5 Ways Your Start-up Can Really Leverage Growth Hacking
As a start-up, money and resources are tight. If you are lucky, you are at the point where people want to fund your venture. Either way, marketing can be expensive. But there is hope! Here are 5 ways that start-ups can really leverage growth hacking.
Image courtesy of www.gogrow.it
1. Get a Hired Gun
Sure, you want the expertise of the big guys, but you are either not quite there yet or can’t afford the spend required to hire that expertise. That shouldn’t stop you though. There are a number of great consultants that actually understand the start-up environment, and specifically the need for growth, that will work with you on an as needed basis. They can develop quick hit strategies for you, execute tactics or even provide ad hoc advice. Professional marketing practitioners, with this particular expertise, can guide you in ways that less experienced people cannot. While avoiding more overhead, they will save you money over the long run. Some will even work with you for equity and/or lump sum or hourly fees.
2. Act Today Not Tomorrow
There is something to be said about not putting off until tomorrow what can be done today and this couldn’t be more true for your goals as a start-up. After all, it is all about growth. If you see an opportunity, your marketing seize that moment in time.
3. Don’t Be Afraid to Be Different
I don’t know about you, but when I was a kid and wanted to do “something”, I would often say so and so is doing it. My parents response? Well, if so and so jumped off the wharf, would you? In other words, just because everyone else is doing something doesn’t mean that you should want to. Want to really be effective at growth hacking? Dare to be different. Be unconventional. Stand out and be different.
4. Be Agile
Often times the big guys have very well planned campaigns that are big and bulky. They often also have several layers of approvals. As a start-up you have the power to be agile. That is huge. If you see something is working you can enhance it. If you see something is not working you can stop it immediately. If you see an opportunity to newsjack or leverage social proof, jump on it.
5. Don’t Rely on Mainstream Social Media
As a PR and marketing practitioner, I use mainstream social media like Twitter and Facebook a lot. In fact, a new study that analyzes nine years of social media use by PR people, shows that Twitter is the most used channel. While this is a good tool, don’t forget about being different. Think about Reddit, Pinterest and other channels and how you can use them to your advantage.
While there is no set formula for growth hacking, and there shouldn’t be, these are five things to get you thinking and going!
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i like the #5, but I think most of social media is a waste of time. TV is where it’s at these days
Interesting perspective. TV can be a good choice. It comes down to objectives, reach and financial resources. Many of the companies I work with opt to not go this route as their target market is not paying a lot of attention to TV these days. With technology, people are either opting to bypass ads or watching networks without advertising, or even downloading what they want to watch. For others though, TV can be the right medium.
For #1, are you starting to see startups/companies outsourcing their growth hacking in areas/channels that they are not focused on? I sense people want to keep this in-house, but it’s great that growth hacking (however you define it), is opening a new perspective of the type of help they can now seek experts in.
I think that in some cases perhaps. Like anything though there is always “a depends” on the situation, timing, etc. It also comes down to individuals knowing what they can and cannot take on, in addition to funding.