{"id":2451,"date":"2024-01-04T09:21:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-04T07:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.digitalartists.com\/blog\/?p=2451"},"modified":"2024-01-03T15:21:20","modified_gmt":"2024-01-03T13:21:20","slug":"token-gating-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.digitalartists.com\/blog\/token-gating-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Token Gating Guide: How Businesses Can Increase Customer Loyalty Through NFTs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All businesses rely on their clients to purchase their products, be loyal and spread the word to others. The easiest way all this can be achieved is by creating a community. By building a network for and of your customers, you can create social bonds which will overall build a sense of belonging. At this point, you know that your customers are loyal, and will find it very, very hard to look away.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are numerous businesses in the world which know that creating communities is important for their success<\/strong>. We have seen excellent examples like members\u2019 clubs, the likes of Soho House<\/em>, where entry is only allowed with a purchased membership. This specific gated experience is set in place to create a community of creative thinkers by providing them exclusive bars and dining and hotel rooms.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moving on to the digital world, where there are even more ways to create communities. With the revolutionized Web3, community building is more powerful than ever, especially with the help of NFTs. Non-Fungible Tokens, or NFTs, are tokens which represent unique assets. They can be documentation, property or media like pictures, videos and music. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFTs have become a sensation in the digital world because of their capability to provide a way for decentralized and secure proof of authenticity over various assets<\/strong>. They gathered the most recognition when NFT profile pictures<\/a> created a boom in the digital world. And one of the main reasons why this happened is because behind those profile pictures, there are organizations, which created communities through token gating. This token gating guide will walk you through the benefits your business can take on by exploring token gating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Token Gating Technology Explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Token gated access is a great way to limit exclusive benefits for NFT holders only. This will not only boost the incentive to purchase your NFTs, but also the desire to belong to your community. Loyal fans of good businesses want to be recognized<\/strong>, and if you want to give back to your loyal customers, then token gating would be a great way to do so. You can create an elevated value around your business and community of fans through the simple technology behind NFTs and token gating combined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step of creating a loyal customer base for your business through token gating is by having customers in the first place. Then, you should provide them with the opportunity to acquire your NFTs. There are numerous ways in which you can successfully do this. First of all, you can have free NFT airdrops<\/em>, where a certain amount of NFTs are gifted to customers on a first come first served basis. But if you want to create an additional revenue stream, then you can certainly monetize your NFT drops and sell them to your customers<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How Businesses Can Create a Community Through Token Gating <\/figcaption>\n\n\n\n

This will also work in your favor because you can then confirm that your NFT holders are serious fans, willing to pay for a membership<\/strong>, and not just anyone who\u2019s simply willing to have an NFT. Once your customers have one of your NFTs, they hold the key to unlock the gate you have set in place to limit exclusive perks. Next, let\u2019s look into what type of exclusive perks are worth limiting to only the most loyal of customers your business has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Token Gating Used For?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whichever industry your business fits in, token gating is a very versatile tool to use to engage with your customers<\/strong> and thus help to achieve your business goals. Because it is mainly used with NFTs, the are little to no limits in terms of what industries can dive into the NFT and token gating pool. Years ago, we wouldn\u2019t have dreamed of concepts like NFT restaurants<\/a> or NFT music<\/a>, but nowadays, we know that these are already accomplished and quite successful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What these industries have in common is that even though people think they know them by heart, these industries can always surprise the world with innovations. And so can any business. That is exactly what token gating can bring to your business to make it stand out from competitors<\/strong>. Let\u2019s say that this wouldn\u2019t be the perfect token gating guide without an example of exclusive perks your business can offer to your customers through token gating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Exclusive
Exclusive Benefits a Business Can Offer to Their Customers Through Token Gating<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Exclusive
Exclusive Benefits a Business Can Offer to Their Customers Through Token Gating<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve decided to introduce token gating into your NFT business strategy, but what exactly is there to offer? Well, first and foremost, one of the easiest marketing materials to use is merch. Merch is perfect for the loyal fans of your brand<\/strong> because they\u2019ll have a piece of clothing that showcases their loyalty. And having thousands of people walk around the world with your name on their clothes is just free and easy promoting of your brand.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, you can also include exclusive events in the list of perks for token holders only. Whether you are a restauranteur or a musician, your fans will be looking forward to meeting you<\/strong>. And if you\u2019re a business launching products, why not host an exclusive launch party for NFT holders only? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your business is focused on releasing music, videos and\/or movies, then your idea of exclusive benefits for token holders could be exclusive media<\/strong>. There are successful examples of artists like 3LAU<\/em> who launched the first tokenized full-length album<\/a> and generated $11.7M in the NFT auction. Regarding movies, there are examples like the <\/em>Zero Contact<\/em> NFT movie, starring Anthony Hopkins<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> on the Vuele.io<\/em> platform. Additionally, as an exclusive benefit for your loyal fans, you could enhance some of the products you are already offering by making them one-of-a-kind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All these things are beneficial for both your business and your customers. Your business creates hype around what you are offering, it receives more funds and a loyal customer base. Simultaneously with that, your fans are receiving the recognition they deserve and receive exclusive products. At the end, you\u2019ll have created a community, which is the best outcome for your business.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

NFTs and Token Gating Side by Side<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As already mentioned, token gating is perfect along with NFTs. The thing is, once your customers find out about your NFTs and decide to purchase them, then what? Do you want those NFTs to gather dust in their wallets, making them forgettable? Or would you rather keep your customers engaged through your NFTs <\/strong>so that they are reassured that there was a point in making that purchase, and even to give them the incentive to make another purchase of the same kind?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you chose the latter, and good for you for doing so, then you show that you want to evolve your business as much as you can. There are records of NFTs being sold for as much as nearly 70 million dollars<\/a>. Now consider that type of investment, along with the above-mentioned benefits of token gating. With that much money being invested in NFTs, it goes without saying that NFT token gating is the way forward to flourishing business opportunities<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of the industry your business is in, you can reach out to your community of fans\/customers and give back to them through a token gated NFT collection.<\/strong> Should you be ready to do this, you should expect great results and profits. There are a lot of examples with NFT communities that show that when the brand creates a collective, the members of it always respond positively. For example, most NFT collections have their own token gated Discord servers.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discord <\/em>is an important platform within the web community. It used to be tailored to gamers online, to create a social platform for them to connect by hosting text, video and voice chat functions, but quickly turned into a universal and beloved platform to many other communities<\/strong>. And another practical function that Discord has is the sub-channels function. Each server can have various channels, be it news around community, memes, geo-specific channels or whatever else the admin wants to create.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This function lets sub-communities within the specific community have their own space to interact with each other. Alone this social platform is enough on the surface level to create a token gated community<\/strong>. Let\u2019s see what successful NFT collections have done to provide their token holders with token gated content on a deeper level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BAYC<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Bored Ape Yacht Club<\/em> NFT collection was launched in April 2021, releasing 10,000 NFTs of bored apes. Each ape is different than the rest, be it through background colors, accessories, or other attributes, making them unique. It is recorded that at launch, each BAYC NFT costed around $200, generating <\/strong>Yuga Labs<\/em><\/strong>, the company behind the NFT collection, two million dollars. <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Eminem<\/em> and Paris Hilton<\/em> amongst many others own BAYC NFTs. However, these celebrities did not pay the original price, quite the opposite, Justin Bieber paid 1.3 million dollars for his NFT, much more expensive than Eminem\u2019s at $400,000<\/strong>. But why would these celebrities pay that much money for NFT profile pictures?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re still floating from the energy of ApeFest \u201822. Thank you to everyone – our community, the staff, vendors, performers and our sponsor @0xPolygon<\/a> – for making this year\u2019s event so memorable. Scroll the \ud83e\uddf5for some of our favorite moments and photos from last week: pic.twitter.com\/QODxgJSvON<\/a><\/p>— Bored Ape Yacht Club (@BoredApeYC) June 27, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>