It’s been a tumultuous month for people who look at the NFT market solely from an investment perspective and advertisers promoting their projects. Looking beyond the 2022 investing perspective, marketers and companies are leveraging NFTs:  aiding in brand loyalty, displaying scarcity in collectible marketing, and becoming utility tokens as a marketing tool.

NFTs are known for becoming advertisers’ solutions in building brand loyalty, product shortage, and utility token as a marketing tool. Despite NFTs presenting themselves as another digital platform for promoting products, a study shows that Marketing is part of the top 6 challenges that Crypto founders and related products and services such as NFTs experience. 

In a nutshell, NFT or Non-Fungible Tokens are digital assets that can be collected or traded. Some NFTs may behave similarly to cryptocurrency due to its volatility but offers IRL (in real life) utilities or benefits for collectors. The first recognized NFT appeared in 2014. Eight years later, almost 30% of Americans are well acquainted with digital tokens and utilities. 

Now that millennials are invested heavily in different NFT projects and Crypto products, how do giant social networks respond? This year, Twitter made it possible for users to showcase their NFT collection by setting them as their profile pictures. While YouTube saw NFT as a new system to expand monetization for creators. Lastly, Meta’s recent announcement states that they allow creators and collectors to connect Crypto and NFT wallers to share digital collections. 

Despite these social media platforms embracing NFTs, marketers struggle to set up advertising campaigns. But NFT creators should go over these hurdles to accelerate projects at full tilt.

NFT Ads Limitations: Social Media Advertising Policies on Digital Assets

There are hundreds of forum discussions on Reddit and Discord about challenges and ad rejections. Yet, advertisers are still figuring on what platform to use to maximize their promotion outside organic community engagement. The best way to ramp up mass awareness and adaptation is through paid social, but each social network differs in requirements and limitations. 

In general, NFTs fall under the same category as Cryptocurrency. Almost identical requirements, processes, and limitations for campaigns revolving around decentralized assets.

Every NFT ad will undergo a rigorous registration process on most social platforms, ensuring ad viewers of any speculation that may lead to financial losses or damages. Ads should not impose the message of purchasing, selling, or trading cryptocurrencies and their products. In addition, it will require local and legal documents stating the investors’ risks and benefits. 

For Google, the NFT Advertising policy includes advertisers’ google certification,  Financial Crimes Enforcement Network registration, and celebrities’ crypto endorsements are prohibited to avoid fake endorsements. 

Part of Facebook and Instagram advertising policy is that NFT advertisers do not require to submit registration forms such as FinCEN MSB registration, Issuer: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, (FinCEN) BitLicense, and Issuer: Department of Financial Services, New York state (NYSDFS). Instead, they should fill out Facebook’s Cryptocurrency Products and Services Onboarding Requests. But it’s still a good idea to secure documents to avoid getting flagged or account suspended. 

Under Twitter’s ad policies, creators planning to advertise NFT Collection should submit necessary documents, disclosures, and information on consumers’ risks and benefits. Every country holds different restrictions and prohibitions, but ads for Cryptocurrency and other products should apply for an authorization form from Twitter. 

As of writing, TikTok does not allow ads about Cryptocurrency or NFT. But, as indicated in their advertising policies, ads that will follow under this category may apply as long as licensing, certifications, accreditations, and other legal requirements are secured. Advertisers can only target audiences over 18 and must include a valid disclaimer.

Scaling NFT Projects on Biddable Media: Data on Audience Targeting

With more assets identified than active wallets, 1.8 million assets, and 1.5 active holders, competition in the NFT market turns out to be challenging. Finding the right audience for promoting an NFT project is probably the most critical part of setting up a paid social campaign.

The idea behind collecting NFT arts or digital assets may be new to the mass market. Still, for these aspiring NFT creators to break through the barriers is to bring the concept where the target audience is spending most of their time, social media. 

NFT Ads Targeting on Facebook and Instagram

Facebook allows NFT and most Crypto marketing but with an asterisk.  Similar to other “sensitive topics” Facebook has removed most of the detailed targeting that would allow marketers to target different nuanced audiences (i.e. Etherium and NFT INT vs Bitcoin) and is navigating marketers towards much broader audiences. NFT Marketers love Facebook and Instagram’s ability to drive clicks but potentially are frustrated by the lack of targeting depth.

Looking at the Strike Social data for Facebook or Instagram Cryptocurrencies or NFT  campaigns optimized for more views and engagement, our team has seen Interest targeting was more cost-effective than Custom Audiences.   

Targeting LAL audiences is performing well for campaigns intended for more clicks. More than 50% of link clicks are coming from Lookalike audiences, higher than the combined output from Custom Audiences, users targeted by interests, and industries. 

Facebook and Instagram Interest Audience Targeting Options

Presented below are interests for audience targeting that are available in Business Ad Manager for Facebook and Instagram:

• Investment
• Newspapers
• Business
• Investor
• Financial Market
• Investment Strategy
• Finance
• Money
• Online games
• Video games
• other interests that are relevant to the NFT Utilities

NFT Ads Targeting on YouTube

YouTube has opened its window for NFT projects, and this can be an excellent opportunity for brands related to Cryptocurrency and other digital products to promote on the platform. 

Like Facebook, Strike data presented more cost-effective results when serving NFT ads to video watchers targeted by consumers’ Interests. With the help of CampaignLab, a Strike Social data learning machine, the team can identify which group of audiences gets more drawn to the video ad.  

YouTube Interest Audience Targeting Options

Presented below are interests for audience targeting that are available in Google Ads Manager:

• Business News Reader
• Investors
• Business Professionals
• Esports
• Gamers
• Other interests that are relevant to the NFT Utilities
• Keyword Targeting

NFT Ads Targeting on TikTok

TikTok pulled the plug on Cryptocurrency ads last Q3 of 2021, inhibiting NFT brands and creators from sending users to trading platforms and luring the Get-Rich-Quick scheme. Despite the announcement, advertisers are still dipping their toes for as long as they have secured the required documents. 

Compared with Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, TikTok allows advertisers to use Cryptocurrency and NFT-related interests when scaling advertising reach and engagement. 

TikTok Interest Audience Targeting Options

Presented below are interests for audience targeting that are available in TikTok Ads Manager:

• Business News Reader
• Investors
• Business Professionals
• Esports
• Gamers
• Other interests that are relevant to the NFT Utilities
• Interest: Investment
• Interest: Business, and Economy
• Additional Interest: Cryptocurrency Trading
• Additional Interest: Crypto trading
• Additional Interest: NFTs
• Additional Interest: Digital art
• Additional Interest: Mobile Esports
• Additional Interest: Esports tournaments
• Other interests that are relevant to the NFT Utilities

Skip the Paid Social Hurdles when Advertising NFT Projects with Strike Social

Cryptocurrency is continuously evolving, and so is digital advertising. NFTs and other digital assets have not yet hit the mainstream, but everything around it embraces the culture. From startup NFT projects to established brands, digital assets are considered future assets, despite volatility.

Promoting NFT projects should go beyond organic and closed-door communities. Biddable paid social can help create a buzz around and help build momentum in the community. Through social media promotion, awareness and conversation about upcoming projects and utilities can expand in various directions. 

​​Email us if you want to know more about setting up paid social campaigns for NFT ads.