In these demanding times, entrepreneurs need to take every measure imaginable to promote their brands in the eyes of public. However, this task is not that easy to accomplish most of the time, given the competition in the market.
There are a number of different components involved in the success of a company. From development to design to marketing to customer care, all departments play their part in a slow yet effective product campaign.
What if we were to tell you that you do not need to wait for so long before you can see tangible results? There is a way through which you can get quicker results for your campaign. That’s right – we are talking about Growth Hacking. Let’s have a look at it in a little detail.
What is Growth Hacking?
Growth Hacking is the process of experimenting with different strategies and product designs in a rapid manner, in hopes of finding the most productive result for your brand. It comprises a combination of different marketing strategies, product designs, development tactics, data processes, and analytical methods, among others.
Initially, the process may seem a bit risky as it involves the word “Hacking” in it, but let us assure you, it is not unethical hacking that everyone despises. The term “Hacking” refers to a person’s ability to go through different experiments in a quick manner while skipping the conventional and tedious strategies followed otherwise.
Is It a Replacement for Digital Marketing?
Some might think of Growth Hacking as a replacement for digital marketing. However, the reality is quite different. Even though all growth hackers may be marketers of a brand but not all marketers are growth hackers. Still, both roles are aimed for a similar purpose. Both jobs involve coming up with creative ways to accomplish the ultimate goal of the brand.
A growth hacker may belong to a technical background, which involves programming and coding or they can be a digital marketer who monitors a number of KPIs regarding the overall campaign.
Is It Really Meant For You?
The concept of growth hacking may seem to be too appealing still, there are situations when growth hacking is not the right way to go. This is a rather new approach and brings along a number of risks, so one must tread carefully. Here are some instances where growth hacking probably might fail.
You are Unaware of the Product’s Current Standing
Consider yourself as an internet service provider – now, you need to know two things about your internet connection before you jump on to the growth hacking strategy. One, if people are not even using your internet connection, then the activity is bound to fail. Two, if people are using your internet connection then what further improvements can be made to your service for effective growth? Without answers to both these questions, growth hacking is simply not recommended.
Do You Possess the Budget?
Growth Hacking is a tedious process that requires routine repetitions of several processes until you come across the solution. Obviously, this means you need to employ expert resources and expensive equipment to conduct experiments, If you are a startup lifting off the ground or just do not possess the budget, then growth hacking may not be that easy to pull off.
Do You Have the Right People?
For the process of growth hacking to be effective, you need to design complex experiments, run numerous simulations, and sort out a plethora of results. All this means that you would need the expertise of technical professionals who are not that easy to come by. If you lead a small team of employees with a limited set of skills, again, growth hacking is a BIG NO for your company.
It’s all about Data
All experiments conducted primarily depend on your ability to gather authentic data at the right time. If you are unable to accomplish this task, the results of your campaign may backfire on you. Your research has to incorporate the perfect combination of qualitative and quantitative factors for the process to be genuinely efficient.
Yes, It Is Meant For Me
If this is the conclusion you have arrived upon after going through the above scenarios, then let guide you through the strategies that you must follow during your growth hacks.
Referral Marketing
Referral marketing activities enable you to seek out assistance from your allies in the marketing world. This means, you ask industry influencers, your professional and personal contacts, and other entities to promote your product online. This makes for a faster spread of the word as multiple entities are engaged in the growth process.
Form a New Partnership
You may have often witnessed two different companies coming together for the promotion of a single project. This is the prime example of a successful growth hacking strategy. It creates an opportunity for both companies to promote themselves as they are now targeting a wider range of audiences from their new partner as well.
The Ultimate Influencer – Social Media
It is now common knowledge that social media spreads almost every news like wildfire. Not only does it spread the news instantaneously, but it also succeeds in convincing the general public quite often. To use effectively use social media to your advatange, form an online community for your fans and customers via groups and pages where they can engage with the company staff and other loyal customers about existing and upcoming products of the brand. You will need to routinely design innovative and informative content that is capable of attracting audience’s attention.
As a Matter of Fact
There are a number of other growth hacking strategies that may prove effective depending on your business model and the industry you are a part of. You may experiment with guest blogging, industry trends, make press releases, and do a whole lot more to figure out the growth hacking strategy best suited for your business model.
Ryan Myers is a business blog author and writer. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2009 with a degree in Political Science. His favorite topics to write about are blogging for small businesses and becoming an entrepreneur.
