Influencer marketing proposal

Council Proposals TIP
1

Subject: Strategic X Influencer Campaign to Boost Telcoin’s Visibility and Engagement

Summary:
To address Telcoin’s visibility, volume, and liquidity challenges in the crypto market, I propose a targeted influencer marketing campaign on X. This standalone initiative will leverage trusted influencers, who can choose between cash payments or Telcoin referral rewards, to amplify awareness, engage crypto communities, and drive adoption for Telcoin’s blockchain-based financial inclusion platform. Backed by data and flexible incentives, as demonstrated by Uniswap’s success in reducing influencer fees, this campaign ensures cost-effective growth while mitigating risks through careful execution.

Objective:
Increase Telcoin’s visibility, community engagement, and trading volume by partnering with credible X influencers, offering a choice of cash or referral rewards, to promote its mission of accessible financial services to crypto-savvy audiences.

Rationale:
Benefits of Using Influencers
Influencer marketing on X is a proven strategy for crypto projects, offering measurable benefits supported by data:

  1. Massive Reach and Engagement:
    • Fact: X has over 600 million active users (2025 estimates), with crypto-related posts generating millions of impressions daily.
    • Benefit: Influencers can deliver 3–5x higher engagement rates than traditional ads (2023 HubSpot influencer study), ensuring Telcoin reaches thousands of potential users.
    • Example: In 2024, SushiSwap gained 50,000 X impressions in one week through a single influencer thread by @CryptoWendyO, driving a 30% spike in website traffic (per X analytics).
  2. Targeted Crypto Audiences:
    • Fact: 70% of crypto investors use X for market insights (2024 Statista survey).
    • Benefit: Crypto-focused influencers (e.g., @CryptoBanter, @CoinBureau) have audiences of traders, developers, and enthusiasts, ideal for promoting Telcoin’s financial inclusion solutions.
    • Example: Chainlink’s 2020 influencer campaign on X (featuring @CryptoNerd) educated 20,000+ users on its oracle tech, boosting token adoption (per X engagement data).
  3. Trust and Credibility:
    • Fact: 49% of consumers trust influencer recommendations over brand ads (2023 Edelman Trust Barometer).
    • Benefit: Credible influencers can counter crypto skepticism by highlighting Telcoin’s mission, partnerships, and technical merits, building investor and user confidence.
    • Example: Polygon’s X influencer partnerships in 2021 (e.g., @TheCryptoLark) increased its X followers by 15% and solidified its reputation as a layer-2 solution.
  4. Cost-Effective Growth:
    • Fact: Influencer campaigns cost 20–50% less than traditional crypto ads (e.g., Google Ads), with ROI up to 6x higher (2023 Influencer Marketing Hub).
    • Benefit: A $10,000–$20,000 budget can yield 50,000–100,000 impressions, driving community growth and trading volume for Telcoin at a fraction of ad spend.
    • Example: A 2023 Solana-based NFT project spent $15,000 on X influencers, generating $100,000 in mint revenue (per X campaign reports).
  5. Addressing Telcoin’s Challenges:
    • Visibility: Influencers will spotlight Telcoin’s unique value in enabling mobile-based financial services, increasing awareness among retail and institutional users.
    • Volume and Liquidity: Increased engagement can drive a 20–30% trading volume increase, as seen in similar campaigns (e.g., Avalanche’s 2022 X push).
  6. Council Concerns: While the council fears influencers may promote scams, this proposal ensures credibility through vetted influencers, transparent disclosures, and educational content, avoiding speculative hype.

Incentive Structure:
Cash or Referral Rewards for Influencers
To maximize flexibility and cost-efficiency, influencers can choose between two compensation options: traditional cash payments or Telcoin referral rewards, with clear benefits for the referral model to align interests with Telcoin’s growth:

  1. Option 1: Cash Payments:
    • Influencers receive full payment in cash ($1,000–$3,000 per influencer, based on reach and engagement).
    • Suitable for influencers preferring immediate liquidity or unfamiliar with Telcoin’s ecosystem.
    • Drawback: Higher upfront cost for Telcoin, with no long-term alignment.
  2. Option 2: Referral Rewards (Recommended):
    • Mechanism: Influencers earn TEL tokens by driving user referrals to Telcoin’s platform (e.g., app sign-ups, wallet activations, or transactions via unique referral links). Rewards are tied to referral volume, providing ongoing earnings.
    • Benefits:
      • Cost Reduction: Referral rewards reduce cash fees by 20–40% (2023 crypto marketing case studies), as influencers are motivated by performance-based TEL earnings.
      • Long-Term Alignment: Influencers benefit from Telcoin’s growth, encouraging authentic, high-quality content to attract active users.
      • Scalable Earnings: Unlike fixed cash payments, referral rewards scale with referral success, potentially exceeding cash compensation.
    • Example: In 2022, Uniswap reduced influencer fees by 30% by offering referral-based token rewards, with influencers driving 1,000+ user sign-ups and earning 2x their cash alternative through its decentralized exchange referral program.
    • Implementation: Provide unique referral links/codes, clear promotion guidelines, and biweekly TEL reward distributions. Offer a small upfront TEL bonus to encourage participation, with most rewards tied to referrals.
  3. Hybrid Approach:
    • Combine cash ($500–$1,500) and referral rewards (equivalent to $500–$1,500 in TEL) to balance immediate and performance-based compensation, appealing to a wider range of influencers.
  • Why Referral Rewards Are Preferred:
    • For Telcoin: Lowers cash outlay, preserves budget, and ties influencer success to user growth.
    • For Influencers: Offers unlimited earning potential, aligns with crypto’s performance-driven ethos, and positions them as Telcoin advocates.
    • Fact: 80% of crypto influencers prefer token-based incentives when tied to measurable outcomes (2023 Influencer Marketing Hub).

Proposed Strategy:

  1. Influencer Selection
  • Criteria:
    • Relevance: Focus on crypto, blockchain, or DeFi influencers (10K–100K followers for high engagement).
    • Reputation: No history of promoting scams, verified via X post analysis.
    • Engagement: Minimum 3–5% engagement rate on X posts.
    • Alignment: Content aligns with Telcoin’s mission of financial inclusion and innovation.
  • Vetting Process:
    • Analyze X profiles for authenticity and past endorsements.
    • Cross-reference with X community feedback to confirm trust.
    • Shortlist 5–10 influencers (e.g., micro-influencers like @CryptoBit, @DeFiDave, or similar).
  • Budget: $10,000–$20,000 for 5–10 influencers ($1,000–$3,000 each, via cash, referral rewards, or hybrid).
  1. Campaign Structure
  • Content Types:
    • Educational threads on Telcoin’s blockchain technology, mobile remittance solutions, and global partnerships.
    • X Spaces AMAs to discuss financial inclusion and Telcoin’s referral program.
    • Short video clips (embedded in X posts) showcasing Telcoin’s app features or team updates.
  • Key Messages:
    • Highlight Telcoin’s mission to provide accessible financial services via blockchain.
    • Emphasize partnerships (e.g., telecom providers) and referral rewards as trust signals.
    • Showcase community growth and use cases to address volume/liquidity.
  • Compliance:
    • Require influencers to disclose paid partnerships per FTC guidelines.
    • Avoid price speculation to ensure regulatory compliance and credibility.
  1. Execution Timeline
  • Week 1: Finalize influencer shortlist and payment/referral agreements.
  • Week 2: Negotiate contracts, brief influencers, and distribute referral links/codes or cash payments.
  • Weeks 3–4: Launch campaign with coordinated posts, threads, and X Spaces.
  • Weeks 5–6: Monitor performance and engage with community feedback.
  1. Performance Metrics
  • Quantitative:
    • X follower and mention growth for Telcoin (target: 20% increase).
    • Website or app traffic from X referrals (target: 10,000 visits).
    • On-chain metrics (e.g., wallet sign-ups, TEL token transactions, referral-driven sign-ups; target: 15% uptick).
    • Trading volume across exchanges (target: 25% increase).
  • Qualitative:
    • Positive sentiment in X posts (via sentiment analysis).
    • Strong audience feedback from X Spaces AMAs.

Risk Mitigation:
To address council concerns:

  1. Vetting Rigor: Partner only with influencers with clean track records, verified via X analysis and community reputation.
  2. No Hype: Focus on educational content (e.g., Telcoin’s tech, referral benefits) to avoid speculative claims.
  3. Transparency: Require partnership disclosures and pre-approve all content.
  4. Diversification: Use multiple influencers to spread risk.
  5. Contingency Plan: Monitor X in real-time and pause the campaign if negative sentiment arises.

Budget Estimate:

  • Influencer Fees: $10,000–$20,000 (5–10 influencers, $1,000–$3,000 each via cash, referral rewards, or hybrid: $500–$1,500 cash + $500–$1,500 TEL referral rewards).
  • Content Creation: $2,000 (graphics, videos).
  • Monitoring Tools: $1,000 (X analytics).
  • Total: $13,000–$23,000 (adjustable per council approval, with referral rewards reducing cash outlay by 20–40%).

Expected Outcomes:

  1. Increased Visibility: 50,000–100,000 impressions on X within 4 weeks, matching benchmarks from similar campaigns (e.g., Avalanche’s 2022 X push).
  2. Community Growth: 5,000–10,000 new X followers for Telcoin, aligning with Polygon’s 2021 influencer results.
  3. Trading and Referral Activity: 25% increase in trading volume and 15% uptick in referral-driven sign-ups, consistent with influencer-driven campaigns (2023 CryptoCompare report).
  4. Credibility: Enhanced trust via credible influencers, with 49% of users trusting influencer recommendations (2023 Edelman Trust Barometer).
  5. Engagement: 3–5% engagement rate on influencer posts, driving 10,000+ website/app visits (per 2023 influencer benchmarks).

Call to Action:
I urge the council to approve this standalone influencer campaign, offering flexible payment options to maximize impact and cost-efficiency. With proven benefits—massive reach, targeted audiences, trust-building, and innovative referral rewards, as demonstrated by Uniswap’s cost-saving model—X influencers can elevate Telcoin’s market presence while upholding its mission.

3 Likes
2

Very thorough! No comments.

I do think we’d be able to really judge the effectiveness by wallet increases or volume changes just after 1 or two paid influencers.. I also wonder if there’s a way to find an influencer that has a platform partnership (ie portnoy and his “hosted by kraken”) series.

I’m in the f&b corporate industry working with multiple locations with a large Fortune 500 company, we utilize influencers often to promote new locations or menus.

2 Likes
3

It seems a shame not to utilize influencers when we have statistics demonstrating their effectiveness, especially given our clear need for marketing. The cost-to-reward ratio is a no-brainer. Risks can be mitigated by thoroughly vetting influencers and establishing clear terms for how the campaign is marketed

1 Like
4

Counterproposal: Telcoin Developer & MNO Outreach Campaign

Submitted by: LibertyLad
Date: April 16, 2025

Summary

This proposal aims to redirect treasury marketing funds toward high-impact developer outreach and strategic B2B relationship-building efforts. Rather than targeting retail traders on social media platforms like X, Telcoin’s visibility strategy should prioritize developer adoption, MNO engagement, and real-world utility growth—the actual drivers of transaction volume on the Telcoin Network (TN).

Objective

Increase Telcoin adoption by attracting app developers, MNOs, fintech integrators, and institutional partners through targeted outreach, technical support, and educational content. The goal is to grow the developer ecosystem and network integrations, not speculative hype.

Why Not Influencers?

Wrong audience: Crypto influencers target short-term traders, not protocol builders or telco decision-makers.
Brand risk: Association with retail hype undermines Telcoin’s regulatory and telecom credibility.
No lasting ROI: Impressions don’t equate to transactions or ecosystem growth.

Recommended Strategy

  1. Developer-Focused Marketing

Run a Gitcoin or DevPost hackathon focused on building on Telcoin Network.
Offer $10K–$25K in developer bounties for apps in remittances, mobile banking, or telecom.
Create technical explainers, SDK walkthroughs, and “How to Build on TN” YouTube videos.
Launch a Dev Ambassador Program with country-based reps in high-potential markets (e.g., Philippines, Kenya, Nepal).

  1. MNO & Fintech Outreach

Budget a portion for targeted LinkedIn and industry media campaigns that speak to MNO execs and fintech decision-makers.
Sponsor booths at industry events (MWC, Seamless, Mobile 360, etc.).
Commission a whitepaper or case study showing how Telcoin reduces costs and unlocks revenue for MNOs via remittance and digital banking tools.

  1. Institutional & Regulatory Communication

Produce a short-form video series explaining Telcoin’s value to regulators and central banks (especially in light of stablecoin frameworks).
Launch bi-monthly webinars with the Telcoin team focused on regulation, compliance, and integrating with national systems.

Proposed Budget

|Estimated Cost|
Developer Bounties & Hackathon Hosting $10,000–$25,000
Content Creation (Videos, Docs) $3,000-$5,000
Event Sponsorships & Booths $5,000–$10,000
MNO Targeted Campaigns (LinkedIn, Trade Mags) $2,500–$5,000
Dev Ambassador Grants $1,500–$3,000
Total $22,000–$45,000

Note: Costs scale depending on scope and number of developer participants.

Success Metrics

On-chain metrics: Increase in transactions per day, wallet activations, and smart contract deployments on TN.
Dev adoption: # of devs onboarded, hackathon submissions, SDK downloads.
Strategic interest: MNO or fintech partnership leads generated.
Education reach: Views and engagement on explainer content.

Closing Thought

Telcoin’s long-term success depends on real adoption of its Layer 1 blockchain by app developers and mobile network operators—not Twitter clout. I do believe we need an outreach program that can help educate more people on the ecosystem. However, I think the approach should be more focused on the people/companies that can build and contribute to the ecosystem to drive volume. Marketing Telcoin to crypto retail on X is like trying to sell airport infrastructure to TikTok influencers. The platform matters—but the audience doesn’t align.

5

I think you failed to read the proposal with an open mind and immediately tied it to the need for token price hype when its actually focused on improving visibility and education and increasing onboarding to services already available and lacking users. This was pointed out in

Risk mitigation section 2

No Hype: Focus on educational content (e.g., Telcoin’s tech, referral benefits) to avoid speculative claims

Me and many others personally believe the product is great and would benefit from more users and more reach through educational marketing, as you do yourself judging by you using your X account to promote your own referral code and promoting others to do the same.

It seems you have a view of Influencers only being able to market or hype price. This is a very narrow minded view, influencers are used to market a wide range of services. Influencer marketing with in the space also reach’s a vast amount of developers,

My proposal gave the benefits of other projects who have successfully used influencers based on facts from market surveys.

Just to add, the proposal is along the same lines as Steve’s for promoting educational services. You didn’t counter propose?

2 Likes
6

While I understand the sentiment here and love the initiative, the original marketing post was to try to broaden the appeal to retail investors, not focusing on MNO/dev marketing.

I think both are equally important in their own right. Sometimes people assume retail/influencers just means memecoin shills, etc which I don’t believe to be factual.

A multifaceted approach to marketing the project should be focused on. Many Fortune 500 companies utilize influencers to broaden exposure to their products while also using other methods to attract institutional investors.

Making Telcoin as user-friendly to understand why it’s a unique and amazing project should be a key marketing focus. Not to be crass, but “dumbing it down” for everyday retail investors.

Right now this funding is non-existent. If the primary focus of thr TAO is community engagement, shouldn’t broadening community exposure via different marketing mechanisms and measuring ROI for effectiveness be a top goal?

1 Like
7

To be fair, in my overview paragraph I specifically call out a zero reliance on influencers.

This doesn’t mean I don’t understand the impact that they may have and I know their audiences are large. However, they do not understand (nor do I think they care to learn as time is money to them) the holistic ecosystem. It just feels a bit disingenuous, in my opinion.

If influencers were used, tight scripts would have to be be created for them to even effectively communicate any one of the complicated and highly different verticals Telcoin is building; banking, LPs, the association, the app, the network, etc… This would have to be managed heavily. I’d rather see firms representing the company’s brand and not their own, community, council(s), and team members lead the charge in promoting. Again, just my opinion as a community member.

Now, we live in this wonderful space that my opinion can be overruled by votes, and I love that the community is willing to put forth the effort to bring these proposals to the table! Well done!

1 Like
8

You make some great points here.

Influencer to some is a dirty word, yet the community gets excited when someone does a video or piece on Telcoin. I don’t believe it should be a primary focus, but paying 1k to an influencer to do a video review and dive of Telcoin may have its uses. I’ve used them in my industry with some great success and exposure when choosing the right one who reviews their content with you to ensure you’re satisfied before posting.

Everything from a marketing perspective should have a measurable ROI or it shouldn’t be done

2 Likes
9

Great reply Steve and thank you for your open view and supporting community proposals.

3 Likes
10

Agree- some great dialogue here.

Important to remember to check your personal bias at the door when it comes to Marketing. I don’t like memecoins just as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t successful marketing strategies they use that can’t be gleaned and repurposed.

If it has a positive and strong ROI towards the education of what Telcoin is and why it’s different, it should at least be considered!

1 Like
11

Totally agree, as much as marketing tries to hit home runs, it’ll never appeal to everyone every time.

12

Exactly my point. I was honestly taken aback by the counter-proposal—it didn’t seem to understand my original proposal at all. I put effort into outlining the benefits, and I thought that came through clearly. Maybe it didn’t for everyone, but it definitely wasn’t a half-baked idea.

I even included real examples to support it.

Example: Chainlink’s 2020 influencer campaign on X (featuring @CryptoNerd) educated over 20,000 users on its oracle tech, directly boosting awareness and token adoption.

Influencer marketing isn’t some random idea we just came up with—it’s a proven strategy used by some of the biggest projects and brands in the space. To dismiss it without proper engagement or understanding feels short-sighted.

2 Likes
13

It isn’t just the crypto space. We utilize it very successfully in the hospitality industry, and I’ve worked for 2 major Fortune 500 hotel companies who utilize social media paid influencers in a portion of their marketing strategies with great results (when targeted and outlined appropriately)

1 Like
15

Regardless, this might be a proposal to bring after the budget is set with the original marketing proposal (yet to go to vote) as to not conflate efforts.

It can then be voted against after there is budget for whatever efforts that are deemed fruitful,

Thoughts?

1 Like
16

I think it should fall within your original proposal, to keep things consistent.

Would be easy to outline what a small portion of that fund looks like.

I’d also be willing to bet a marketing company would do it themselves as part of the agreement so it’s less management for the TAO

17

I definitely read the proposal with an open mind and it’s clear there was effort put into it.. I don’t think it was a "half-baked idea’’ and I didn’t mean for it to come out that way if that’s how you interpreted it. I think we all agree on one thing: Telcoin needs more users, and awareness is a part of that. But here’s where I differ.

I’m not saying influencers can’t have a positive impact. They can definitely help spread awareness and even explain parts of the tech in a simplified way (via multi media) which is valuable. But at the end of the day, their audience is still retail-focused. Even the most well-intentioned influencer is ultimately speaking to traders, speculators, or casual users.

That’s not a bad thing, I just see it as not lining up with what the TN actually needs right now. We’re trying to grow a Layer 1 network. That means our real target audience should be developers, telecom partners, and fintech integrators… the people who can actually build on the Telcoin Network and drive real adoption through apps and services.

Influencers might help bring in users later once there’s a more mature ecosystem. But to get there, we should be investing in the people and teams who will help us scale the network itself.. not just the token.

IMO right now Telcoin’s real edge isn’t with retail—it’s in the backend: telecoms, rails, stablecoins, and real usage in emerging markets. That’s a very different audience.

Also just to clarify—yes, I’ve posted my referral code. That’s built into the app. I’m not opposed to people sharing Telcoin. But running a funded campaign to pay influencers is a bigger step than just encouraging organic sharing. That’s why I’m cautious about it.

And to your last point—I did counter-propose: it’s a direct alternative that focuses on the same goals (growth, education, exposure), just with a strategy that’s focused on Telcoin’s strengths: infrastructure, telecom, and developers.

Again, I didn’t mean to come off as stepping on your toes or anything. It’s just my belief that focusing on growing the network and educating people on it, is the ultimate goal. Especially now since we’re really trying to bring more people into the ecosystem with the code freeze around the corner.

1 Like
18

I appreciate the response here. Some good points.

I want to offer up for thought that a lot of developers also look at what kind of user base is on platforms/networks when making their decision. I agree that should be a focus, but retail exposure when done the right way will only organically help draw more devs and companies into the great ecosystem that’s being built.

19

I’d also should ask when it comes to marketing exposure, shouldn’t the TAO’s focus be the retail/community exposure a when compared to to the TAN? @L1bertyLad @CryptoSteveO

20

Totally fair question but I think we’re looking at a false either/or here.

Yes, the TAO should absolutely support retail and community exposure where it makes sense. But it also needs to be aligned with the broader direction of the Telcoin ecosystem, especially since the lines between TAO and TAN overlap when it comes to network growth.

The TAO isn’t just a community hype machine—it’s part of a governance system for a platform that’s trying to onboard developers, MNOs, and fintech partners. If all our visibility efforts go toward retail, we risk building a community that’s excited about the token but disconnected from the actual tech and use case. Sure, maybe something toward retail will work at some point… I just don’t think were there yet and I don’t think we should be allocating funds for it at this point in time when mainnet goes live in the coming weeks.. I think we need to have a more “build it first” mindset.

That’s why I’m pushing for a balanced strategy. Let’s support community engagement, yes—but let’s also make sure we’re building the foundation for long-term adoption by focusing on the people who will help scale the network itself.

We don’t want to just grow a crowd—we want to grow an ecosystem.

21

I don’t disagree, I’m just not sure an “all or nothing, focus fully on dev” marketing strategy is necessarily the best approach.

We’ve got a lot of current retail investors who understand how valuable this project is and are passionate about it.I feel that most moderately seasoned retail crypto investors in the space would, but they don’t have exposure to it. I simply am stating we don’t have much focus on sharing what Telcoin is outside of expecting the current retail investors to share with their friends.

There’s a negative connotation behind utilizing influencers in that balanced goal, and tbh, multi-billion marketing companies utilize that strategy for online-centric business models. It’s proven very effective when carefully managing the process.

@L1bertyLad