How to use the new "Meme+functional token" model to build community loyalty?

Original author: @hmalviya9
Original title: "Memecoins + Utility Coins = Community Clusters"
Original translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats

Editor's note: Community clusters combine the entertainment of meme coins with the innovation of utility tokens, bringing benefits to both parties. Utility token projects gain more sustained attention and brand loyalty by working with meme coins; meme coin holders can receive a variety of rewards through staking and social media interactions. This model not only enhances the sense of community participation, but also promotes the long-term development and innovation of the entire crypto ecosystem, and may become a new direction for future community development.

In the world of utility tokens, token economics are carefully designed to incentivize users, and many projects also enhance community participation through governance systems. However, one of the biggest challenges at present is: how to build a loyal and self-sustaining community that can drive natural growth and translate into long-term token performance.

Many projects, especially those backed by venture capital, often rely on airdrops and points-based staking strategies to generate short-term hype. However, these strategies tend to cool quickly after the token is launched, especially when the airdrop coverage is too large and fails to meet market expectations.

The root of the problem lies in two aspects: on the one hand, airdrops attract users who are eager for immediate returns, but these users tend not to stay for a long time, and unmet expectations may even make them disgusted with the project. Instead of cultivating loyalty, airdrops often dilute community participation. The community that should have been the pillar of growth for the project ends up being a source of downward pressure on the token price.

Despite this, the entire cryptocurrency space is full of users who are eager for incentives but do not have a deep emotional connection with a utility token. A key missing factor is the "fanatic" loyalty of some meme coins, where these communities are often united by entertainment and collective energy, forming a stronger emotional bond with the token.

Solution: Community Clusters

What if we could combine the strengths of utility tokens and meme coins? The idea is to create "community clusters," where a popular meme coin project forms a partnership with multiple utility token projects to create a system that creates passive income for community members. Here's how it works:

Meme coin staking contract: A well-known meme coin project sets up a staking contract where community members can stake their meme coins. In return, the utility token project promises to allocate staking rewards to the meme coin project.

Cooperation with utility tokens: meme coin projects can cooperate with up to three utility token projects. Community members only need to stake meme coins for at least 30 days to receive staking rewards from these three utility token projects.

Brand exposure returns for utility tokens: Utility token projects can increase brand awareness in the meme coin community through this cooperation. The more attention and participation the utility token receives, the more effective the incentives will be, and they will be able to reach a more appropriate audience.

Flexibility of incentives: Utility token projects can flexibly choose the time of incentive distribution based on the return on investment (ROI) of community engagement and brand awareness, ranging from one month to twelve months.

Social media communication and proof of contribution

In the meme coin ecosystem, simple staking is not enough, and community members must also actively contribute to the ecosystem through social media. A dashboard can be created where community members can submit proof of their contributions — whether it be tweets, blog posts, videos, or anything else that promotes the partnered utility token. This “social media slugging” mechanism creates a gamified environment for community members to continually create awareness and engagement for the utility token.

Similar strategies have been used in projects like Portal, which attracted widespread attention through social media slugging, particularly on Twitter. The same strategy can be applied to utility token projects with strong innovation and token economics to get them the attention they deserve while incentivizing long-term engagement from the meme coin community.

Dual Advantages for Utility Tokens and Meme Coins

Advantages for Utility Tokens: These projects will benefit from ongoing community-driven marketing. Unlike airdrop slugging that attracts short-term participants, community clusters are designed to generate real long-term engagement. Utility tokens gain a steady flow of attention through meme coin holders, fostering brand loyalty and ensuring that the token economics serve a larger, more engaged audience.

Advantages of meme coins: Meme coin communities often thrive on their energy, fun, and excitement about collective enrichment. By offering members the opportunity to earn rewards from utility tokens, meme coin projects are more than just a short-lived trend, but instead become a gateway to multiple sources of revenue, driving innovation in the space.

Community engagement: For the community, this model introduces a multi-layered incentive system. Not only do members receive staking rewards, their contributions on social media are directly tied to the success of the project. This model creates a closer connection between the community and the project, encouraging members to feel a deeper sense of investment in the growth of utility tokens.

Long-term Vision

In the long term, community clusters can serve as a kind of blueprint for crypto community structure. By combining the entertainment and enthusiasm of meme coin communities with the innovation and functionality of real-world projects, these clusters help align incentives across the broader crypto ecosystem.

As more projects join these clusters, the community-driven ecosystem will continue to expand, forming a network effect: utility tokens gain the engagement they need, while meme coin holders continue to benefit from increasing incentives. Ultimately, this will form a thriving community ecosystem that supports innovation, sustains long-term growth, and fosters lasting loyalty between different types of tokens.

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