3 ways startups can shift public perception of NFTs

NFTs’ reputation was on shaky ground even before the high-profile crypto meltdown of late 2022. Accusations have been leveled at the medium for cheapening the art market and scamming hopeful investors and collectors. And while these accusations are not entirely unfounded, the negative press they generate turns every honest NFT-centric venture into collateral damage.

If you’re a startup in the NFT business and you feel like you’re fighting an endless uphill battle, you’re not alone. Nor are you powerless. Here are a few principles to adhere to that can help you affect meaningful change in your immediate community and help you earn the kind of attention you actually want.

Get nerdy

Platforms that facilitate the creation, sale, and collection of NFTs are as much in the business of art as they are in the business of finance. Many visual artists – at all levels of visibility – are experimenting with NFTs as the newest major means of attracting attention to their body of work. It’s your obligation as an NFT startup to support the artists' efforts, but it doesn’t have to feel like one.

If you’re in a leadership role at an NFT startup, you should tap into your passions in the art world. Which schools of art do you gravitate toward? Which contemporary artists do you love, and what about their work speaks to you? What are your thoughts on the potential of NFTs to transform – or even eradicate – public perceptions of high art? Show that you are more than a tech company looking to make money. Use channels such as social media, especially image-based platforms like Instagram and even TikTok, to touch on different facets of your involvement in art and demonstrate your love for the medium in its myriad forms, whether that be images, videos, music, and more. Get comfortable showing potential clients and customers what an art nerd you are: it will prove a valuable means of connection, drawing similar-minded creators and consumers to your business.

Work smart, not hard, on community Talking about art is a great way for NFT startups to gain a following among the people they’re interested in doing business with. From there, it’s a matter of cultivating the community. This should be an ongoing goal, but if company leaders approach it with the right mindset, they won’t be saddled with too much extra work.

Word spreads fast, especially on the internet, and doubly so when it comes to wholly web-based industries like NFTs. Start with the people who are already creating, buying, and otherwise demonstrating that they value NFTs. Startups should get the NFT community involved in their DAOs, and make sure the community is aware of the resources the company offers to help amplify NFT artists and bond with other art and NFT lovers. It can be more effective to tap into the existing market before investing too much energy in developing new relationships from scratch.

That said, as the inside community puts in a good word to their outside friends, entrepreneurs within the NFT space will eventually need to do the legwork with (for instance) art aficionados who are neutral toward, or even distrustful of the NFT space. Do some evangelizing in your in-person conversations as well as through your writing on a company blog, guest post articles on industry publications, on social media, or even as a guest on a podcast. Don’t be afraid to talk regularly about the most basic facets of the industry. This practice helps to get laypeople conversant in the terminology, and people are more likely to embrace what they understand. All material your company produces for the most reluctant members of the public will serve as evidence of your purpose, offerings, and credibility.

Enter the conversation

As essential as it is to engage with potential client and customer bases, it’s also important to engage with the journalists who are making or breaking NFTs’ reputation. Startup leaders should listen vigilantly for commentary requests and pursue any opportunities to contribute.

As with the public, the more that reporters see of you as a leader, the better an idea they’ll have of the services and products your company renders and the belief system you represent about NFTs, art, and crypto. They may not quote you every time, but they will remember you as an expert on key topics, and you can’t predict the payoff this impression can generate.

If and when you are quoted, of course, your value as a published entity can have untold benefits for your business, chief among them the boost to your credibility as a public expert and thought leader. There are no guarantees that interacting with journalists will lead to coverage, but it’s a game you can’t win if you don’t play.

Think long-term Sea changes don’t happen overnight. Questions of legitimacy have plagued NFTs since they appeared on the market. As you build community and enable the projects that come out of it, don’t let the naysayers sway your fundamental belief in the long-term viability of the medium and the business. It’s possible to make your company into living proof that the NFT can be redeemed – maybe even that it never needed redemption to begin with.