Original Title: Inside Web3 Marketing: What Agencies Think, What Works, and What Needs Fixing
Original Author: Stacy Muur
Original Translation: Luffy, Foresight News
I recently conducted an in-depth study on KOL marketing, speaking with some of the most renowned Web3 marketing agencies that run campaigns for major crypto protocols like Mantle, Sonic Labs, Aptos, and Solv Protocol.
What is the goal?
The aim of my research is to uncover how these agencies operate and their core KOL lists.
· What are the criteria for selecting KOLs?
· How large is their user base?
· How do they assess audience quality?
· How are tools like Kaito and Cookie DAO reshaping the KOL game in Web3?
Whether you are a KOL looking to join a top agency network or a Web3 team preparing for your next event, this is a must-read.
First, let's look at some data
KOL Network Scale
· 42.9% of agencies have over 1,000 KOL accounts
· 35.7% of agencies have 500–1,000 KOL accounts
· Nearly 50% of agencies rely on only 50-100 core active KOLs for most campaigns
· Only 10% of agencies actively collaborate with over 250 KOLs
What are the core criteria for selecting KOLs?
· Number of followers? Generally important → 2.93/5
· Impressions per post and "smart followers"? More valued → 4.1/5
· Content quality, research ability, and past experience? Key metrics → 4.7/5
All agencies check accounts for fake engagement, with over half using tools like Kaito and Cookie3 to filter and evaluate KOLs.
What Web3 teams need to pay attention to when collaborating with KOLs
In fact, Web3 marketing is severely limited in terms of tools.
· X advertising is ineffective. Many users have Premium memberships (ad-free), and those who do not subscribe are often not your ideal customers.
· Google Ads face regulatory hurdles, preventing many projects from advertising legally in core regions.
· Media coverage? Beneficial for trust/reputation, but ineffective for actual user acquisition.
So, what is left? KOLs, along with Kaito and Cookie-driven campaigns. Take Spark's campaign on Cookie as an example: 13,400 X accounts participated, most of which are micro KOLs with fewer than 1,000 followers. This is where true innovation lies—these accounts are too small for traditional paid promotion campaigns.
So… is this model better than traditional KOL marketing? There is controversy here.
Micro KOLs also have issues: they often form attention echo chambers, mutually following and retweeting each other → significant audience overlap. In smaller verticals, this behavior helps spread quality content. But in high-frequency farming activities (like yaps/snaps), it leads to overexposure, causing users to lose interest.
Nevertheless, Kaito and Cookie do provide entry opportunities for small accounts, making ambassador programs more decentralized and easier to manage. Is decentralization in marketing important, or is efficiency more important? This is also debatable. Let’s not forget the recent case of Loud!: Chatter ≠ strategy. Mind share ≠ influence.
Traditional KOL marketing also has flaws
The harsh reality is: if your product lacks selling points, you will need to pay more. KOLs are just channels for voice—some are loud, some are humorous, some are professional, but none are miracle makers. Now, if your product is indeed attractive, a new problem arises:
There is a severe shortage of KOLs who meet the following criteria:
· Have a natural traffic audience
· Understand technical principles
· Can create resonant content
· Accept sponsored collaborations
Many top KOLs do not accept paid posts. They either invest privately or charge five figures for a single tweet. This is why nearly 50% of agencies only deeply collaborate with 50-100 KOLs out of 1,000+ accounts, and 85% of paid KOLs produce zero effective results.
So, how does KOL marketing actually work?
· Long-term repeated posting → more trust, more recognition, better conversion
· KOL cross-interaction → ask them to reference each other's viewpoints rather than just retweeting brand announcements
· Organic spread > hard promotion → the community can sniff out hard ads, give KOLs the freedom to express their thoughts authentically
· Don’t buy ads, buy comments → genuine comments outweigh banner ads
· Step outside the X platform → Telegram, Substack = lower noise, higher retention
My view on the future of Web3 marketing
Kaito and Cookie have brought micro KOLs into the mind share game, providing marketers with new experimental mechanisms. Will this become an effective marketing lever, or will it devolve into more noise? It remains to be seen. KOL marketing will not disappear, but it needs authentic voices, not accounts shouting 24/7 for pay.
Lastly, why are people still obsessed with the X platform? If you really want to achieve growth, stop ignoring Telegram and Substack.
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