15 Unbeatable Growth Hacking Strategies For Startups

by Rafi Chowdhury

December 21, 2015

by Rafi Chowdhury

December 21, 2015

15 Unbeatable Growth Hacking Strategies For Startups

“Growth Hacking” – What does it actually mean?

Well, in the first instance, you need to acknowledge the fact that whatever growth hacking is, it can change the way you look at your marketing strategy. Of course, it is a lot different from the traditional ways of marketing and can dramatically boost the success rate.

Ever since Sean Ellis coined this term in 2010, it created a buzz in the market. Earlier, businesses were constrained to one geographic region only, but now there are numerous ways of flourishing around the globe.

In a short description – it’s neither a magical world, nor something out of the world; rather it is a way to describe the marketing strategies leveraged by the startups.

**Spoilers: What is Growth Hacking?**

Don’t get confused with the word ” Hacking”; it has nothing to do with spamming, hacking or any other fake practices. Growth hacking is the simple combination of marketing and technology. Facebook, AirBnB, and LinkedIn are some of the top names that represent growth hacking practices in the best way.

Someone said that the best way of knowing growth hacking is by doing it. So, how do you plan to move with it? Gathering all the expert views, ideas, and stats here, we have a thoroughly compiled list of growth hacking techniques.

So, without much ado, let’s start with the some great tricks:

Contents

1. Define a Realistic Goal To Achieve

Rather than going round and round over the same topic, get clear with a goal that is realistic and consistent.
Here are the five words to describe a goal in the best way:

There are several questions also that you need to ask yourself like:
• How many customers you need on a weekly basis?
• Where do you want to see yourself after one year?
• How many hours you can work for?
• What external resources you need?
• Do you need to collaborate with an outside source for attracting the customers?
• How is this collaboration going to affect your business?

2. Measure Your Stats

So, you have a goal to follow now?

But, what will be your first step towards it? Here it is:

Growth hacking is all about the numbers. Half of the achievement is made at the movement you recognize these stats. Now, while talking about the counting, you have to go beyond the basic. Here, the stats don’t only mean the accounting of customers and products, rather it is indicating towards the daily traffic, events, traffic sources, mobile usage, subscription status, and conversion goals. With a deep insight to this numbering, it will get easier to focus on the real goal.

Also read: 5 Great Examples of Growth Hacking Success

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3. Leverage The Stats

Done with the stat’s collection? Now, it is the time to kick-start your growth.

When you are into a business, numerous ways automatically appear before you to reach the potential customers. It is your duty to select the one that you think is right. Of course, you are no one like Apple or Samsung that can make the whopping sales even without the freebies. So, you are left with just one option and that is:

“A Deal That No One Can Refuse”

Yes, it can be anything that you think is optimal for your customers. Come with something that they can’t refuse. It can be a freebie, a ravishing deal or extra limit of the service usage. The referral campaign is also a quick pick for spreading out your message in a smart way. Take the example of UBER’s referral campaigns that miraculously boosted its marketing results. Emails and Social Media Platforms are some of the best ways to promote your campaign. Put the message with a catchy call to action and wait for the results.

4. Think Outside The Realm

Too much of the traditional approach, it is the time to break the stereotype of marketing.

Take a step forward and think how you can relate your products and services to those customers who have no idea about what you are selling. There is no denying that rooting up in a completely different market is difficult, yet things do happen for the first time.

For an example – Mark Zuckerberg never knew that a communication site can bring a remarkable revolution in the global market. It all started in a college dormitory and now, it rules every corner of the world.

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Have a look at this Lego Car:

This was a unique piece of creativity that Lego came up with.

So, start with targeting your customers with exclusive ideas like throwing a party, tracking the customer’s demands, and offering excellent deals. Mainly the customer tracking should be done by keeping in mind the age of the customers. For example, a big launch party at various locations will attract the youth; whereas, a valuable offer will be what the grown-ups will look for.

Watch this quick video of how you can leverage Google Small Business Community for a unique idea:

5. Go Organic

Going organic with your marketing methodology is surely going to propagate growth. It is possible that the technology inside the product can boost its marketing. If your product is worth, people will share it online as well as offline. Going inorganically means, making your products shared by your friends and their friends and their friends.

With the organic means, you create a situation that people get attracted towards the campaign automatically. Generate an automatic and public-facing content for every model of your website.
So, what kind of interface, product or services you require for the organic results? Here’s a list:

6. Integration Partners

A business can’t go solo in the market; many integrating partners are required to boost the growth. As a business grows, it encounters various affiliates, agencies, and re-sellers in its way. A good partner knows how to use your product in the best way and will make sure that you don’t have to struggle in the cut-throat competition. It is not necessary that you require some big collaboration for the success of your venture.

Start with a small integration and catch up with more in the way. You can even get to learn a lot while working with different existing businesses. Cross promotion can also be a part of these collaborations. Promote them with your products and they will spread your message like wildfire.

7. Build A Heavy Email-List

Of course, we are telling you to leave the old traditional ways of marketing. But, It is not about leaving the registered trademarks of marketing. No matter, what is your marketing goals are and how the communication world has evolved, email marketing still remains the base of it.

You want or not, your inbox is often loaded with multiple mails that is not of your concern. Email being the only medium for a well-formatted message is an optimal choice for spreading the message like wild fire.

Communicate with your customers personally and highlight the product launches. It gets easier to engage the customers with upbeat content, product updates, sign up deals, and smart product positioning.

Subscription, coupons, and deals will catch the eyes of the customers on one click.

For a better understanding of email marketing read: http://www.forbes.com/sites/katelee/2012/10/15/15-email-marketing-tips-for-small-businesses/

So, what you are you waiting for? Check your email list and try to extend it with authenticate emails. Also, you need to keep in mind that there are no spam IDs in the list. To make sure that there is no spam keep a track on your list. Remove all those ids that sends back a “not delivered message” or ” incorrect id”.

8. Blogging Can Win The Game

Blogs are the best way to kill the information hunger of the audiences.

Earlier, newspapers, magazines, and books were the only source of information gathering. However, with the trend change, all expectations shifted to the Internet and now people opt for Google rather than searching in between the pages of books.

Blogs are the new source of information and no matter what niche you are in, a certain percent of readers are always there for you.

Look for the hottest trends related to your product and services and present a write-up that compiles all the questions of the potential readers. Give them quality information and they will turn into your loyal readers. Blog and articles accumulated with captivating images, accurate stats, and defined charts are gathering most views and subscriptions on the internet.

Hubspot’s Blog Topic Generator can help you with this task. Just fill the related words in it and get ahead with the most recent topics.

While writing the blogs, don’t talk about yourself, instead focus on the demands of the customers with diligence. A precise call to action is needed along with focusing on the benefits and values. Ultimately, your content should look brainstorming in the first glance only.

Google Trends will help you with the weekly list of trending topics. So, stay ahead in the race with the most unique, precise, and trendy content.

For improving your content refer to: https://www.quicksprout.com/blog/ and http://firstsiteguide.com/

9. Go Viral With Your Content

Done with the content, but how do you plan to endorse it?

It is all about growth hacking, and you need to go viral with whatever you are endorsing. As we said above, reaching out to the customers with a new business is not going to be a cup of tea. Instead, it needs a strategy that brings the services in front of thousands of customers. Quora, forums, blog feeds, comment, social media, and many other platforms are there to make your content go viral.

Again, content is the king and one need to recognize the fine line between the spammy and informational content. Any kind of spinning and wrong practices can badly impact the reputation of your blog. Make your team sign on buffer and post your content very often.

Business is more about growing a strong bond with the customers. Full screen image, curated video content, cool infographics, real person’ images, and proper stats will help you establish a healthy bond with your clients.

10. Social Campaign

Think beyond the content! Yes, you need to do this.

Growth hacking is more about spreading your message to a huge community. Out of many tried and tested methodologies one is – social media marketing. Agree with the fact that social media platforms are ruling the current digital market.

The stats given below will clear your doubts about social media engagements:
• The total number of active internet users in the world is – 3.175 Billion that is half of the world’s population
• 1.925 Billion users opt for a mobile phone to browse various social media platforms.
• There is a rise of 176 million users since the last year.
• More than 12 new active users to add up every second.

The above stats clearly show a remarkable rise in the social media users. It clearly represents that in order to rise, a business needs to be available on the social media platforms.

Also read: Key Reasons You Need Social Media for Your Business

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Have a look below to understand how social media platforms are ruling different age groups:

Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Tumblr, go to these top social media platforms and you will see an instant surge in traffic. Also, signing up for these accounts is just a piece of cake and will take hardly 2-3 minutes to create an account. The requirement for the social media posts will be the same like blogs and articles.

Load your posts with informative infographics, real people images, accurate stats and let the magic begin. Once you’ve figured out what you want to post, then it is time to start growing those instagram followers and twitter followers, as this will allow your content to reach a larger audience and for you to start building your brand.

Read the 18 must know social media marketing strategies here: http://blog.hootsuite.com/18-social-media-marketing-tips/

11. Paid Search

Opting for the paid search can ensure a reliable portion of growth every month. Among all the possible ways of growth hacking, this one is going to be the most reliable pick. The keyword tools, Ad group idea features are some of the widely used tools to promote the content.

While promoting the paid search, keep in mind that the traffic is not sent to the home page. The reason behind this is quite simple as homepage is always the first targeted page on a website.

Focus on a different page other than the home page and an immediate and constant traffic will be generated automatically. Tracking and branding also gets easier with paid searches.

12. Screenshots

Visualization is the key!

Visual content not only attracts the customers, but also motivates them to go through it. 60% of the web is prevailing with visually attractive contents. And, what can be better than taking the screenshot of a specific task that you are trying to explain.

Endorsing the product features via snapshots is ruling the trends, as it gives a clear and confirm information to the users about the products. Whatever screenshot you go with, always keep in mind that it represents an accurate information about the particular product and services.

Initiate with a catchy one and follow-up with more informational screenshots.

The screenshots must be restricted in numbers. Usually 3 to 4 screenshots are considered ideal for the promotion.

13. Localization

Every product is meant for a certain group of people. However, you have to endorse these products by keeping in mind the wide array of customers. The moment you localize the promotion the lead generation will automatically decrease.

Language plays a major role in promoting a business! However, you have to focus on different languages and different type of customers. This scenario will maximize the market by around 80 to 90%.

Take an example of Amazon and its advertisements. It focuses different geographical region with the targeted language and customer ethics.

Hence, follow-up your customers with their expectations and requirements and get started with a campaign focusing on specific types of customers.

14. Reviews and Ratings

Meet the expectations of client with continuous ratings and reviews!

Reviews and ratings are also a very important part of the product endorsement. It not only helps you to keep a track of your customers, but also let you to analyze the area of improvement needed.

It also provides a chance to keep an eye on the competitors and further simplifies the determination of the market values.

Given Below is Amazon’s review sample:

Amazon offers a complete assistance to its customers based on their feedback and perhaps this is the reason it is reaching out to the mass.

Offer an appropriate platform to the customers where they can provide their feedback. Social media is considered the most optimal platform to interact with the customers. Surveys suggest that most of the customers feel comfortable to share their views via Facebook.

Chances are also that they visit your website more often as a loyal bond generates through regular interactions.

15. Track The Special Moments

Figure out the special moment of your customers and celebrate it with them. Every geographic region has its values and cultures and if your products promote those values, then rise in the leads is guaranteed.

Christmas, Good Friday, Cyber Monday, and Black Friday, there are many such occasions when you can up with a great offer. Doing this, you become a part of their celebration and can establish a long-lasting relationship with the clients.

That special moment should be created flawlessly. Just in a way that the customers can access it easily. Altogether, you have to go seamless with your decisions for the customers.

Who don’t like appreciation? Appreciation can be more like an incentive for the customers and can boost his/her interest in the particular product. It shows that you are taking an interest in the shopper’s requirement.
Here you go! Start with the growth hacking by leveraging these tricks and let your business reach new heights. If you end up growing a lot thanks to these growth hacks, Visit the website https://www.interchange21.com/ so you can branch out to impress your future clients.