Growth Hacking: Buzz, Buzz, Buzz

Growth Hacking: Buzz, Buzz, Buzz - A Reading List

I love words! Especially new words, buzz words, words that convey something different and unusual. In one of those marketing books, I think it was the $50 Startup, the author said something to the effect that advertising is like sex: only losers pay for it. (I know, NSFW).

Enter Growth Hacking: Endogenous Growth

Growth Hacking is a new, or relatively new Silicon Valley buzzword for eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth), endogenous buzz, getting customers to share your story vs. having to pay for it. Google had it (originally): remember when your friend told you about Google? Facebook has it for sure: the more people are on Facebook, the more they drag everyone else onto Facebook. Dropbox has it. Another, older word for this is 'network effect.' That means: the more people are on something, the more they get onto it. Think fax machines. (I like how at Chipotle, they have an announcement that says, "The 1980s called and they want their fax machine back: email us your orders").

At any rate growth hacking refers to -

Endogenous growth rather than growth from without.
Growth driven by eWOM (electronic word of mouth)
Growth driving by anything that's cheaper than advertising.
Growth that creates network effects and virtuous circles.

Do You Have Growth Hacking in You?

Every company has some level of word-of-mouth, but the question is can you a) measure it, and b) refine it, so that it generates a 'virtuous circle,' wherein the more you grow the more you grow?

A Reading List on Growth Hacking

Here are some quick reads on 'Growth Hacking':

Question is is this really something new, or is this just "applied marketing" in the digital age: measuring what's measurable, and trying to nurture "network effects" and "viral spreading" in ways that are not really new but just new in an Internet sort of way? What do you think (comment please below):

Jason+: A Blog about WordThink

Search This Blog