You’re a startup, you don’t have the budget for a massive, sophisticated marketing campaign in the traditional channels, and you need to get your brand out there – what do you do? Implement one or more of the 3 best growth marketing hacks for startups, that’s what.
A growth marketing hack is an inexpensive non-traditional strategy that’s propelled by creativity, innovation, and data, and the goal is nothing less than huge results. The idea is to gain as many new customers and leads as you can, without resorting to the usual, usually far more expensive, methods.
Does it work? You bet it does.
Growth hacks helped put some of the most popular brands on the global stage. Take a closer look at their stories and be inspired.
1. Incorporate Gamification
Incorporating gamification into your product or customer experience could lead to a sudden increase in customer engagement, thanks to the competitive nature of human beings. Create a gaming atmosphere for your customers by creating and giving ranks, earning points, and offering them opportunities to compete against other customers.
LinkedIn And Gamification
A fine example of a company that uses subtle gamification to great effect is LinkedIn. The networking site created levels of achievement, such as Advanced, Expert, and All Star, for user profiles. The amount of information that you upload on your profile determines which levels you unlock.
Another element of gamification is endorsement features that lets users endorse one another based on skill sets. It works, as profiles with endorsements receive 17 times more views than unendorsed profiles.
Implementing Gamification
How you implement gamification in your offering depends on what your product is. Use a tool such as Vyper to stimulate content engagement by gamification on your website. Customers can earn redeemable points by completing various actions, such as joining your mailing list or liking your business’ Facebook page.
2. Grow With YouTube
One of the best platforms you can use to grow your brand is YouTube. Some of the biggest brands in their sectors have leveraged the video platform as a growth marketing hack. It makes sense, considering the platform boasts more than 2 billion logged-in users monthly, and it’s the second most-visited website in the world.
The most successful YouTube marketing strategies are long-term strategies. Grow your brand on the platform over time, and you could see a much greater ROI than billboard or TV ad space could generate. Good quality video content is a great way to build your brand’s personality, grow its reputation, and increase customers’ trust.
Red Bull Leverages Video Content
Your content also could prompt customers to make specific associations with your brand and product. One of the best examples of this is Red Bull, the energy drink brand associated with an energetic lifestyle that delivers adrenaline rushes on a regular basis – an association that is reinforced in all its glory on the brand’s YouTube channel.
Red Bull’s content includes traditional advertising and promotion, as well as the more important videos of athletic prowess, impressive feats indoors and outdoors, and daredevil stunts. The channel boasts more than 10 million subscribers.
GoPro’s Growth Hack
GoPro is another brand that provides you with a good example of using YouTube as a growth marketing hack. What better way for a camera company to show what its product can do than by sharing videos recorded with it?
The brand started with demonstration videos that showcased the device’s high-definition video capabilities, and when it knew it had an interested and excited audience, the brand changed the game. GoPro asked customers to share their own videos recorded with the device and tag the company in them. The brand acknowledged the best videos by posting them on its own channel. The result was increased brand loyalty and more than 10 million channel subscribers.
How To Approach Video Strategy
The first step to implementing a YouTube growth marketing strategy is to set up a channel for your brand on the platform. Consider what aspect or aspects of your product or brand you want to focus on – try to find a niche, and then create videos that show viewers how to use your product to solve problems related to that niche.
Create and post content consistently to maintain interest and grow your viewership. Use a tool such as TubeBuddy to enhance your use of the platform by providing you with important insights that you can use for SEO purposes, such as related keywords, tags, search volume, and ranking difficulty. TubeBuddy also offers other tools, such as end screen templates and a thumbnail generator.
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3. Build A Community On Social Media
This growth marketing hack for startups is almost like an extension of the YouTube hack above. Don’t limit your strategy for quick growth to one social media platform. Instead, build a community that cross-pollinates YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms.
Social Media Is Significant
This offers you ample opportunity to promote your brand and product, to interact with customers, to engage industry influencers, and to deepen brand loyalty. The impact can be significant. According to Hootsuite:
- Businesses that used social media for lead generation grew by 24%
- 45% of businesses reduced costs by implementing social media marketing
- $0.80 Facebook and $2.50 Google lead costs represent a 32% cost efficiency through social media advertising
- 2018 saw almost 68% of businesses use social media to generate leads
- Limited lead improvement is the largest social media barrier for 77% of businesses
The world’s biggest social media platforms boast billions of users, which makes it a non-negotiable part of any business’ marketing plan.
How To Approach Social Media
In most cases, using social media communities as a growth marketing hack won’t bear fruit overnight. It usually takes some patience. It also requires that you ensure your brand’s activities on social media are in harmony with the direction in which you want your startup to grow.
One of the most accessible ways to implement this hack is to create a Facebook page or group for your brand. Post content that your fans will find valuable, but don’t leave it at that – engage them by responding to their comments and questions, calling for user submissions, offering giveaways, and making various calls to action.
These are only 3 of numerous great growth marketing hacks. Use them and others to grow your brand.
