Hello!
Growth hacking is part science, part art. There is no template to master it; the best you can do is learn from successful growth hacks. What every startup business needs is growth in order to be able to gain new users and growth does not come just like that especially in this era where online presence is dominant and everyone wants visibility.
For a startup, a growth hacker is necessary because they help grow the business faster with the use of marketing funnels, product development, sales agent and experimentation amidst other services that include Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Optimization, Content Marketing, PR and Email Marketing which can also be rendered by marketing companies and e-commerce service providers.
A growth hacker uses the low-cost alternatives to traditional marketing like the use of social media and viral marketing instead of promotion through traditional media such as radio, newspaper, and television to grow a startup customer base and increase conversion rate because in this era social media is what grows a startup fast and that is where everyone looks before purchasing anything now.
Growth hackers focus on viral-ability which is the tendency of the brand to be circulated widely to reach a larger audience, trying new things, monitoring and tweaking to see what method works best for the startup to exploit growth opportunities for the business.
In the quest for growth, there are various tactics that should be considered in a startup marketing firm to increase growth, visibility and conversion that can turn to customers that is why in this article, we will discuss 7 areas growth hacking tactics will be necessary for startup marketing.
#1 Set measurable goals
There are several things that can be done to gain users, so many factors that can be considered, so many ways to move, so many channels to be on but you also need to know you cannot apply all, what works for firm A may not work for you and that is why you need to identify your what your needs are and set a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) and precise goal that your business and tactics will achieve.
When you set a goal for your startup, you don’t lag behind because you’re too slow and when you do so much, you might end up spoiling the chance you have at growing. Always remember, one target at a time, this makes users know what your brand is for and understand it, then you can diversify after you know your target audience and their needs.
#2 Product or service
Analyze your target audience and use this data to enhance your product or service. You can send out surveys, emails, newsletters that have space for users to answer the needed questions and return or ask on social media to get answers that can help you know the next step to take in your pursuit. It is important you make your evidence solid and correct so you can use it as a catalyst for growth.
If your product or service aligns with what your target audience needs, they will definitely view it and purchase as soon as possible, better still your users may help you market your item to their social network if necessary.
#3 Content creation - Use FOMO to create a sense of exclusivity
After analyzing and knowing the wants of your target audience, it is crucial to give them quality content regularly and consistently that is relatable and engaging that keeps them glued, alongside written contents also adds visuals. It is no news that users are interested in seeing things than reading things, according to statistics, when people hear information, they're likely to remember only 10% of that information three days later.
However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later so input visuals to your content, images or videos tell stories and reach a wider audience, you can also turn written contents into images as people generally prefer infographics.
Also note that you need to make the contents shareable for users to share with their network, you also need to make your contents mobile-friendly so that it can be viewed on various mobile devices and also use keywords that will make your brand search engine worthy. FOMO - Fear of Missing Out - is a very real phenomenon that affects the desirability of a product or person. If a product is being used and loved by everyone (especially your friends), you feel drawn towards it, lest you "miss out".
Use this psychological principle to your advantage by limiting access to your product. This will create a sense of exclusivity and draw in users.
#4 Email marketing
Email marketing is highly effective and is one of the top digital marketing strategy growth hackers use for awareness in building the brand, It is important to grow your email list to be able to reach out to your audiences and inform them about new products or services available by using a content upgrade marketing strategy that will increase the number of opt-in's, there are also several tools that you can use to send emails to your clients speedily like Mailchimp, Outlook, Convertkit, AWeber and so much more. As you’re growing your email list also remember to ask for permission to avoid getting in trouble with data law enforcement.
Email marketing helps build a relationship between clients and the business that brings about trust and loyalty that can be shared to the third party.
#5 Referrals
A lot of companies are using referral marketing because it is very effective, they say do not underestimate word of the mouth of a customer with an amazing experience, it takes businesses places especially through social media where a customer with many followers can refer users on their social network. Reward those customers that refer people to your site with either an incentive or loyalty program, as this is one of the best ways to gain users within a short period of time. Also, reward the new user if he brings in another user, this will enable your business to spread across and get more people to know your brand.
You also need to know that referrals are a benchmark to your brand, a bad referral can shake your startup so always teat your customer’s right, customer retention is necessary and important.
#6 Use influencers
Influencers are those social media users with a large followership base, 88% of buyers consider online reviews “very influential” when making a purchase decision so it’s best you use someone user's love to read from to convince them to get the product or service.
Users will prefer to get something from the referral of a trusted user than just a content they reached, because of the authenticity they want, you need to build a relationship with a good influencer that is good at what he does to engage users and answer their questions. Influencer marketing is an effective tool to create buzz for your startup before, during and after launch, so don't hesitate to do it.
#7 Do a random act of kindness
People love free things, according to a ClickFox study, it was revealed that 54% of people would increase the volume of business they have for rewards while 46% already did. You can use this medium to grow your startup, give out a gift or loyalty program to a customer without anything attached to it, send a notification through image and watch them refer their family, friends and social network.
You can look at it as a random act of kindness, philanthropy or giving back to the society and you can also give back by offering a freemium product or service for a period to create awareness and inform users that to get advanced features they need to move to the premium package or the real deal. This helps you give back and also helps you create awareness for the other services.
So, where and how to use growth hacking tactics for startup marketing?
Growth hackers are often called marketers because they basically focus on achieving organizational growth and success but like marketers that focus on creating open-ended awareness through conventional media, growth hacker’s focus on data and online marketing. However, unlike marketers, growth hackers also work on the product. Indeed, they use data and feedback to optimize the product and make it more user-centric.
When people know you’re big company they think that doing business with you is probably safe. Use this bias to your advantage by giving the impression that you are larger than you actually are. There are plenty of ways to do this and some probably verge on the lines of being "unethical" (such as adding fake team members).
Growth hackers apply various tactics to ensure that startups grow to a very large state that it can stand alone and the brand is on almost everybody’s mouth. They also ensure they grow your business and tend to experiment using trial and error methods so it’s a risk but like everything in life, if you want to accomplish something, you have to put it on the hotspot and hope it comes out amazing.
Growth hackers are the people you call when you want to build a brand and need audiences to be aware of your product or service.
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