Original Author: Stacy Muur
Original Translation: Luffy, Foresight News
Original Title: Web3 Marketing Insider: Is Kaito More Effective Than Traditional KOLs?
I recently conducted an in-depth study on KOL marketing, talking to some of the most famous Web3 marketing agencies that have conducted campaigns for Mantle, Sonic Labs, Aptos, Solv Protocol, and other major crypto protocols.
What Are the Goals?
The goal of my research was to uncover the workings of these agencies and their core KOL list.
What are the criteria for selecting KOLs?
How large is their user base?
How do they evaluate audience quality?
How are tools like Kaito and Cookie DAO reshaping the KOL game in Web3?
Whether you're a KOL looking to enter the top agency network or a Web3 team preparing for your next campaign, this is a must-read.
Let's Look at Some Data First
KOL Network Scale
42.9% of agencies have over 1,000 KOL accounts
35.7% of agencies have 500-1,000 KOL accounts
Nearly 50% of agencies rely on only 50-100 core active KOLs in most campaigns
Only 10% of agencies actively collaborate with over 250 KOLs
What are the core criteria when choosing KOLs?
Number of followers? Moderate importance → 2.93/5
Exposure per post and "smart fans"? More valued → 4.1/5
Content quality, research ability, and past experience? Key indicators → 4.7/5
All agencies verify accounts for fake engagement, with over half using tools like Kaito and Cookie 3 to screen and evaluate KOLs.
What Web3 Teams Need to Be Aware of When Collaborating with KOLs
In fact, Web3 marketing is severely limited in terms of tools.
X advertising is ineffective. Many users have Premium memberships (ad-free), and those without subscriptions are usually not ideal customers.
Google Ads face regulatory challenges, with many projects unable to legally advertise in core regions.
Media coverage? Good for trust/reputation, but ineffective for actual user acquisition.
So, what's left?
KOLs and ad campaigns driven by Kaito and Cookie.
Take Spark's campaign on Cookie as an example: 13,400 X accounts participated, mostly micro-KOLs with fewer than 1,000 followers. This is the true innovation—these account sizes are too small for traditional paid promotions.
So... is this model better than traditional KOL marketing? This is debatable.
Micro KOLs also have some issues:
They often form echo chambers, following and retweeting each other → severe audience overlap. In smaller vertical fields, this helps spread quality content. But in high-frequency cultivation activities (like yaps/snaps), it leads to over-exposure, and users start losing interest.
Nevertheless, Kaito and Cookie do provide entry opportunities for small accounts, making ambassador programs more decentralized and easier to manage.
Is the decentralization of marketing important, or is efficiency more crucial? This is also debatable.
Let's not forget the recent Loud! case: Talking ≠ Strategy. Mind share ≠ Influence.
Traditional KOL Marketing Also Has Flaws
The brutal truth is: If your product lacks selling points, you'll need to pay more. KOLs are just channels of voice—some loud, some humorous, some professional, but by no means miracle creators.
Now, if your product is indeed attractive, a new problem arises:
KOLs severely lacking in the following criteria:
Have a natural traffic audience
Understand technical principles
Can create resonant content
Accept sponsorship collaboration
Many top KOLs don't accept paid posts. They either invest privately or charge five-figure fees for a single tweet. This is why nearly 50% of agencies only deeply collaborate with 50-100 KOLs in 1000+ accounts, and 85% of paid KOLs produce zero effective results.
So, How Does KOL Marketing Actually Work?
Long-term repeated posting → more trust, more recognition, better conversion
KOL cross-interaction → Ask them to reference each other's points, not just repost brand announcements
Natural spread > Hard promotion → Communities can smell hard ads, give KOLs freedom to express their true thoughts
Don't buy ads, buy comments → Real reviews beat banner ads
Move beyond X platform → Telegram, Substack = lower noise, higher retention
My View on the Future of Web3 Marketing
Kaito and Cookie have brought micro KOLs into the mind share game, providing marketers with a new experimental mechanism. Will this become an effective marketing lever, or just more noise? Yet to be determined.
KOL marketing won't disappear, but it needs authentic voices, not 24/7 paid shouting accounts.
Lastly, I want to say: Why is everyone still obsessed with the X platform? If you truly want growth, don't ignore Telegram and Substack.
