So, I had a little chat with our Black Enterprise community on IG Live and realized that some people may not be familiar with the term growth hacking as it is very Silicon Valley.

What does it mean to growth hack social media? Well, by definition, according to Wikipedia, growth hacking is a process of rapid experimentation across marketing channels and product development to identify the most effective, efficient ways to grow a business. Growth hacking refers to a set of both conventional and unconventional marketing experiments that lead to the growth of a business. In short, it’s figuring out how to get the best results possible with the least amount of time spent.

So since I was on IG, I’ll do a little recap for you all regarding what we chatted about.

First and foremost, the content has to be right before you even think about growth hacking anything. That means your content has to be consistent with the brand. If you are selling dog T-shirts, your content better be focused around cute editorial shots with dogs in their custom shirts. In addition, don’t push the sell, meaning, just capture the viewer’s attention with your cute little dog in the T-shirt with an equally cute caption under it, i.e., “Buy my dog shirt,” ain’t it. Let the viewer make a decision. If there is enough of a need, they will inquire more.  

OK, so you’ve been posting consistent content. Not only does it look uniform but, you are posting at least two to three times a day, (P.S., you can automate this process using Hootsuite. Google it). You’ve done all that work but you’re still not seeing engagement. Here is why. People only want to engage with people who engage with them. Therefore, if you don’t engage with them they are less likely to engage with you. So start engaging.

But Sequoia, I don’t have time to like 500 pictures and create 1,000 comments a day. That’s where growth hacking comes in. There are bots out there that will do this for you but, here is the kicker–your bot does not replace you. Your bot only assists you, so if you are thinking I’m going to sign this bot up to do all the work, think again. Your bot will like, follow, comment, etc., but you darn sure better be behind it following up, talking to your potential leads, and having real conversations.

OK, great. The bot is doing great; you are feeling great. Your numbers are growing, you’re getting a little action. What now? You need a place to drive traffic to. A landing page is best. Use your description in the bio of your IG account to insert a link to your landing page. At that point, you should capture the lead with an email address. You can do this by offering a discount or some other gamification component that makes your potential customer want to hand it over. Once you capture the lead you are ready to start sending out your emails to start the sales process. There is so much more work after that sentence but, that is another article for another time.

This is a very high-level overview and one way to growth hack social media and please believe, it’s not the only way. There are a lot of details but this will get you started. If you are interested in getting a deeper dive, look into the online course, Unlocking Instagram taught by Cliff Worley, Daymond John’s former, Chief Digital Officer, by clicking here. 

Sequoia Blodgett is the Technology Editor for Black Enterprise, Silicon Valley. She is also the founder of 7AM, a lifestyle, media platform, focused on personal development, guided by informed, pop culture.

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