A term which has developed mainly from the technology start-up scene over the past four or five years is something called “Growth Hacking”. Within the tech start-up scene this method is use to find ways to encourage people to use a piece of software like a tool or app.
Sean Ellis, one of the people credited with coining the term, defines a growth hacker as “a person whose true north is growth. Everything they do is scrutinized by its potential impact on scalable growth.”
Media strategist, Ryan Holiday, has this to say about growth hacking: “While traditional marketing chases vague notions like “branding” and “mind share,” growth hackers relentlessly pursue users and growth — and when they do it right, those users beget more users, who beget more users. They are the inventors, operators, and mechanics of their own self-sustaining and self-propagating growth machine that can take a start-up from nothing to something.”.
Aaron Ginn, a growth hacker, says this: “The end goal of every growth hacker is to build a self-perpetuating marketing machine that reaches millions by itself.”
A presentation on growth hacking by Neil Patel:
In his book, “Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising”, Ryan Holiday says that growth hacking is a mindset and I agree that this is the most powerful aspect of this.
A common example of growth hacking is how Airbnb integrated the ability to cross post a listing onto Craigslist, something that, on average, generated considerably more bookings for someone listing their property/room for rent on there.
What do you think of growth hacking? What are your experiences of it?