Growth hacking has its fans and its critics, but you can't deny the excitement that comes from figuring out some small hack that helps you grow your revenue, Twitter followers, or some other social metric more in 1 month than the entire previous year. The problem with a lot of growth hacks is that they aren't always repeatable. What worked for one person won't work for you, or it won't work for your company, or worse - the powers that be ruined it by making that hack punishable now.
There's no substitute for putting in hard work, quality content, and well thought-out plans. But there is one social growth hack that has been around for a few thousand years or more. Social networking. Not necessarily Twitter, or Google+ or Facebook - just good old fashioned social networking.
Before we had a bunch of apps connected to the Internet, there was a phrase that people said when they were talking about being successful. They would say, "It's not what you know, but who you know." The saying is still true. You might be building up one heck of a Snapchat following, but are you actually investing in relationships? Here are 5 steps to success for building up a true social network.
Step 1: Find Some Good People in Your Niche
Look for the influencers in your niche that are crushing it. A great place to find influencers for a specific topic is BuzzSumo. You can just type in the keyword that you want to target - like "eCommerce" - and it will give you a list of influencers. Make sure you use the filters on the left to discover just the types of influencers you want, whether that be publishers, average Joes, or businesses. This should be a list of no more than 10 people - even fewer if possible.
Step 2. Stalk Them - er, Follow Them
Follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, Snapchat, Tinder - you get the idea. Follow them everywhere. Find which channels they seem to use more and which channels they seem to engage with the most.
Step 3. Make Sure They Know Your Name
Add them to a "VIP list" in your social networks. On Twitter you can create Twitter lists, on Google+ you can add them to a circle, etc. Check that list frequently - liking, commenting, sharing, and engaging with every single one of their posts. Become their number 1 fan and make sure they remember your name.
And please, make sure you are truly engaging. If you talk about an article they shared - read the article so you know what you're talking about. It would look pretty bad if you talked about how you agreed with the article, only to find out that the article was about how it was a good idea to skin Dalmatian puppies (don't be Cruella).
Step 4. Reach Out Via Email
This part takes a little bit of finesse. Use their social profiles to see if they have an email address listed. If not, visit their website and see if they list it anywhere on the contact page or somewhere else. If you still don't have luck - see if you have any connections on LinkedIn that could connect you. If all else fails, sign up for early access to ContentMarketer.io and see if you can get Beta access - it will make getting their email address 10x easier.
When you reach out to them, make sure you provide more value than you ask of them - and keep it short. Tweak your email pitch over time and see what works best for you and your niche. Maybe you could share their article on Inbound.org or GrowthHackers.com - or some other site that's relevant to your industry - then send them an email like this:
"Hey William -
I just wanted to let you know that I've really enjoyed the content you've been writing about on Elumynt. In fact, I liked this post called Stop Ignoring Facebook Ads: Your Keys To Success so much that I decided to add it to Inbound.org.
You brought up some interesting points about Facebook ads that I hadn't thought of. Is there any chance we could chat on the phone quick about a new Facebook ad strategy I'm trying to do for my company?
Have a great day - and keep writing such wonderful, actionable content!
Nathan P. - Director of Marketing for Dollar Hobbyz"
Step 5. Tweak and Follow Up
Not everyone will respond with your first request. Keep promoting their stuff, keep tweaking your approach and you will find the one that works for you. Be genuine and be helpful.
And don't be a mooch. If you manage to get the phone call that you were shooting for - don't stop promoting their stuff the following day. You will earn a bad reputation as someone that just uses people. Build up a good network of people that you can rely on - and pass it forward. Help others out, and you will find that help seems to come your way when you need it.
BONUS: Build a Community
Turn that network into a community. I'm involved in a couple of really awesome communities of marketing geniuses that share growth hacks, ideas, experience, failures, and everything else with each other so we can learn and grow together. These groups are all over. One of the groups I'm involved in is on Facebook, and another one is on Slack. They allow me to find new ways of looking at my marketing ideas and connect me with a community of people that are willing to help each other out and share our successes. If you can't find a great group to be a part of, then start one. You can use the 5 great new people you have in your VIP list. Bring them together and create a group that mutually helps each other out.
Conclusion
Building a great social network means so much more than simply adding another 1,000 Twitter followers. Make sure you are truly building a network - a community - of heroes that will help you change the world. This truly is the oldest social growth hack, and it still remains as the best. And let me know if you've tried this and had success. I love hearing about how things like this work for others.
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