Why I Quit 15 years of Media To Join Crypto!
My Crypto Odyssey:
If you think that the number one reason why I quit 15 years of media to join crypto is to become an advocate for crypto; then I am sorry to say that you are wrong!
I am no hero in a cape when I first embarked on this crypto journey.
My interest in crypto first piqued when I joined a company launching an initial coin offering (ICO) during the listing frenzy of 2017. Crypto is known as the wild west and it was confusing, challenging but very intriguing as a new marketer dipping her toes into the sector.
Even though the ICO did not pull through, my inquisitiveness and interest into this crypto labyrinth was growing. I was intrigued, drawn just like bees 🐝 to honey. 🍯 (alright, maybe a little to the money 💰 too!)
My next adventure started when I joined a DEX exchange offering spot trading. It was a smoother transition for me as my crypto understanding was growing. I was committed to helping traders to make the most basic type of crypto investment. I was tasked to educate traders who had the option to hold on to their crypto until the value increased or to use their crypto to buy other coins that could potentially rise in value.
Marketing a DEX was an eye-opener for me as traders placed their orders and trading of their cryptocurrencies without relying on an intermediary institution. As a DEX trader, you basically hold the whole financial world in your hands and you are sovereign over your own funds because trades occur directly between users (peer-to-peer) through an automated process on the blockchain.
Fast forward a few years later, I developed and progressed on an individual basis and took a leap of faith to join a leading margin trading platform. The experience at Overbit has been phenomenal!
To put it simply, margin trading is when you borrow money that you do not have from an exchange or a platform to put into a trade. And this means, when trading on margin, gains, and losses, these can be MAGNIFIED.
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Yes! It’s hard work trying to cultivate a learning mindset for traders to trade only with what they have and concurrently equip them with trading tools and resources for a seamless trading experience, however, nevertheless, it has been a great experience!
Here are 4 Reasons Why I Joined Crypto:
1. Curiosity Lure
Curiosity built-up and I started learning more about cryptocurrency and its features being an internet-based medium of exchange and how cryptographical functions helped to conduct financial transactions.
So what is cryptocurrency all about?
Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies working as a medium of exchange. Within this digital currency, cryptography is used to secure and verify all transactions on the blockchain — which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit. Indeed, crypto is very interesting as it leverages blockchain technology to gain decentralisation, transparency, and immutability with no central authority controlling it.
As of Jan 20, 2020, the cumulative market capitalisation of cryptocurrencies was $237.1 billion, up from the 2018 value of $128.78 billion. Until 2016, the total market cap was below $18 billion. 9 months later on Sept 5th, according to CoinMarketCap, the market cap was $342.8 billion. This impressive growth in market cap certainly caught my eye and desire to learn more about crypto!
You see, to me, the crypto space seems like a kaleidoscope of terminologies, market movements, and a list of never-ending digital marketing techniques that marketers need to embark on to cut through the clutter and communicate effectively to traders.
The first thing that I needed to do was to equip myself with crypto knowledge. All these terminologies — cryptocurrency, bitcoin, blockchain were popping up on the news and seen on social media feeds and my curiosity got the better of me.
So, these were some sites that I used to broaden my crypto knowledge and to be better equipped.
a) Glossary — CoinGegko.
b) Understanding market capitalisation of crypto and coins — Coin Market Cap
c) Building knowledge on Bitcoin and Ethereum with crypto press such as CoinTelegraph and CoinDesk.
The learning journey was fun and fulfilling as I learned that Bitcoin is the father of crypto, while the hardworking mother of crypto is Ethereum.
2. Real Future
Blockchain and crypto jobs started its popularity during the ICO days in 2017; attracting the early-adopter crowds due to Bitcoin and Ethreum’s boom.
Another job recruitment agency, Monster.com shared an analysis, stating that the cryptocurrency job market is on the rise. Listings for jobs mentioning either “cryptocurrency,” “bitcoin,” or “blockchain” have risen 194% year-over-year, from 2017 to 2018.
Moving forward to 2020, even with the pandemic hitting our shores, according to Deloitte’s 2020 survey showed the growth of blockchain and crypto with more than 50% of global organisations viewing blockchain as a strategic priority. 86% of senior executives believe that blockchain technology will be adopted mainstream and 54% of US organisations are currently hiring blockchain staff.
More job descriptions in the crypto sphere are popping-up and there is a growing market for crypto employees and jobs with attractive salaries. In Singapore, Covid-19 has made crypto jobs hot again with central banks warming up to digital currencies. From blockchain engineers to journalists, the crypto boom has created jobs requiring various skill sets.
With more industries like banks, start-ups like Spotify created since the invention of blockchain, the multiple tech firms taking over the world and governments who have been hiring crypto experts to advise them, it is no surprise that blockchain and crypto professionals are in high demand.
With all the above factors, it was not rocket science for me to decide to jump onto the crypto bandwagon!
3. No Beating Around the Bush with Crypto Marketing — KISS
Good marketing is when you get your message across to the audience in simple terms but direct messaging.
Traders just want to follow and execute good trading strategies, get help/insights on how to trade better, and minimise their losses! As crypto marketers, we need to be transparent and open to help traders execute their trades better with straight to the point marketing.
Let me share with you the top three key channels where Overbit traders enjoy receiving their news from the marketing team.
Most active crypto traders are open to direct email marketing as they would have agreed on their own terms to subscribe to the EDMs. Emails are the perfect channel to update current and new traders' updates on the project, market movement news, new promotional campaigns, or any company updates.
Secondly, traders are receptive to YouTube influencer marketing because each influencer has its own community and their own unique way to promote their projects to their community. Very often influencers are affiliates who have strong faith in the projects that they promote which creates authenticity and trust amongst the audience.
Lastly — a picture tells a thousand words.
Everyone loves simple and short messages. What other better way to communicate our messages than via video marketing. Overbit brought this to life with the launch of Overbit Sketches, a series of 5 videos that were embedded with humour to our international group of traders.
4. Who Says that Crypto Marketing is Dull and Boring?
Crypto marketing is enjoyable and I get to create fun campaigns!
Crypto marketing is about establishing a presence where your audience is. It’s about consistently helping traders to focus on their wins and informing traders on how to minimise losses — 24/7, 365 days a year!
The biggest challenge for marketers is that you need to keep on constructing creative campaigns to grab the attention of traders. That is why at Overbit, we are in the midst of building a Rewards Hub for traders who love gamification. Each time a trader logs in to the platform, they get rewarded with perks.
In the meantime, while the Rewards Hub is being constructed, smaller fun campaigns like the End of Summer Campaign are built to create engagement with traders with rewards.
Every day when traders login to the Overbit platform, three surprise airdrop boxes will appear. All they need to do is simply choose a box and they would be in a chance to win, Tier Points, a Bonus Balance, or even cash BTC or USDT! How cool is that?
Final Words from My Crypto Experience.
I believe the value of crypto will continue to grow. Considering the benefits of the crypto market and the rising interest in this field, the crypto market is not going away but is here to stay instead. Despite some disturbing and scam news floating around, it is still clear that crypto will make a huge difference in the near future by providing a new way for traders to invest.
Experience is the name of the game for marketers to keep engaging the crypto traders — so keep learning. Be guided by wisdom and learn from the mistakes of your past.
Always start with an end goal and it’s never too late to give it a try — regardless whether you are a Gen Z, Y, X, or a Baby Boomer in crypto!
Afterall as Michael Hyatt said, “Marketing is really just about sharing your passion.”
-End-
Biography:
Junice Liew is the Head of Marketing at Overbit.com and is an experienced marketer with demonstrated working history in the media, private education, blockchain and crypto industry.
Passionate about marketing, she is skilled in digital strategy and communications. Junice holds a Bachelor of Arts (Communications) Honors — First Class, from Charles Sturt University in Australia.
In her free time, she is committed to doing social work in the community and has a deep love for animals — both big and small.
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