystem presence, where there is currently limited representation. This necessitates marketing strategies that extend beyond traditional advertising to effectively engage and expand the community, including viral campaigns to counter negative perceptions from competitors like Ethereum. Polkadot struggles with underrepresentation in media and community discussions, misconceptions about its technology, and outdated perceptions of its positioning. The strategic approach involves increasing Polkadot’s visibility, correcting misperceptions, informing the community about developments, and aligning marketing efforts to highlight the ecosystem’s vitality and technological advancements.
High-Level Growth Objectives:
- Our goal is to increase Polkadot’s market share, enhance web traffic and engagement across all channels, and build a more vibrant community.
- We will do this by enhancing the developer ecosystem, creating an environment ripe for collaboration and engagement, supported through educational content, captivating case studies, ambassador and referral programs.
- We will work on messaging, positioning and communications in order to place Polkadot at the forefront of the Web3 conversation, rekindling excitement around its technological innovations and fostering growth among developers and users.
Audit Insights:
Our comprehensive audit has revealed several areas where Polkadot can improve its market positioning:
1. Web Traffic Ranking: Polkadot rank #5 amongst 26 competitors with just 8.8% market share. There is an opportunity to enhance messaging, positioning & communication, as well as blogs, tutorials, educational content, team social links, email onboarding flows, video content, live chat functionalities, and case studies for social proof.
2. Email Marketing: We discovered that upon email signup, there are no email onboarding flows present. There’s an opportunity to set-up automations and enhance the user journey.
3. Content Strategy: Inconsistent blogging and limited educational content are affecting organic search and SEO optimization. Moreover, Polkadot is transitioning from its previous parachain slot auction system to Agile Coretime, this represents a significant shift in how users and projects will interact with Polkadot. It’s important to craft a content strategy between the core development team at Parity, Polkadot, and the developer community and this could not come at a more critical juncture!
4. Social Media Traffic: There seems to be underperformance on key social channels (YouTube and Twitter). Despite significant web traffic generated by Twitter (57%) and your 1.4M followers, engagement on the platform remains relatively low.
5. KOL Engagement: There is limited activity around tutorials and educational content for the developer community. Views on YouTube are between 77-711 per video despite 49.4k subscribers. We did not discover KOL activity on Twitter. KOL activity should focus largely on education content, tutorials and reviews to build social proof, excitement and knowledge for developers in order to attract them to participate and build in the ecosystem.
6. Paid Search and Display Ads: Competitors are outperforming in paid search and display ad channels. Polkadot ranks 8th out of 9 competitors who are running paid ads in terms of traffic share. Competitors drive considerable traffic through display ads.
7. Personal Branding: Needs a significant strategy revamp for key executives within Polkadot’s leadership. Not all of the founders are discoverable on Twitter. The Polkadot website lacks links on the team page which further reduces trust, credibility, and transparency. We will focus on thought leadership across industry-wide topics, not shilling the project! No one likes a salesman!
8. Podcast and Multi-Channel Strategy: There’s an absence of a podcast strategy and a comprehensive multi-channel approach, limiting brand-building opportunities. The last episode of the Polkadot owned podcast was in 2021. One option is to do community driven podcasts, whereby top developers come on to talk about all the great things their doing!
Competitor Benchmarking:
Through analysing over 25 Polkadot competitors, we have identified the hierarchical importance of channels, and subsequently what should require the most attention from our strategy.
1. Direct traffic: Competitors are generating 843K - 1.4M. Polkadot at 750K.
This channel drives the most traffic for competitors. This means that brand building is key! To build on this, we must really clarify and align on the new messaging and positioning for Polkadot, while ensuring the Founders are active in personal branding efforts and podcasting. It’s also important to implement a robust partnership strategy with the aim of directly benefiting the Polkadot developer ecosystem.
2. Organic traffic: Competitors at 237K - 1.1M. Polkadot at 491.4K.
This channel takes the number 2 position in terms of driving traffic. Building out the blog and educational content (tutorials, FAQs, etc) is key to optimise SEO efforts. We will run a full keyword analysis and do a full revamp of the website!
3. Social traffic: Competitors at 64K - 545K. Polkadot at 47.8K.
This ranks as the third most important channel for driving traffic. Surprisingly, most of it is from YouTube, although Twitter, Telegram, Reddit and community engagement platforms like Layer3 also rank highly here. As a result, we will focus on a robust multi-channel strategy and community engagements.
4. Referral traffic: Competitors at 60K - 266K. Polkadot at 32.1K.
This channel is the fourth most important for driving traffic to competitor websites. This means we must review Polkadot’s media strategy, referral and ambassador programs, as well as their partnership strategy to all feed nicely back into increasing referral traffic.
5. Display ads & paid search: Competitors up to 13.3K and 36.6K respectively. Polkadot less than 5K.
These channels rank fifth and sixth respectively for overall traffic. We will therefore be building out and optimizing Polkadots display ad campaigns and Google keyword ads to further enhance brand awareness, drive home the new messaging and positioning, and grow website traffic and visibility.
6. Email traffic: Competitors up to 6.6K, Polkadot less than 5K.
This is the seventh most important channel for driving traffic, although despite being in last place, we see it as more important for nurturing the Polkadot ecosystem to help onboard, educate and engage the community.
Our Proposed Marketing Strategy:
1. Community Growth: We plan to intensify community engagement on platforms like Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, and Discord, focusing on building compelling narratives and fostering user interaction.
2. Developer Marketing: By crafting developer-centric narratives, we aim to enhance user adoption and showcase Polkadot’s technical prowess.
3. Content Marketing: Our strategy includes producing and amplifying high-quality educational content through AMAs, podcasts, and interviews to highlight Polkadot’s diverse ecosystem.
4. Strategic Product Advice: We propose to revamp the ambassador program and provide strategic guidance on product development, especially regarding parachains.
5. Personal Branding: Building personal brands for Polkadot’s executives on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn will be a focus to boost credibility and leadership visibility.
6. Referral Traffic: Implementing an effective affiliate program and leveraging paid media referrals will significantly increase referral traffic.
7. SEO and Website Optimization: Conducting an SEO audit and revamping Polkadot’s website will enhance online visibility and engagement.
8. Email Marketing: We plan to optimize email marketing strategies, focusing on narrative-driven content to improve engagement and conversion rates.
9. Paid Search and Display Campaigns: Agile and targeted ad campaigns will be crucial in maximizing Polkadot’s reach and impact in the competitive crypto market.
Action Plan Overview:
Our 90 day action plan lays out details on the following elements:
- Messaging, Positioning & Communications Strategy
- Personal Branding
- KOL Engagement
- SEO and Content Strategy
- Email Marketing
- Paid Ads & Media
- Partnership Strategy
- Podcast Strategy
- Localized Developer Resources and Documentation
- Developer-Focused Educational Initiatives
- Hackathons and Coding Competitions
- Referral & Ambassador Program Launch
- Engagement with Local Tech Communities
- Enhanced Social Media Engagement
- Feedback and Community Support
Days 1-30: Laying the Groundwork
- This phase establishes the groundwork for the strategic initiatives. It includes developing a clear messaging strategy, initiating personal branding, reaching out to KOLs, starting SEO analysis, setting up email marketing, planning educational initiatives, and more. This foundational period is crucial for setting the tone and direction of our efforts.
Days 31-60: Engagement and Implementation
- The second phase is about executing the strategies developed in phase one. This includes disseminating the new messaging, engaging with KOLs, launching email flows, starting paid media campaigns, and actively engaging with the developer community through various channels. The focus here is on beginning to see the fruits of the foundational work and on starting to engage more actively with the target audience.
Days 61-90: Optimization and Community Building
- The final phase is focused on assessing the impact of our strategies and optimizing them. This includes refining messaging based on feedback, expanding personal branding efforts, optimizing paid media campaigns, implementing the partnership strategy, and more. This phase is about solidifying Polkadot’s presence and building upon the momentum gained in the first two phases.
Calls to Action:
We encourage the Polkadot community to engage with us, share feedback, and provide insights. Your input is invaluable in refining and realizing this strategic vision. It may also be useful to check out our FAQs!
Conclusion:
The team at ForceField is excited to explore collaborating more closely with the Parity team and Polkadot community. We look forward to the community’s feedback on our proposal. We understand that our approach may differ from the vision of some community leaders, but we firmly believe in the gradual process of decentralization.
We look forward to your feedback and collaboration!
. Less emojis, more original content please.