4 Key Growth Hacking Techniques Every Marketer Should Know in 2024

I am sure you must have heard the word growth hacking quite several times, and sometimes this word is often used interchangeably with growth marketing, today I won’t go into the debate of how growth hacking is different from growth marketing but will focus on sharing with you, some basic growth hacking techniques you should know in 2024.

Growth hacking is an umbrella term for strategies focused solely on growth. It is often used for early-stage startups who need massive business growth in a short time on small budgets. The goal of growth hacking strategies is to acquire as many users or customers as possible while spending as little as possible. The term “growth hacking” was coined by Sean Ellis, founder and CEO of GrowthHackers, in 2010.

Growth hacking has emerged as a dynamic and innovative approach to achieving rapid and sustainable business growth. Growth hacking is not just about acquiring new customers; it’s about finding unconventional and scalable strategies to accelerate growth. Here, we’ll explore some essential growth hacking techniques every marketer should be aware of, backed by notable examples from successful companies.

1. Viral Marketing

Viral marketing is the epitome of growth hacking, where content spreads like wildfire, fueled by word-of-mouth referrals. Creating shareable and compelling content can significantly amplify your brand’s reach. In viral marketing, the idea is to create something that’s inherently shareable, like a funny video or an interesting article, that people will want to pass along to their friends. The more people share your content, the more it spreads, reaching more and more people in a short amount of time.

A typical example is the Dollar Shave Club. Launched in 2012, Dollar Shave Club’s subscription razor service quickly disrupted the men’s grooming products industry. Their innovative launch video, strong content marketing campaigns, and direct-to-consumer business model enabled Dollar Shave Club to capture a large market share in just a few years. They were so successful that Unilever bought the company in a billion-dollar cash acquisition.

2. Optimize Referral Programs

A referral program is a popular growth hacking strategy that leverages existing customers to bring in new customers through word-of-mouth marketing. Referral programs encourage customers to refer friends, family, or colleagues to a business in exchange for incentives. According to Nielsen, 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over other forms of advertising. Referral programs can significantly reduce customer acquisition costs. Research by the Wharton School of Business suggests that referred customers have a 16% higher lifetime value, and referred customers are 18% more likely to stay with a brand.

Referral programs are powerful tools to tap into your existing customer base and turn them into active promoters. Incentivize referrals to encourage customers to share your product or service with their network.

Dropbox is a classic example of referral marketing. They incentivized users to refer friends by offering additional storage space for each successful referral. This strategy turned their existing user base into enthusiastic brand advocates, contributing to exponential growth. 

Uber disrupted the transportation industry with its referral program. Both the referrer and the new user received discounts on their next rides, motivating users to refer others. This word-of-mouth strategy played a pivotal role in Uber’s rapid global expansion.

READ: Unlocking Success: The Importance of Growth Marketing Certifications for Marketers

3. Implement SEO Strategies:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a fundamental growth hacking technique. Optimizing your website and content for search engines can significantly increase organic traffic and visibility.  

Identify relevant keywords related to your business and industry. Use tools like Google Keyword Planner or SEMrush to discover high-traffic and low-competition keywords. Optimize on-page elements such as titles, meta descriptions, headers, and content with targeted keywords. 

Create high-quality, relevant, and shareable content. Regularly publish blog posts, articles, infographics, and other content that address the needs and interests of your target audience. Acquire high-quality backlinks from reputable websites in your industry. 

Build relationships with influencers, partners, and other businesses to encourage them to link to your content. Guest posting on industry-related blogs is an effective way to build backlinks and establish authority in your niche.  Ensure your website is technically sound. Optimize site speed, fix broken links, and improve mobile responsiveness. This is not SEO-focused blog content so you can go research and find out how you can get value from your SEO effort.

A good example of a company that had leveraged SEO as its growth hacking strategy is HubSpot, a leading marketing platform, that invested heavily in creating high-quality, SEO-optimized content. By consistently producing valuable blog posts, guides, and resources, they not only attracted organic traffic but also positioned themselves as industry thought leaders.

4. Testing and Optimizing Channels

Testing marketing channels is a crucial growth hacking strategy that helps businesses identify the most effective channels for acquiring and retaining customers. 

Customer acquisition channel testing is key, experiment with various customer acquisition channels such as social media advertising, search engine marketing (SEM), content marketing, influencer marketing, and email marketing.

Allocate a portion of your budget to each channel and measure their respective performance in terms of customer acquisition costs (CAC) and conversion rates.

Use attribution modelling to understand the contribution of each marketing channel to conversions. Test different attribution models (e.g., first-touch, last-touch, linear) to determine which provides the most accurate representation of your customer journey.

One notable example of a brand that leverages testing extensively is Amazon. Amazon is known for its data-driven approach and continuous experimentation across various aspects of its business to enhance user experience, increase conversions, and drive growth. Amazon Advertising allows brands to run various types of campaigns, including sponsored products, sponsored brands, and sponsored display ads. Brands can experiment with different ad creatives, targeting options, and bidding strategies to optimize their advertising performance. The effectiveness of promotional campaigns, discounts, and limited-time offers is tested to understand their impact on customer behaviour and overall sales.