Upcycling STEEM #2 : It's niche marketing we need, not mass marketing

If a general member of the public asks me "Why should I join Steem" I am embarrassed to admit currently I do not know the answer.

Steem's Unique Selling Points of 3 second transactions and zero fees are meaningless to at least 90% of the world's population.

Even saying Steem is 'Censorship Resistant' will barely raise an eyebrow for most people in the 'real world'.

Right here, right now Steem doesn't have a lot to offer the majority of internet users.

We cannot be, we do not want to be, and we probably never will be the next Facebook, Reddit or any other big name social network.

Steem is not Mass Market. Steem is Niche.

Strike me down with a worn out slipper if you want to, but that is my thought, my assertion, my belief, my assessment after 18 months on the platform.

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Steem can be great things for the right people.

But we need to seek out the the niches where those right people live, and fill them.

We need to target our marketing and our appeal to the right people, in the right places at the right time.

A case in the point that has jumped up before our very eyes right now are the victims of the Great Patreon Purge.

Throw into the mix recent Tumblr refugees that @partiko has been offering sanctuary to.

And of course the downtrodden, demonetised and dismissed creators from the YouTube.

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A Common Theme?

You may spot a common theme here. All these people, to some extent or other, are alternative thinkers.

They question the norm, they think freely, they talk freely, andthey don't run on the rails of the mainstream.

To me, they sound like the ideal sort of folk to invite to Steem.

Indeed moves are already afoot. Check out Fundition's latest post asking us to Twitter target the 'Patreon Purgees'...

• Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will

We, the Steem, need to market to these people. We need to show them that Steem could be the ideal place to move to.

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We need a TMG...

But we can't just let them wander in aimlessly else they will likely just get lost in the Steem maze and be off again before we even noticed they had set up shop.

We need to welcome them with warm smiles and open arms. We need to offer them tea and biscuits when they arrive at the door.

They will be coming to a new city with no friends.

We must be their new friends. And we must invite their old friends to move here too.

We need to form a TMG - a Targeted Marketing Group.

This would be a group of steemians coordinating to do one task...

1. Identifying likely people from YouTube, Patreon, Tumblr etc.

2. Approaching those people and telling them what Steem offers.

3. Assisting with, or organising, the set up of accounts and initial delegations.

4. Introducing, and promoting, them to the Steem Community.

5. Linking them with appropriate mentors or mentoring communities.

6. Ideally organising some 'golden hello' voting support.

And on an ongoing basis, building a relationship and helping these newcomers to reach out to bring their followers from other platforms to Steem.

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For those that have been using Patreon to fund their content creation we must explore options of how that is replaced on Steem...

a) they just rely on the usual post and upvote system

b) Fundition potentially provides some form of 'Patreon Replacement Therapy'

c) one of the Patreon Replacement Platforms are encouraged to link on to the Steem blockchain.

d) we wait to see what Dave Rubin and Jordan Peterson are building to replace Patreon (see YouTube below).

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A Plan to be Refined

This is just a back of the envelope possible plan of action. Hopefully it paints a picture of what could be.

It needs much more discussion and refinement.

The big, big question though is who on the steemchain might be able to pick this up and run as fast as humanly possible with it before doors shut, windows of opportunity close and opportunities are missed.

Just for the heck of it the names I would throw in the hat would include...

@crypto.talk from @partiko (as he is already on the Tumblr case), @nathanmars to get DTube rolling on this, @prc from @dsound for any podcasters coming in, someone from @vimm for live-streamers, @johnspalding from the SteemingPile.

Some of the InformationWar team like @truthforce and @gregorypatrick. And @krnel, and @v4vapid.

And people like @starkerz from @oracle-d, and @hightouch from Fundition, @ura-soul from Passport to Steem, and @imacryptorick who is already beginning to work in this area. Someone from @steemonboarding too?

I am sure there are many more steemians that would be good to go on this project. Forgive me if I haven't included you.

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To give some current currency to this case at hand check out this YouTube from Dave Rubin and Jordan Peterson...

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[ graphic by @pennsif ]