Growth Hacking: Techniques Used By Spotify, Dropbox, and LinkedIn
The outreach techniques are designed to get people to sign up, visit websites, or buy something.
Would you be interested if a product would market itself for you?
It’s not a fantasy. Companies like Spotify, Dropbox, and LinkedIn use this concept to be industry leaders.
In this article, you will learn how these companies turned their products into tools for marketing. You can then use similar techniques to achieve the same results in your company.
Bronson is a Foundr Instructor and Growth Hacker extraordinaire. He explains his tactics in detail in the video. After the video, we’ll break down Bronson’s advice.
These tactics can be used even if your company does not offer SaaS or an app.
Growth Hack Tactic Number 1 1
You may have seen this: When you register for a new application, it asks if you’d like to invite friends via Facebook or Twitter or contacts by email to register.
At first, it may sound corny. You would feel embarrassed to invite your entire Facebook network including old friends from high school or your in-laws.
Many businesses have found this to be a very useful solution.
Network invitations were one of the best ways to grow social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn into the massive platforms they are now.
Is your app effective only if there are a lot of people using it?
Does your application require the entire industry to run?
If you are developing an app that targets consumers, and the game or app benefits by having friends in it, then network invitations can be used to increase your business.
Growth Hack Tactic # 2
This tactic is very well known to you. You have likely seen the social sharing buttons in apps, websites, and other software.
You can share something interesting or useful with friends via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
Pinterest allows you to share products that interest you. Due to the large number of users with high intentions, ecommerce brands have become increasingly interested in Pinterest.
Would you share the article I sent you if you asked?
I’m hoping you won’t! No matter how I ask you, you probably would not.
Jonah Berger explains the reasons why people spread things.
- They are also known as social currencies. Make them look nice.
- Tell them about other thoughts they may have.
- Incite emotions such as fear or anger.
- Anyone who can use
- The guide below is an example of how a guide can be useful.
- There should be a story to it
It’s not necessary to apply all six principles when creating a product, content, or app. You can use just a few principles, even if your product is cool or unique. It can also leverage social currency if the product is easy to use and offers a great deal of value.
By incorporating these three factors, you can increase your chances of your product becoming viral in your region.
Growth Hack Tactic # 3
This idea can only be implemented by software developers and app designers.
API stands for Application Programming Interface. “
It’s true, we don’t understand what it means.
Try again. An API allows you to connect two programs and use their data.
Bronson: “You can integrate your app with another application as long as they both support API integration. “An API allows two apps to be connected. “
Is it possible to get data from every company? Not really. Every company has its API limitations. Certain companies allow you to do some cool things with their data, while others don’t.
Integrating APIs into your app with companies that have large users can help you gain more traction.
Bronson uses the Nike Facebook app as an example. Your Facebook friends can give you “cheers” for running after they know how many miles you intend to cover.
Connect your application to payment providers such as Stripe or PayPal. Connect your app to social networks like Facebook or Twitter. You can use marketing apps like Eventbrite Mailchimp Salesforce and even enterprise apps like Oracle Salesforce.
The largest API Directory is available is ProgrammableWeb.
Bronson says that creativity is key.
You do not need a computer engineering degree. You will still need to have enough information about computer engineering so that you can keep non-technical people at bay.
If you do not already have a programmer, you can hire one.
Growth Hack Tactic #4
You can offer your customers incentives by giving them something that they desire. Giving people what they want is the basic concept of incentive programs.
An incentive is a way to encourage customers to spread the word about your products. You can get more business and you’ll also receive something back. This creates a win-win situation.
The effectiveness of incentives is only possible if specific conditions are met.
You must make sure that your product is extremely helpful to your clients. If they enjoy your product, then your customer will likely share it with others.
Your offer must also benefit the client. Offering free iPads in conjunction with software packages may not have the same impact as offering the audit for free.
You must offer an iPad at a price that you can afford. This will increase the marketing costs. The service you’re offering must be easy to use and inexpensive.
Consider Dropbox.
Before Dropbox became the huge company it is today, it used to give away free storage to anyone who signed up for their family and friends.
It was a great deal to get a few gigabytes of free storage in 2008. People started using Dropbox and sharing it with friends. Dropbox grew exponentially.
Uber, Lyft, and other companies offer free rides.
Robinhood gives away free shares in top-tech companies to those who promote its app and encourages other people to open an account.
Offering incentives to promote your products is a great way to get people interested.
Growth Hack Tactic #5
This tactic, which is simple but powerful, will be the last one.
When people discuss your company with others, you will gain word-of-mouth. This is a powerful tool because people are more likely to listen to the opinions of their friends than those from companies.
It is not easy to generate organic word-of-mouth the way you can with other marketing strategies.
Bronson says that word of mouth doesn’t rely heavily on technology, but rather psychology. The development of a new product is a laborious process. “
What can you do to make a product go viral through word-of-mouth?
The copy should clearly explain your product’s value proposition.
Asana is a good example of a tool that clearly describes its purpose on the homepage.
The app is simple to use and well-designed. It is easier to share the app with friends.
You must pay attention to design. It is very important.
You must explain in detail how your product is useful and solves problems. Wave’s homepage is a good example.
You should make sure that your product is cool for users (remember social currency? ).
Uber was created by limo drivers. Imagine how exciting it would be to use an app to get picked up at a reasonable price in a limousine. Uber grew quickly because of the success of its mobile app.
If possible, your product should be humorous. Position the product so that it will encourage people to feel good when using it.
Unique and surprising products stand out. Positioning and designing your product is key. Your product’s design, position, or functionality will make it stand out. You can increase your chances of your product going viral.
Dropbox’s not the only service that offers cloud storage, but many people have jumped aboard when they realized how simple it is to drag files and folders into Dropbox and instantly be in the cloud.
The image below is from an original video explaining Dropbox, before the public launch.
It is not possible to guarantee your product’s viral success just by sharing some of these characteristics.
Bronson: “You can’t control what people say, but you maximize the chances of benefiting from it. “
Use the power of social media to make your product go viral.
What if I don’t have a tech startup?
Can these hacks be applied to service and ecommerce businesses? Of course! The majority of the ideas are applicable.
You can encourage customers to share products by adding social sharing buttons to your online store.
Develop rewards, loyalty, or affiliate programs to motivate people to promote your product.
By following this advice you will also be able to get users to share your products and content organically.
The same applies if you are a consultant or freelancer. Encourage your users to share their content with social media. Clients can refer you to business networks.
There are many possibilities when you use the growth hacks we have shared. All it takes is a bit of creativity.
Wrap-Up
Top companies use five growth hacks to gain users and grow exponentially.
Think of ways you could implement the tactics in your own company. You can modify them according to your specific needs.
