And, honestly, maybe it’s time that a growth hacker weighed in on the definition of growth hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, here’s what I’ll do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In today’s guide, I don’t only want to answer the question to “what is growth hacking,” but I also want to dive into the other aspects of the growth hacker lifestyle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ll talk about the pillars of growth hacking, growth hacking versus digital marketing, and even talk about the traits that make a good growth hacker to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n
- What Is Growth Hacking?<\/a>
- Growth Hacking is Cross Disciplinary<\/a><\/li>
- Growth Hacking is Data Driven<\/a><\/li>
- Growth Hacking is a lot of Tracking and Monitoring<\/a><\/li>
- Growth Hacking is Cost-Effective<\/a><\/li>
- Growth Hacking is a Creative Process<\/a><\/li>
- Growth Hacking Involves a LOT of Testing<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li>
- Growth Hacking vs. Digital Marketing<\/a><\/li>
- What Makes a Great Growth Hacker?<\/a><\/li>
- Should I Hire a Growth Hacker or Should I Do It Myself?<\/a><\/li>
- Takeaways<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n
What Is Growth Hacking?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Growth hacking is looking for creative, data-backed ways to grow an organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This could mean bringing in more sales, widening the customer and market base, or even finding ways to scale the human potential of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s basically looking for growth opportunities and exploiting them as creatively as possible while utilizing data and minimizing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It can be used to fine-tune the operations of any organization regardless of the size and industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another thing that we love about growth hacking is the fact that you can layer it on top of what you’re already doing and gradually integrate it into your entire company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can deploy it in its entirety or gradually roll it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, you know what really sets it apart?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth hacking is also a mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This means you can integrate within an organization’s culture and take ownership of your growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth Hacking is Cross Disciplinary <\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Growth hacking is not just about increasing your revenue online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s the job of your digital marketing specialist or your sales team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Growth-Hacking-is-Cross-Disciplinary-1024x614.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGrowth hacking requires some knowledge in the following fields:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Sales<\/li>
- Management<\/li>
- Marketing<\/li>
- Statistical analysis<\/li>
- Content creation<\/li>
- Social media marketing<\/li>
- Advertising<\/li>
- UX and UI design<\/li>
- Development<\/li>
- Lead generation and nurturing<\/li>
- SEO<\/li>
- CRO<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
And, this is only the start of this list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A lot of growth hackers actually started with a specialization in one or two of these fields until they build the repertoire of skills and experience needed to replicate their success in other companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just because somebody is great with PPC doesn’t make them a good growth hacker, it’s knowing how to combine several disciplines along with an organization USP and niche industry to drive growth that determines the success of growth hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth Hacking is<\/strong> Data Driven<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Growth hacking relies on a lot of data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This data can either be generated in-house \u2013 which we will get into in a minute \u2013 or derived from other sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Growth-Hacking-is-Data-Driven-1024x614.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe reason behind it is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s better to build around things that have a history of working well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It gives you a basis for your decision and allows for smarter decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, that’s not all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data also allows you to create leaner campaigns, and this allows organizations to be more efficient with their resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, historical data isn’t a crystal ball that you can use to predict the future of your growth hacking campaigns. You still need to leverage the data you have with a lot of creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth Hacking is a lot of Tracking and Monitoring<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
I’ve said this in many of my articles in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You can’t growth hack if you don’t track.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, unsurprisingly it makes for one of the pillars of growth hacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Growth-Hacking-is-a-lot-of-Tracking-and-Monitoring-1024x614.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nTracking is absolutely essential because it allows growth hackers to measure their efforts, thus building the in-house data that we talked about in the previous section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By constant monitoring, you can create reactive campaigns that can be switched out and evaluated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you find that a campaign isn’t performing well, you can cut it and reallocate your resources. It makes organizations more agile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are different kinds of metrics a growth hacker can check, this could range from simple website data such as CTRs, hot spots from heat mapping, and can even cover advanced SEO analysis such as TF-IDF checks and counting your anchors for backlinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tools used for tracking aren’t standard and can differ depending on the specialization of the growth hacker. Knowledge of common tools like Google Analytics or Webmaster Tools is a must.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking for the growth hacking tools<\/a> that we use over at BAMF? We’ve got you covered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Growth Hacking is Cost-Effective<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Growth doesn’t have to be expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve seen a lot of people grow without having to spend a single dime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Growth-Hacking-is-Cost-Effective-1024x614.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nIf you doubt that statement check out the amount of growth that services such as Dropbox or Gmail have generated in their earlier years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’ll find that they didn’t have to spend much in order to achieve great results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cost-effectivity doesn’t just only mean that growth hackers run efficient campaigns that aren’t financially heavy on their clients’ resources. This also means that they find ways to create the growth that they need without spending money too much money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Take for example the LinkedIn Influencer Academy that we run on BAMF. You’ll find that in a lot of cases reaching influencer status is more cost-effective than spending tens of thousands of dollars in LinkedIn ad spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, that’s not all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Methods such as inbound and passive lead generation are designed to ensure that you don’t spend money on ads at all and rely on organic marketing to drive results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only do you get to give out value to your prospects, but you also get to sell passively at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is one of the biggest reasons why a lot of people \u2013 especially cash-strapped startups \u2013 look towards growth hacking in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, I’ve met with leaders that make more than a million dollars a month and they’ve done so much with very little using a lot of growth hacking concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth Hacking is a Creative Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A lot of the growth hackers you’ll meet are natural artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether it’s writing, having a flair for design, or even music, these are skills that are needed to think outside of the box and develop a rhythm for the campaigns you’re running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/Growth-Hacking-is-a-Creative-Process-1024x614.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nGrowth hacking requires a lot of interesting marketing copy, strategizing UX, and of course, finding innovative solutions to traditional problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Growth Hacking Involves a LOT of Testing<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Whether it’s creating individual UTMs for each area of your page or heatmapping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We do a lot of A\/B testing when we grow hack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason behind it is simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/bamf.lovelacecreative.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/BAMF-blog-post-featured-header-images-2000x1200-3-1024x614.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nYou don’t always have the best idea, and there are times where you’ll have more than one. Testing them out is the best way to determine if something works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s what we mean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We’ve done a lot of studies on LinkedIn virality in the past, and we found that by just changing out a couple of words, we’d get different engagements for each post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The thing is we don’t always know what combination really works unless we field the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By having two or more versions of one idea, you can test out which one works in order to be more effective with the campaigns that you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are times where we’ll even test different colors of a CTA to find out if it works or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At one point, we’ll even test out different styles of sales discovery calls with the same script just to find out how they’ll fare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is this obsessive and passionate attention to detail that sets apart a growth hacker from any other traditional marketer out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Growth Hacking is Data Driven<\/a><\/li>
- Growth Hacking is Cross Disciplinary<\/a><\/li>