Personas in Web3

In Web 2, marketing agencies used personas to understand their target audience and create more effective marketing strategies. Personas are fictional characters that represent a segment of the target audience and are based on data such as demographics, behaviors, motivations, and goals. Marketing agencies use personas to inform the development of their marketing messages, design their websites and other digital assets, and select channels to reach their target audience.

In web3, the decentralized and interoperable nature of the web changes how personas are used and how marketing strategies are executed. In web3, there is more emphasis on privacy and security, and users control their data. This means that traditional methods of collecting data, such as cookies and tracking pixels, are less effective. Marketers must be more creative in gathering data and building relationships with potential customers. Emerging technologies, such as blockchain and decentralized finance, present new opportunities and challenges for marketers. For example, in web3, personas may need to be adjusted to account for the interests and behaviors of users who engage with decentralized applications and decentralized finance. This may require a new set of skills and a more sophisticated understanding of these new technologies.

Marketing agencies must also be more transparent in their data use and respect users’ privacy in web3. This means that marketers will need to find new ways to build trust with their target audience and communicate the value of their services. In this blog, we’ll explore how marketing agencies can create personas in web3 and how the process is different in web2.

Personas in web3

Creating personas in web3 requires marketers to take a different approach than in web2. The following steps can help marketers create effective personas in web3:

1. Research
In Web 2, the research step in creating personas involves gathering demographic data and online behaviors of target customers. This information is usually obtained through surveys, analytics tools, and customer feedback forms. In web3, the research step involves gathering more in-depth and diverse data on customer behaviors and preferences, including their use of decentralized applications (dApps) and blockchain technology. This requires marketers to have a deeper understanding of web3 technologies and how to target customers using them. Marketers may also need to gather data from decentralized data sources, such as blockchain transaction records, to understand customer behavior better. Additionally, due to the decentralized and private nature of web3, traditional data-gathering methods, such as online surveys, may be less effective. Marketers must find new and innovative ways to gather customer data, such as using decentralized data marketplaces or incentivizing customers to share data in exchange for rewards.

Overall, the research step in web3 is more complex and requires a deeper understanding of decentralized technologies, customer behaviors, and new and innovative data-gathering methods.

2. Analyze the Data
In the web2 era, they were analyzing data to create personas that involved gathering and analyzing data from customer surveys, website analytics, and social media data. Marketers then use this data to understand their target audience’s behavior, preferences, pain points, and goals. This information created a comprehensive target audience profile, including demographics, psychographics, and buying behaviors.

In the web3 era, analyzing data to create personas has become more complex and sophisticated. With decentralized technologies and the rise of web3 platforms, marketers can access many new data sources to develop personas. This includes data from decentralized platforms and marketplaces, blockchain transactions, and decentralized identity solutions. Marketers must be able to process and analyze this data, identify patterns and trends, and use it to create more accurate and relevant personas. This requires a deeper understanding of web3 technologies and the skills to analyze decentralized data sources. Additionally, privacy concerns and the need for consent-based data collection practices must be considered when analyzing data in the web3 era.

3. Define Persona
In Web 2, defining personas typically involves conducting market research and gathering data about target audiences through surveys, focus groups, and other methods. Marketers would then analyze this data to identify common characteristics and behaviors that could be used to define personas. The personas created in this way would typically be based on demographic information, such as age, gender, income, and education, as well as psychographic information, such as values, attitudes, and interests.

In contrast, the process of defining personas in Web3 is more complex and nuanced due to the web’s decentralized nature. Marketers must consider new factors, such as the impact of blockchain technology, decentralized apps, and the role of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), in shaping consumer behavior and decision-making. Marketers will also need to be able to identify and track consumer behavior across multiple platforms and consider the growing importance of privacy and data protection in the online world. Defining personas in Web3 will require a more sophisticated and comprehensive approach, leveraging a range of data sources and incorporating a more comprehensive range of factors into the analysis.

4. Validate Personas
This step in web3 differs from the same step in web2 due to the differences in the online environments in which the two technologies exist. In Web 2, validation of personas typically involved surveying a sample of the target audience and using that data to confirm or refine the persona definitions created. This approach was practical because it relied on self-reported data from users, which was then analyzed to see if it aligned with the personas that had been defined.

In web3, the validation of personas takes on a different form because of the decentralized and often anonymous nature of the interactions in this environment. This requires marketers to shift their focus from self-reported data to behavioral data, such as transactional and engagement data. By analyzing this type of data, marketers can gain insight into the preferences, behaviors, and motivations of the users they are trying to target, even if they do not know their identities. Additionally, using smart contracts and other decentralized tools in web3 also allows to automatic validate certain aspects of personas, such as verifying that a user has a certain level of experience or expertise in a given field.

5. Use Personas
In Web 2, the use of personas in marketing was primarily focused on creating customer segments and understanding their behavior, preferences, and motivations. Marketers then use this information to tailor their messages, products, and services to each segment. This was done through surveys, focus groups, and other research methods.

In web3, the use of personas is more dynamic and adaptive. With the increased use of decentralized technologies and new forms of data, such as blockchain and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), marketers have access to a wealth of new data sources. This data can be used to create personas and refine and validate them as they change continuously over time. Marketers must be prepared to use this data to understand users’ behavior and preferences in real time and create more personalized and relevant experiences. Additionally, they must be ready to adapt to users’ changing needs and behaviors in the rapidly evolving web3 ecosystem.

Conclusion

The process of creating personas in web3 is significantly different from web2. In web3, the research involves a more comprehensive understanding of users and their behavior on decentralized platforms. Analyzing data has become more complex as data sources are decentralized and more fragmented, and more advanced data analysis methods and privacy-compliant data collection are required. Defining personas is more nuanced and tailored to the decentralized environment. Personas are validated through decentralized platforms and technologies such as smart contracts and blockchain. Using personas in web3 requires a different approach, one that considers the platform’s decentralized nature and the user-centric focus of the ecosystem. Overall, marketing agencies must adapt to the new realities of the web3 environment and tailor their strategies accordingly to reach and engage with their target audiences effectively.