Staying relevant
Cryptocurrencies are heavily dependent on effective marketing strategies.
In such a competitive and volatile market, they need to be.
The smallest hint of trouble and a company’s value can drop overnight.
In the most extreme cases the damage is so severe that the firm simply disappears, never to be seen or heard from again
This is why keeping a crypto product relevant means paying close attention to how it is perceived.
It also means highlighting any new innovations that may attract more users.
Drop it like it’s hot
The airdrop is one of the most powerful marketing tools for blockchain startups.
The concept involves startups “dropping” free coins or tokens directly into active wallet addresses.
All they may ask in return is for users to share a post on social media or tell their friends about the new offering.
The process serves a dual purpose: it gets the word out that there is a new innovation in town, and it sparks initial rounds of trading and engagement.
Solana: breathe it in
Airdrops are particularly popular on Solana, hailed as being among the fastest and most scalable blockchains for creators.
It is incredibly suitable for demanding applications like gaming and high-frequency decentralised exchanges.
Furthermore, Solana boasts robust tooling and great support for different programming languages to help developers build and iterate faster.
That its Solana to USD price is considered stable offers additional encouragement.
Developers building on the layer-1 network frequently offer airdrops to users who test dApps, stake Solana’s native SOL token or provide liquidity on Solana decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms.
Assorted airdrops
It is important to note that there are different type of airdrop on Solana.
The most basic is the holder airdrop.
As the name suggests, holders of SOL may qualify for free tokens. It is that simple.
Next up is the staking airdrop.
This is a reward offered to users who stake SOL to support a protocol. The payoff usually comes in the form of bonus tokens.
A retroactive airdrop, meanwhile, is used to show gratitude to early adopters. The gesture also goes a long way in establishing loyalty among users.
The example of a social media post mentioning or tagging a startup falls into the task-based airdrop category.
Non-fungible token and gaming airdrops also feature, illustrating the scale of the Solana ecosystem.
An interesting innovation is the rank-based airdrop, which takes a more long-term view of the concept.
Here rewards are based on user activity. The greater the engagement, the higher the rank, the bigger the reward.
Building blockchain brands
Airdrops are designed to introduce users to new applications by incentivising them.
On the face of it, the practice may seem a little dubious.
On the flip side, it does help developers attract people to their offering so they can strengthen their brand.
Most would agree that supporting any new venture is a worthwhile undertaking.
As the saying goes, “you’ve got to start somewhere” and, at least for the foreseeable future, that somewhere is Solana.
