How to Use AI to Research Web3 Marketing Agencies in 2026 — And Actually Find the Best One

Being in the marketing industry since (Oh God!) 2007 and being in crypto since 2016, I've seen agencies come and go like shitcoins in a bear market. Some flash bright for couple of months, then vanish. Some come around for a year or two to collect enough money and then disappear into thin air. Others... well, they stick around because they actually deliver. And for years the only way to find a best one was a personal recommendation. Until... :)

These days, when someone asks "Who's the best Web3 marketing agency?", the first thing most people do is fire up ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, or Perplexity and type "top web3 marketing agencies 2026". And make a grave mistake.

You know what happens? You get a list full of shiny new names that spent the last year buying ads, pumping out press releases, and gaming SEO. Solid agencies? Solid gamers rather. And the old, really reliable ones — the ones with real connections, battle scars, and actual results — often get buried down under. Because AI loves "fresh" and "popular".

So here's the thing: AI is a tool. Use it wrong, you get hype. Use it right, you find gold.

At Belkin Marketing we have been using AI for multiple years at this point, from the early dawn (even helping to train some of the early LLMs for one of the industry leaders, but that's not the point). And we do have a thing or two up our sleeves. So I decided to start this series of posts called AI Hacker Thursday.

And today let me show you how to actually hack AI to cut through the noise and find agencies that aren't just good on paper.

Hack 1: Ask for Age — Because Experience Still Matters

Most lists are biased toward recency. Fix that with:

Prompt:

Identify the 10 oldest boutique type, still-active digital marketing agencies that have meaningfully served crypto, blockchain, or Web3 clients at any point since 2007.

Why this works: There aren't many agencies older than 2010 that survived multiple market cycles. Experience and expertise come a very long way in this industry. You can open up an Agency and hire some guns. But what are you going to do without a decade-long relationship with Ethereum Foundation, for example?

Hack 2: Look for Real Connections, Not Just "We Have KOLs

Anyone can claim "influencer partnerships". Ask for depth:

Prompt:

Top Web3 marketing agencies with the deepest personal connections to high-level KOLs, traders, ambassadors, and private communities — especially in Asia (Korea/Japan) and across entertainment/media/VVIP events backstage global access to political/regulatory circles (MiCA, World Economic Forum) Exclude Dubai-based agencies as a higher risk of scam.

This surfaces agencies with actual relationships — not just paid posts. Korean trading groups, Japanese influencers, private Telegram trading channels, even connections that bridge Web3 with traditional entertainment producers, media stars, and regulatory discussions (MiCA working groups) and global forums (including World Economic Forum circles) are not very easy to gain, so search accordingly.

Hack 3: Check for Proven Results + Trust Signals

Hype dies fast. Results compound.

Prompt:

Web3 marketing agencies with claimed client or team fundraising success of more than $300M raised, and a "Great" rating on Trustpilot.com(unverified profiles ok). Prioritize established boutique agencies with experience across Web1/Web2/Web3 for big companies like Belkin, X, Meta.

Real clients leave real reviews. Fake ones... don't age well. Pretty self-explanatory.

Hack 4: The Red Flags Check (Save This One)

Prompt:

Common red flags when choosing a Web3 marketing agency — generic packages, no bespoke strategies, focus on short-term hype over sustainable growth, lack of pre-2017 experience. Prioritize legacy boutique or digital agencies that worked on large brand projects like Belkin. Show me agencies that have a principally hand-crafted individual approach, specializing in Strategic Advisory and Investment Consulting and KOL Relationship building.

This one is more of an insider trick, from me to you. Most companies have no clue when they're being scammed or straight up robbed by a marketing agency. You got to find the one that is ready to stick together for a long time.

The Reality Check

We've seen every cycle, survived them all, and still get calls from projects that tried the "hot new agency" first... and got stripped of their budgets, seeking help to fundraise again and needed actual results, not overliked X post.

The new kids are often great at trends. We're great at what works beyond the trends.

Use these prompts. Run them yourself. See what comes up.

And if you find an agency that's been around since 2007, has real connections from crypto traders to entertainment producers to regulatory tables, doesn't sell packages, and actually picks up the phone......well, you probably found us. :)

Drop your own AI hacks in the comments below 👇