The age where content is king, in which you have kings and queens of content, has iterated into a form in which those who create content can monetize the piece of content and art they create. A ‘Nyan Cat’ meme NFT sold for $590,000 (300 ETH) at a time which, of course, was way before the “crypto winter” of 2022. A project that wants to reward meme-savvy with crypto and NFTs has also launched, known as memecoin. The premise is that those who find or create funny internet content in meme format get rewarded. A curious way of incentivizing people to contribute to online culture, but at least people are getting rewards of some sort.
Gary Vaynerchuk —an influencer, business mentor, author, motivational speaker, and entrepreneur with a massive following— recently leveraged his massive following to create an NFT collection known as ‘VeeFriends’. He took advantage of his following and his know-how of the communications agency industry to get the best of this NFT collection. In his own words, he sees value in the NFT art he created. But more importantly for him as a creator, it’s a way to protect his intellectual property in a way that allows him to connect more meaningfully with his followers.
Vaynerchuk (@GaryVee) uses his NFT art to provide different perks for his followers. For example, a lower-tiered NFT will give the holder the right to assist to VeeCon, while some of the rarest NFTs give the owner zoom calls with GaryVee benefits or even go on a fishing trip. The sort of value an artist can think of providing to the people that enjoy his or her art. Can the artist provide every once in a while an interesting idea that drives the creative process? Or maybe create content that gives insight into the artistic process?
Taking a page from the influencer’s playbook to promote NFT art
If we take the concept of influencer and use it broadly, we can understand that there are many different types of influencers. An athlete, a socialite, or an artist are all influencers. With regards to the artist, while people are interested in a final product, it is also true that it is almost as important as the final artwork is the vision of the artist and the aesthetic taste that guides the creation of an art piece. Aside from creating pieces of NFT artwork for sale, an artist can explain the entire process to those that have shown an interest in the art and perhaps engage them further.
Producing content constantly, especially one that opens up the creative process to those interested in the art, creates new possibilities for discovery. Especially as people might enjoy the content for content’s sake and share it via their favorite social media channels.
Why is it so important for Web3 art to create content, even if it will not be for monetization’s sake? Let’s go back to what Gary Vaynerchuk did with his NFT collection ‘VeeFriends’. He was already in the influencer game and had a massive following. So, when his project was launched, it was received with great anticipation and was a great success. This applies to an artist launching a project, a collection, or a 1/1 NFT edition. It’s a lot easier if the artist already has a community following the creative vision.
Even if the term influencer feels —to some artists— like it might devalue the trade and the profession or the arts, it’s worthwhile taking a few hints from influencers’ framework for an artist to gain recognition. The artist is an intellectual, a producer of ideas. Producing content based on those ideas enriches public opinion and culture. In return, artists can gain relevance as people get to know the things that inspire them, and what the artistic vision is. Content is a must, especially when there is a possibility that the content can be transformed into NFTs, or serve the purpose of building a bridge between artists and the community.
Content synergies between NFT art galleries and artists
Can an art gallery produce content? Yes, especially if it is serious about its role of connecting artists, academics, scholars, curators, critics, and collectors. Both can take advantage of this relationship, as an artist can bring new eyes to an art gallery. If the artist is just starting, there is still value for the art gallery. Being the place where new artists start and collectors find out about artistic trends is still of great value. The artists benefit because they have the means to communicate the artistic vision and attract new eyes to the work, past or present.
The event format is great for producing this content. People now can create Twitter Spaces in which some speakers have conversations in front of many listeners. One of the most Web3-appropriate things you can do is gather in a metaverse gallery so that people can join in with their avatar and have a curated exposition of artwork by an artist, perhaps even with commentary from the artist himself. SOPRG art gallery has already created such experiences with encouraging results.
In short, almost as valuable as a final version of an artwork is the creative process that gave us this output. Artists have many tools at their disposal to communicate their vision and aesthetic taste, so it would do the world of good if they embrace their ‘inner influencer’ and share more about their process.
