Member participation is the lifeblood of web3 communities, driving innovation, growth, and sustainability. Recognizing this, a key challenge emerges: how do we incentivize continuous activity and help these communities grow? This blog post explores innovative strategies to keep users engaged over the long term, ensuring the vitality and innovation in web3.
The Current State of Web3 Participation
From DeFi (decentralized finance) platforms to NFT (non-fungible token) projects, community participation varies widely in web3. Currently, methods like airdrops, token staking rewards, and community polls are commonplace. However, these tactics often fail to sustain long-term activity. They attract initial enthusiasm but struggle to maintain ongoing engagement, leading to sporadic participation that doesn’t fully tap into the potential of web3 communities.
Incentivization Challenges
The primary challenge in incentivizing continuous activity in these communities lies in the novelty of the space itself. Traditional methods do not align well with the decentralized, user-driven ethos of web3. The main challenge is to build communities that resonate with the core values of web3 – decentralization, transparency, and user empowerment – while maintaining the long-term interest and involvement of members.
Levelling Up Incentivization Strategies
a) Token-based Reward Systems
Tokens can be a powerful tool for engagement. Implementing systems where active participation is rewarded with tokens not only provides a tangible incentive but also gives users a stake in the community. This approach aligns monetary rewards with community health, encouraging users to contribute positively.
While token-based reward systems attract the most number of people, their effectiveness can be greatly enhanced by bringing them together under a long-term engagement strategy. For example, instead of giving the same number of tokens for completing three different tasks, you can divide the tasks in three levels and give more tokens as members clear each succeeding level.
b) Gamification Techniques
Integrating game-like elements into web3 platforms can make participation more enjoyable and rewarding. Continuing the example from the previous point — in addition to dividing tasks and creating levels, you may also make use of leaderboards, achievement badges, and interactive challenges to create a fun and competitive environment.
c) Community Governance and Decision-Making Involvement
Allowing users to have a say in key decisions fosters a sense of ownership and responsibility.
There are several low-effort ways of involving your community members in decision-making, starting with asking members to react on a message proposal and then tallying the reactions after a certain period of time.
Such message proposals can concern themselves with development roadmaps, marketing strategies, contributor compensation schemes, and more.
d) Educational and Skill Development Opportunities
Providing educational resources and opportunities for skill development can attract and retain users who are invested in learning and growing with the platform. Workshops, webinars, and collaboration opportunities not only educate but also build a more knowledgeable and engaged community.
These educational modules provide an easy way for new members to learn more about your community and find reasons to be more active. When coupled with on-chain rewards, these modules take on a life of their own and gamify participation like no other.
Success Stories
Several web3 projects have successfully implemented these strategies. For instance, platforms like MakerDAO have effectively used DAOs for governance, involving users in crucial decisions.
Another example is the use of token-based rewards in platforms like Compound, which has encouraged continuous user participation through financial incentives aligned with the platform's health.
Premia Finance, a decentralized options platform, runs Premia Academy which offers courses on options strategies to its community members. They have strengthened their Academy program by using Rep3 onchain rewards which has motivated deeper community participation.
The Future of Community Participation in Web3
Looking ahead, the landscape of web3 participation is likely to evolve further. We might see more sophisticated gamification techniques, deeper integration of educational elements, and even more innovative token-based incentives. Continuously innovating and adapting engagement strategies to keep up with the breakneck speed of web3 will be key.
But as of today, Web3 platforms can foster a more engaged and committed user base by layering onchain rewards with their token incentives, gamification, community governance, and educational opportunities.
Thinking about including onchain rewards in your community engagement efforts? Book a call today to learn how communities such as Trader Joe, Entangle Finance, and Across Protocol use Rep3 to engage their members.