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How to Growth Hack

How to Growth Hack: Identify Your Goals

How to growth hack and Growth hacking is a concept that has become increasingly popular in the digital marketing space. It has been used by companies such as Uber, Airbnb and Dropbox to identify opportunities for rapid growth and capitalize on them. Growth hacking is an approach focused on identifying your goals and then leveraging new technologies, creative solutions, and unconventional strategies to quickly achieve those goals.

To growth hack effectively you need to start by clearly defining your objectives. Ask yourself what results do you want to achieve? Once you have identified your goals it’s time for the fun part – coming up with a plan of attack! Consider different options like automation tools or A/B testing strategies which will help you meet your targets faster than traditional methods. Experimentation is key, so be open to trying multiple tactics until something sticks. By taking this iterative approach, you can get closer to achieving success quicker than ever before!

The following are examples of a SMART objectives that are realistic for growth hacking:

  1. Boost blog traffic by 20% by the end of the month.
  2. 250 leads produced through email marketing.
  3. Create 5% more website content.
  4. Obtain 10,000 new followers to Company LinkedIn Page in a year.
  5. Determine the best Call to Action by way of A/B testing

Ultimately, the goal is always growth and improvement of exsiting metrics. Sometimes its about creating new content and sometimes its about optimising existing channels and content.  Some things that may help define your most successful content are

  • Most traffic
  • Most conversions
  • Most inbound links
  • Most likes and shares on social media.

If you want to effectively growth hack, the first step is to clearly identify your goals. It’s important to define specific and measurable objectives so you can track your progress over time. Goals should be realistic, achievable, and should align with your overall vision for your company.
Famous growth hack goals often involve increasing user engagement, acquiring new customers, or optimizing existing services. To achieve these goals, companies must develop innovative strategies and be willing to experiment with new techniques. For example, a company may use content marketing to increase brand visibility or create a referral program to increase customer acquisition.

There is no set process for identifying growth hack goals, as every business and situation is different. However, there are some tips that can help you get started:

1. Research the competition – Take a look at what other successful companies in your industry are doing. You may find something that you can replicate or adapt to your own needs.
2. Listen to feedback from customers and employees – Feedback from stakeholders can provide invaluable insight into how your business can be improved. Use it to identify potential goals and refine your approach.
3. Identify areas of opportunity – Think about where your company could benefit from growth hacks. Are there any underutilized services or products that could use a boost? Are there any processes or systems that could be made more efficient?

By taking the time to carefully identify your goals and objectives, you can ensure that you maximize the impact of your growth hacking efforts. With clear objectives in place, you’ll be well-positioned to measure the success of your hacks and make improvements where necessary.

Utilize Automation to learn how to growth hack

Growth hacking is a technique used by companies to quickly and effectively increase their digital presence and market share. With the right tactics, businesses can gain an edge in the competitive marketplace without investing too much time or money. Utilizing automation is one of these tactics, allowing businesses to reach more customers with minimal effort.

Automation is a powerful tool for growth hackers, helping them save time while still optimizing their marketing strategies. By automating certain tasks such as website updates, customer outreach campaigns, and social media posts, companies can free up their resources for other activities that may generate more sales. Automation also enables growth hackers to track data such as website analytics or customer feedback in real-time so they can make targeted adjustments accordingly.

Some highly useful automation tools are:

  1. HubSpot
  2. Phantombuster
  3. Captain Data
  4. Zapier
  5. IFTTT
  6. Repurpose.io

Create an Engaging Product

Creating an engaging product is a crucial part of any growth hacking strategy. Without a product that users are excited to use, you won’t be able to achieve exponential growth. Examples of products that have experienced huge success through growth hacks include Dropbox, Uber, and AirBnB. All of these companies offer a product that users find exciting and useful.

To create an engaging product, it’s important to think about the user first and foremost. Put yourself in their shoes. What kind of features would they find valuable and why? How can you make the experience intuitive and effortless? How can you create an enjoyable user experience?

Furthermore, consider the idea of product as marketing – meaning that your product should be so good that it acts as its own form of marketing. Word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tools, and if your users love your product, they’ll be sure to tell their friends about it.

Finally, you should build growth mechanisms into the product itself. Make it easy for users to invite their friends and family to join them on the platform. Add ways for users to share content from within the product, like Twitter does with their Retweet feature. These strategies will help you drive more organic growth.

Creating an engaging product is essential for any successful growth hack strategy. By designing with the user in mind, keeping the product as marketing philosophy in mind, and building growth mechanisms into the product itself, you will be well on your way to achieving exponential growth.

Find Your User Acquisition Channels

To begin growth hacking, the first step is to identify the user acquisition channels that are most beneficial for your business. The channels you choose will depend on your target audience and goals, as well as what resources you have available to allocate to marketing.

One way to start is by researching the channels your target market uses. Popular social media networks, search engines, and other websites are a great place to start. Pay attention to which platforms your competitors are using and how successful they are, as well as what type of content they are sharing. This will help you decide which channels will be most effective for your business.

Once you have identified potential user acquisition channels, it’s time to begin experimenting. Try different types of content, such as videos, images, and blog posts, on each channel to see which perform best. Monitor your results closely, so you can make adjustments as needed and better optimize your campaigns.

Finally, measure your success. Track the number of new users acquired through each channel, as well as any additional conversions such as signups or purchases. Regularly evaluate the performance of each channel and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Growth hacking is an ongoing process, and requires patience and dedication to succeed. By finding the right user acquisition channels and optimizing them for your business, you’ll be able to maximize your reach and generate more conversions in the long run.

How to growth hack Track Performance Metrics

Growth hacking is an approach to marketing that combines conventional marketing with data-driven experimentation. It focuses on leveraging limited resources and creativity to find ways to rapidly increase revenue and profits for a business. One of the key elements in growth hacking is tracking performance metrics, which is the process of gathering data about how different channels are performing in terms of engagement, user activity and overall success rate.

To get started with tracking performance metrics, first identify what kind of information you need to measure and determine which analytics tools can be used to gather these insights. For example, web analytics tools like Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics are useful for analyzing website traffic, while social media analytics tools like Sprout Social or Hootsuite Insights can provide valuable insights into user engagement across social platforms.
Successful growth hacking techniques are almost always informed by data analysis and optimization. You can look for optimization opportunities and change your content strategy for growth by carefully reviewing the data you already have available.

Measuring the success of your growth hacks is essential for understanding what works and what doesn’t, so you can continue to optimize your strategies and get the most out of your efforts. Fortunately, there are many tools and SaaS products available to help you measure the success of your growth hacks.

The first step in measuring success is to set up clear goals before launching a growth hack. Doing this will give you a baseline to measure against so you can determine if a hack has been successful or not. It’s also important to track performance metrics such as signups, revenue, customer retention, and more so you can see how your growth hack is affecting different areas of your business.

Once you have set up tracking for your goals and metrics, you can use analytics tools like Google Analytics and Mixpanel to monitor the performance of your growth hacks. These tools allow you to track key metrics like user engagement, page views, and revenue in real-time, making it easy to adjust your strategies on the fly.

Other tools that are useful for measuring success include heat mapping tools like HotJar and Crazy Egg, which show you where visitors are clicking and how they interact with your website. This can help you identify opportunities for improvement, or areas that are performing well.

Finally, there are a variety of SaaS products designed specifically for growth hacking. These include optimization tools like Optimizely and Convert Experiments, which allow you to test different versions of pages or features to see which performs best. They also offer A/B testing and other advanced analytics capabilities.

By leveraging these different tools and SaaS products, you can effectively measure the success of your growth hacks and ensure that you’re getting the most out of your efforts. By tracking key metrics and using analytics tools to pinpoint opportunities for improvement, you can maximize the potential of each growth hack and ensure long-term success

Analyse and Test Everything

A/B testing is one of the most popular tools in a growth hacker’s arsenal. A/B testing is a way to compare two versions of a website, product, or service against each other and measure how effective they are at achieving desired outcomes. By running A/B tests, you can identify the best performing version and use that as the standard for future operations.

There are different types of A/B testing. The most common is split testing, where two versions of a page are randomly shown to visitors and the one that performs best is kept. Multivariate testing takes it a step further, allowing you to test multiple variations at once and find out which combination of elements works best. You can also do Bayesian tests, which are more accurate because they take into account the uncertainty of user behavior.

There are plenty of things you can A/B test. You can test different headlines and images, website layouts, and even entire pages or features. You can also test different copywriting styles, buttons, navigation menus, and more. The key is to focus on the elements that you think will have the biggest impact on user engagement and conversions.

The test everything mindset is essential when it comes to growth hacking. Every small change has the potential to make a huge difference, so it’s important to test everything and find out which versions work best. When it comes to A/B testing, don’t be afraid to experiment with different versions and see which ones perform better. Don’t forget to track your results and measure success so you know what works and what doesn’t.

Take Advantage of Virality

Virality refers to the concept of sharing content on social media platforms that spreads quickly and easily, leading to increased engagement with potential customers. To take advantage of this opportunity for growth hacking, businesses should focus on creating shareable content that can drive more attention from audiences. This could include videos, quizzes, stories, polls, surveys – whatever content resonates with your target audience and encourages them to share it with their own networks. Additionally, businesses should also look for ways to establish partnerships with influencers in order to reach larger audiences and grow their brand awareness even faster.

A competent growth hacker will always be on the lookout for the next chance. Recognizing opportunities Being the first in your business to post a breaking news item could be the secret to your rapid success.

There several ways to discover trends and trending content:

  1. Google Trends
  2. Buzzsumo
  3. Content Ideas
  4. Answer the Public

Knowing how to create viral content is one of the fundamentals of growth hacking. Although there is no foolproof technique to guarantee that a piece of content will go viral, growth hackers will make every effort to increase the likelihood that it will.
Finding your own special path and avoiding replicating what others are doing are key components of growth hacking. The only people who can become true growth hackers are those who try new things and think creatively. The adage of ‘think outside the box’ could not be more truer.

Consider using these tools to increase or aid virality:

  1. Viralsweep
  2. Gleam.io
  3. Kickoff Labs
  4. Upviral
  5. Wishloop
  6. Early Parrot
  7. Referral Sasquatch
  8. Ambassador

Each of these ‘viral SaaS’ come with many unique features that are designed to aid your message and campaign to go viral. Many of them leverage social action = reward mechanisms. For example reTweet our Tweet and you’ll get 2 entries to our competition.

Leverage Social Media Platforms

First, determine which social media platforms will best serve your business needs based on your target audience. Establishing an effective presence on each platform requires adapting content for different networks such as photo-based content for Instagram and short snippets that link back to more detailed information on Twitter. Next, find ways to engage with customers by creating contests, live videos or offering discounts only available through social media platforms. Finally, experiment with different types of content such as infographics or how-to guides that can provide helpful information while simultaneously promoting your product or service.

Think multichannel.Think of content  strategy.  Think about which format will be needed for which type for which channel and what sharing trigger will be needed and how you will measure success.

Leveraging social media for business growth is an essential part of success in today’s digital world. Social media platforms have become powerful tools for businesses to reach and engage their target audiences at scale. When used properly, these channels can be instrumental for driving brand awareness, customer acquisition, and ultimately revenue growth.

Businesses must first understand the different types of social platforms available and decide which ones are most suitable for their industry. For example, Instagram tends to be the top choice among fashion and lifestyle brands while LinkedIn is best suited for B2B companies. Once a platform has been chosen, it’s important to develop a strategy that takes into account factors such as audience demographics, trends in content consumption and posting frequency.

LinkedIn example

Check out this document, the LinkedIn Algorithm Report 2022, edition 4 November . It goes into huge amounts of detail as to what you should and should not do to get maximum reach and traction when sharing and publishing on LinkedIn.

The document talks about:

  1. Building your feed
  2. Who you see in your feed
  3. Frequency of Posts
  4. Best times to post
  5. Nurturing your posts
  6. Do’s and Dont’s for posting
  7. How to get more reach
  8. LinkedIn Creator Mode
  9. Impact of enabling Creator mode
  10. LinkedIn Newsletters
  11. Different formats = different results
  12. Reach boosters and reach drainers
  13. Document posts
  14. Polls
  15. Posts with external links
  16. Video Posts
  17. LinkedIn Live
  18. LinkedIn’s Social Selling index
  19. How to grow your SSI
  20. Hashtags
  21. Tagging on LinkedIn
  22. Company Pages
  23. Company pages and content strategy
  24. How to improve ranking in people search.
    1. Little known fact. Posting on personal profiles will have more reach than company pages
  25. Profile Strength
  26. All about likes
  27. Comment strategy for success
  28. All about comments
  29. All about shares / reposts
  30. Hack the share
  31. Dwell time?
  32. Your audience on LinkedIn
  33. LinkedIn Groups

So, hopefully you can see that leveraging social media is a lot more than just putting up a post without a plan.

I also recommend you create a content calendar / plan of what you are going to post when, where and how. I like HubSpot’s content calendar template but there are so many more.

Experiment with Techniques

Experiment with different techniques. Experimentation is at the heart of a growth hacking mindset. Try various methods such as creating content on social media platforms, using email campaigns for retention, running A/B tests for website optimization or implementing referral programs to encourage organic referrals from existing customers.

Growth hacking involves constantly testing new ideas until you find something that works best for your specific target audience. With experimentation comes data; use it to see what resonates best with your target market so insights can inform future decisions and strategies.

Be Technical

Many growth hackers are comfortable with code. HTML, CSS, Javascript will all be useful. Quite often you will need to install some code related to tracking especially but also enabling 3rd party tools and software.

Search Engine Optimisation is your best and cheapest friend

Google’s algorithm is constantly evolving, so SEO. Successful growth hackers stay current with these changes and are skilled at crafting their material to take advantage of them. SEO is a never ending task due to the volume of content you might have, the algorithm changes, the number of possible keyword combinations and so much more.

Keep Iterating

When it comes to growth hacking, the key is to keep iterating. While some strategies may be successful for a short period of time, the challenge lies in finding ways to sustain success over the long term. To do this, you must be willing to pivot and adjust your strategies in order to optimize growth and maximize results.

At its core, growth hacking is all about experimentation and iteration. It requires a mindset that is open to new ideas, while also being grounded in data-driven decision making. As you look to create growth hacks, you need to be flexible and willing to make changes if something isn’t working.

Before beginning a growth hack, it’s important to define what success looks like for your project. This will help you focus on your desired outcomes and set measurable goals. Once you know what you’re trying to achieve, you can determine the best way to get there.

You should also consider different methods to track the progress of your growth hack. This will help you identify potential areas of improvement, as well as determine which tactics are working and which ones need to be revised. Data is key here — collect as much of it as possible and use it to inform your strategy.

Finally, don’t forget to keep iterating. As soon as a growth hack reaches its intended goal, move onto the next one. If a tactic isn’t working, go back to the drawing board and find new ways to approach it. The key is to never stop tweaking and fine-tuning until you reach the desired outcome.

Growth hacking can be an incredibly powerful tool for businesses looking to increase their customer base and expand their reach. But it’s important to remember that the process is ongoing and ever-evolving — don’t be afraid to take risks and keep iterating!

Zohe
Zohe
Seasoned Senior Digital Growth Leader with over 25 years driving transformative growth for global organizations across diverse industries including Retail, SaaS, Telecoms, Healthcare, Technology, Hospitality, Ecommerce and Digital Media.

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