I believe there have been many efforts to market Hive in different ways. However, it seems we are struggling to sustain these efforts or make them truly effective for the platform in a meaningful way. I also don’t understand why it feels like we’ve hit a wall that we can’t seem to overcome in the past few years. This made me wonder: what if we actually managed to pull off a marketing strategy that could create real impact for the platform? Maybe we need an alternative approach to marketing—or perhaps we simply need to keep pushing forward until Hive becomes well known in both the crypto and social media spaces.
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For this post, I’d like to lay out some marketing techniques that I believe could make an impact on the platform in ways that benefit us overall, even without requiring major funding.
While reflecting on this, I realized that we, as members of the community, can actually market Hive without relying on the DHF (fund). There are plenty of ways to promote Hive since it’s already a strong product. Of course, having financial support would help scale marketing efforts. However, even our personal contributions—when done consistently and collectively—can make a real difference if a large number of Hive users take part together as a unified effort.
Why Hive is a Great Product
Here are the main reasons why I believe Hive stands out:
- True ownership: Content is stored on-chain and can’t be deleted by centralized platforms.
- Monetization from day one: Even new users can earn through upvotes, curation, and engagement.
- Community-driven: Niche communities (finance, gaming, art, travel, etc.) are already thriving.
- No ads or middlemen: Value flows directly to content creators.
These are features that Web2 social platforms cannot offer their users. Because of this, we can confidently say that Hive is a platform where creators own their voice, their content, and their rewards.
Next, let’s establish who the actual target audience or users of Hive are. It’s easy to say “everyone,” but if we take a closer look, there are very specific groups of people who are most likely to sign up:
- Creators leaving Web2: Writers, bloggers, and artists frustrated with YouTube demonetization, Medium paywalls, or Facebook algorithm changes.
- Crypto-curious individuals: People exploring Web3, NFTs, and decentralized communities but feeling overwhelmed by the complexity.
- Niche communities: Groups centered around finance, travel, gaming, art, and lifestyle.
Based on this, we can position Hive as the Web3 version of Medium and a Reddit alternative, with the added benefit of rewards.
Next, let’s determine the best way to onboard new users so that they feel truly welcome on the platform. The methods I’ll outline below are, in my opinion, the most effective ways to encourage newcomers not just to try Hive briefly, but to actually spend enough time to understand and appreciate the platform. Here are some approaches that I believe would work well:
- Simplify onboarding: Use Ecency or HiveOnboard for one-click account creation with social logins.
- Guided setup: Provide a short tutorial (video or interactive) that explains wallets, keys, posting, and earning in under five minutes.
- Starter packs: Offer newcomers delegated Hive Power or curation tokens to give them a stronger start.
So, where do we start from here?
I believe we should focus on onboarding users who are truly passionate about content creation—those who take it seriously as a way to showcase their writing skills, creativity, and expertise in their chosen niches, whether it’s photography, food reviews, finance, or artwork.
To further incentivize this process, a referral program would be a great way to encourage people to bring passionate content creators onto the platform. The reasoning is simple: as much as we want to attract new users, there currently isn’t a strong direct incentive for us to do so. By introducing a referral incentive, we can motivate onboarders to take their efforts to the next level and actively grow the community.
The next idea might make some Hiveans uncomfortable, because I want to suggest using Web2 platforms to market Hive’s Web3 platform. I understand there may be a perceived conflict of interest, but I’m simply being practical. Web2 still hosts a massive user base, including people who are curious about Web3, interested in crypto, or who simply want to own their content permanently. It makes sense to meet them where they already are.
Lastly, I propose running a community writing contest in the form of a “30 Days of Hive Blogging Challenge.” Naturally, this would come with generous rewards to create FOMO around the event. I’m suggesting this because of the proven success of hackathons in building engagement and momentum. Similarly, a community challenge like this would not only drive participation and content creation but also strengthen community bonds, since members themselves could take part as judges.
Hive has the potential to stand out as a true Web3 social platform, but it will take consistent effort and creative strategies from the community to make that vision a reality. By working together, experimenting with new ideas, and supporting one another, we can drive Hive’s growth beyond its current limits. The future of Hive is in our hands... let’s keep building it, one step at a time.
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Hive's niche
Yes! I think the only thing missing here is to make the HIVE ecosystem multi-chain. Something that @vsc.network is working on.
Marketing
using Web2 platforms to market Hive’s Web3 platform shouldn't make people uncomfortable. It' where a large user base can be found and it's actually the main focus of existing initiatives @hive-echo and #posh.
Exactly... multi-chain integration would be a huge step forward. And yes, Web2 outreach is practical... meeting people where they already are is the smart move.
A real nice summary! Hope more can come onboard
Appreciate that... onboarding more is definitely the goal. Let’s keep building. 🚀
I cannot avoid thinking that perhaps many big HIVE holders prefer the chain to continue unnoticed by those who hate the existence of decentralized platforms.
That’s an interesting perspective... some big holders may indeed prefer to keep Hive low-profile. Still, growth is key if we want the ecosystem to thrive.
Yes, I also want to see it grow. I just wonder why this is not happening despite the utility of the chain and the tokens.
True... the utility is there. Hopefully the right momentum will spark broader growth soon. 🚀
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The major flaw with any marketing of hive is there is ALWAYS negative pressure on the price of the token. The constant push of you can make money from your content but then the platforms make zero dollars from the content is unsustainable. If the content being produced was actually generating some form of revenue at the very least then hive could do decently. Until that changes hive will always continue to slowly die.
That’s a fair point… Hive still needs to figure out stronger revenue models beyond token rewards if it wants long-term sustainability. 💡
It's actually very simple they just need to mirror successful companies like youtube, blog platforms, or other content style platforms that make positive net flows. I don't think people care all that much about their content being on the blockchain forever so no censorship. That should just be a given and not a big marketing aspect of hive. Instead hive should be more about the revenue generated from ads goes all to content creators video, blog and threads instead of 45% or more going to companies like youtube, facebook, instagram, twitch etc. That right there is the single biggest issue with hive but those few at the top are willing to change it because they are so heavily anti ads. So I question where they think they are going to constantly get money from to pay out for new content being created?
Investors?
As an investor that would be a super poor choice as there's nothing in it for me beside getting my money drained lol
I hear you… ad revenue sharing could indeed create a sustainable model for Hive. Balancing that with the community’s anti-ads stance will be a tough but important discussion. 👌
I remember not so long ago PeakD initiated ads to their frontend and was quickly criticized by the users. Though I supported it from the start but then I also changed my settings to prevent ads from showing to my feed or dashboard.
Maybe I have become too accustomed to not having ads on the frontend or maybe we just need to have direct incentives just like Brave's?
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Really cool thumbnail Picture. Love the colorful Style!
I think so too... I may print it on my t-shirt :D
Not Bad! 🤠
Hive marketing involves lots of time and patience, most times is even discouraging because some people who appear serious on the onset will just become inactive all of a sudden and it will now seem like the onboarder didn't do enough job, but at the same time we will not stop hive marketing and onboarding because our of 10 we will get 1 who will understand and remain active on hive
So true... onboarding can be discouraging at times, but even if 1 out of 10 stays, it’s still progress. Patience and consistency really matter. 🙏