The terms "growth hacking" and "marketing" are often used interchangeably -- and for good reason. They share the same end goal (growing the business) and there is a lot of overlap between the tactics used by growth hackers and marketers. That is, while they are similar, they are not the same. The sole goal of growth hacking is to drive more business quickly. It is often very data-driven and experimental, and if results are not available, strategies are quickly put on the back burner. In many ways, growth hacking is both a mindset and a skill set. Marketing is a more holistic practice aimed at increasing the overall awareness of a brand or product. Driving the business forward is a big part of that, but there's less pressure to get the right results right now. Ready to incorporate more growth-oriented tactics into your marketing strategy? Here are 7 growth hacks you probably haven't tried (but probably should). 1. Get feedback from Reddit Reddit has to be one of the best — and most underused — resources for internet marketers. This is probably because when you sign up for the site, you see content from a handful of its most popular subreddits. It's only when you move away from these default communities that you start to realize how much the site has to offer. Looking for content inspiration? Check out Data is Beautiful, Internet is Beautiful, Visualization, YouShouldKnow, AskReddit, and CrazyIdeas
. Want to be a better person in your professional and personal life? Subscribe to Decide to Get Better, Self-Discipline and Zen Habits. Want to help grow your business? Get honest, unbiased feedback from Startups and Startup Ideas before investing in an idea, then get involved with communities such as Grow My Business, Content Marketing, Ask Marketing, Small Business, and Entrepreneur. 2. Provide free SaaS Most entrepreneurs think of SaaS as a revenue-generating tool and nothing more. While SaaS products can be truly profitable, they can also be great industry mailing list and great levers to help you grow your core business. Suppose you run an agency. You can design a tool, add it to your website, make it available for free, and promote it to increase links, web traffic, and general brand awareness. If you already run a SaaS company, you can provide self-contained elements of your product for free. The Moz toolbar is a good example. You don't have to pay for the full Moz product to enjoy the benefits of the Toolbar, but by downloading and using it, you get regular exposure to the brand and are therefore more likely to invest in the full Moz product in the future. 3.
Create an Automation Webinar By default, webinars are usually broadcast live and hosted by a host who guides participants through topics and answers questions in real time. But they don't have to. You can record webinars in advance, upload them to tools like EasyWebinar, and configure settings so your webinars are automatically streamed at set times. You can then log in yourself to interact with attendees, answer questions, and make sales without the extra stress of an actual presentation. 4. Increase Instagram visibility with clever use of hashtags There are only three ways to find Instagram posts through the app's search function: hashtags, geotags, and usernames. The rest of the post description doesn't matter (at least when it comes to getting your post discovered). Users can even choose to follow specific hashtags, so it makes sense to use them wisely. Thankfully, unlike other social networks, enriching Instagram posts with a few hashtags (or more) is not only normal, but expected. image credit Of course, you shouldn't litter your posts with any old hashtags. For maximum visibility and growth, you should choose hashtags that are relevant first and also popular but not so popular. So how can you spot hashtags? Click on a hashtag - the app will show you related hashtags.
Click the Search button, then "Tags" and search for a topic of interest - a list of related tags will appear. You can also see how many public posts each hashtag has, so you can measure the popularity of each hashtag. See which hashtags your competitors are using - and pick out the ones that are relevant to you . 5. Partner with similar (but not competing) companies A widely held belief in the business world is that other companies—even if they are not directly competing with you—are your enemies. This is a very short-sighted approach, and I have no doubt it will put off a lot of companies. With the right mindset, other companies (and in many cases, even your direct competitors) can prove invaluable to your business growth. Many marketing industries have attested to this. Most of us are more than happy to share knowledge, experience and ideas with people we consider competitors. I've seen agencies put potential clients in contact with "competitors" because they themselves are overworked and understaffed, or they simply think "competitors" are better suited to the client's needs.