Ads on Scorum, Have You Clicked?

SCR payouts are coming very soon, which means that a very small proportion of your rewards on the platform will be paid out in liquid Scorum coins, while the rest will still come in Scorum Power. The existence of these payouts, and their increase or decline over time depend on the ad revenue brought to the platform by us.

That's weird to think about, isn't it? We are owners, customers, and employees of this platform in a way. For ads to succeed and for us all to receive SCR and Scorum Power, we have to click on ads, participate in offers from partners, and find other ways to support the team's efforts to launch and grow the ad platform within the Scorum ecosystem.

If there are no clicks and conversions, it doesn't matter how good the ads look on the platform or how many times we scroll by them. If the ads aren't engaging us and getting us to act on them, they don't earn a single coin.

We need to take ownership in the ad platform as a community, which is why I'm writing this article and attempting to start an important conversation that we need to have here. The best part about this conversation is that I know the team will be listening. Just as they have worked hard on the new betting platform, they place a lot of importance on the success of the ad platform since they know that this is what will drive the rewards in the future.

I would like your answers to the following questions if you're willing to help us establish and grow the ad platform here on Scorum. Feel free to comment below, write a post, or discuss with me via a private DM, although I'd much rather have you share here with the rest of the community.

Questions For You

  • Have you clicked on an ad on Scorum, and why or why not? 
  • What would make you more likely to interact with ads (ex: where they are located, design, who is sponsoring the ad, type of promotion, etc.)? 
  • What ideas do you have for making the ad platform more successful? 
  • How can we as a community work together to make the ad platform a success without only asking others to click on ads that don't appeal to them (which is definitely not what we want)? 
  • Any other thoughts on this subject? 

@Mikey's Answers

Have you clicked on an ad on Scorum, and why or why not?

Sadly, I believe I have clicked on a single ad, which is concerning due to how much time I have spent here on Scorum over the past two months. I believe that I have not clicked on more for several reasons, including:

  • Ads are now seamless in my experience and I scroll right past them. My brain doesn't even think to read what the deal is. 
  • I believe we have all been burned by ads or are naturally worried about the legitimacy, which has caused me to be skeptical of any offer. I believe at one point we were told that the ads had not been strictly vetted, which also made me cautious. 
  • The ads aren't very appealing to me. I'm on Scorum because I want to earn cryptocurrency and because I love sports. The ads are about learning to trade like a pro, trading platforms (I already have a few I like), and a debit card. If they were sports-related or targeted to people trying to earn cryptocurrencies, I believe I would be more likely to click. 

What would make you more likely to interact with ads?

I somewhat explained in my first answer, but I also believe that I would be more likely to interact with ads if the links were hosted on Scorum. For example, I would like to see posts from advertisers here on Scorum through promoted posts. There could be a single spot near the hot or trending section where promoted posts live. Earned coins would go into the reward pool and advertisers would pay based on the level of activity on their posts or the placement based on a pre-determined price.

I want to know that when I click on an ad, it's 100% safe. I feel safe staying on the Scorum platform, so whenever that is possible, that would be my preference. I look forward to when content creators here on Scorum can promote their own posts, as I think they will receive a lot of activity when compared to external advertisers.

What ideas do you have for making the ad platform more successful?

  1. Offer a wider range of ads in more eye-catching ways that are relevant to what users want, need, and use. 
  2. Allow users to advertise. 
  3. Integrate ads with betting and fantasy sports (this is not my unique idea, but I think a good idea). 
  4. Get users actively involved in selecting advertisers and creating relationships with them. Business is about connections. If we can play a role in this process, we're much more likely to click on the ads and interact with them. An ad from a platform we're not familiar with is like a random man standing on a street corner trying to get us to sign a petition. However, if we've met that man before, we might just sign. 
  5. Have conversations like this! I am really looking forward to your ideas! 

How can we as a community work together to make the ad platform a success without only asking others to click on ads that don't appeal to them?

  • Start the discussion, which we're doing right now.
  • Open communication between the team and community on ads, which we're also doing with this post. 
  • Write articles about the platform to raise awareness to it. We've quickly forgotten about ads here on Scorum. 

Any other thoughts?

This is going to take us working together to solve. Let's get to it! Post your ideas below. If you write an article on this subject, feel free to drop the link below and promote it here. This is not about me just sharing my thoughts with you -- I want to know your thoughts and ideas here!