Once upon a time, in a metaverse where bulls roamed the streets, AMAs were one of the best ways of sifting through the noise and connecting with teams. We fondly remember the days where AMAs brought structure to communities and were an event worth looking forward to. The initial purpose of AMAs was beautiful. You had your chance to grab the mic, speak your mind, and have the team answer your questions. 

But when incentives were created, the bots invaded. 

Nowadays, the moment you publicly announce an AMA, the bot army assembles and asks the very same questions asked in a thousand other AMAs. Why? Because $100 USDT giveaway, that’s why. 

To make matters worse, there are hundreds of make-believe groups gleaming with bot life, with representatives approaching projects day by day to offer AMA opportunities. 

The usual pitch goes something like: 

“Hi mate..! sorry for interrupting your privacy can we talk about your great project

I am the Marketing Manager of XYZ crypto whales here I am invite you for AMA session with our community.

AMA with us could help you to  gain legit investors and increasing your community.

Our Main services are :-

Chat AMA Voice AMA Video AMA Twitter space AMA Shilling contest & Pin post services

Do let me know if you are interested 😊!!

Good luck for your great  project…”

I don’t blame them. They saw an opportunity and seized it. I do however blame you if you think that 100K member community you never heard of is actually real when, in fact, the conversation flow makes little sense and there are a few thousand Telegram members titled (First Name - Last Name), while rehashing the very same questions while bounty hunting the next giveaway.

Are all AMAs bad? 

No. As a marketer, you need to train in the art of the Turing test. Use common sense and critical thinking to figure out whether a group is botted or not. The rule is that if someone cold DMs you to offer you an AMA and you’ve never heard of the group before, it’s best to avoid it. 

However, you should do AMAs in: 

• Your Telegram & Discord 
• Active regional communities (if not botted)
• Groups belonging to KOLs with a real community
• Partner project & exchange groups (!!!)

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Should you incentivise AMAs? 

Kinda. Look, if a community member posts a question in your group, you better answer it even if there’s no AMA going. Real investors don’t need a special event to speak their mind. They’ll lay out concerns and ask questions at any moment, day or night. And you gotta be there for them. 

However, promoting an actual AMA event with a giveaway may drive some additional engagement to your group, which is always good, even if you’re bringing a bunch of bots in. 

Most retail investors still look at engagement numbers - if there are lots of people in a group chat, and you’re clearly engaging with an active community, they’ll get that sense of FOMO. It’s a bit of a make-believe since the questions are incentivised, but it is how this market works, at least for now. 

As for rewards, I recommend you think outside the box and do more than just the simple $100 USDT for the best question. Give away beta access, whitelist spots, interface reveals, one-on-one time with the team, and use the opportunity to network with your best community members. Hey, marketing a mystery box as part of an AMA is pretty cool and may drive extra engagement for those who love mystery. 

Text vs Voice AMAs

Do mind that voice AMAs are superior to text ones when you want to foster genuine engagement. The downside is that engagement numbers generally fall flat, but at least you’re speaking to your community leaders. So keep a mix in mind - office hours can be uber cool too, and help the community get to know you better. That’s how you build a true following and communities that help the project grow beyond token price and TVL. 

If your community is still rather small, yet you feel that it’s time for a voice AMA, get your friends in. While getting your network to ask questions is somewhat of a gray-hat approach, it works. Many crypto people are still rather shy to speak up in voice chats, but they’re listening. And if you choose to record the AMA and push it on Twitter and your other social channels, prospective community members will get to learn more about what you’re building even if they didn’t attend, hence, there’s an evergreen angle to take here that helps you build over time. 

AMA Consistency - Office Hours Any Good?

With AMAs, try to create somewhat of a schedule and don’t just do them upon token launch and never again, especially if you’re looking to make a livelihood (or fine, generational wealth) through your project. 

Consistency is key, and one AMA a month never killed anybody. You’ll get feedback, gauge sentiment, connect with your audience, and find new opportunities. Who knows, that chad dev you’ve been desperately seeking on The Daily Ape HR might be a listener. In addition, I know for a fact junior VC analysts like to take part in these AMAs (or at least listen after the fact), and that’s how you get a big-boy VC to DM you. 

Last but not least, AMAs also give you access to questions that you hadn’t thought of before. Then, when you’re giving your pitch and a VC asks the same question, you’ll be prepared to answer.