How did Facebook, Zapier, and Tinder drive growth early on?

Growth-Hacking.

PayPal growth-hacked its way to 5M users in 3 months.

Tinder used sororities and frats to 3x their user base.

Steal these 7 growth-hacking strategies that led to millions of users🧵
1. Tinder

Tinder tripled its user base from 5k users to 15k users in a blink of an eye.

To make it happen, they would go to sororities and get the girls to install the app.

Then, they'd go to the bothering frat and get them to sign up after they saw their friends on Tinder.
This is how @WhitWolfeHerd got the first 15k users on Tinder.

Hustlin' on her own campus and planting the seed for growth.
2. Zapier

Zapier is an integration software that binds together different tools.

Ex: Wix -> Mailchimp

The goal was to create an authority on search.

Plus, to create a new audience.

To drive growth, they created a guide like blog.
Imagine a guide with hundreds of "How To" content for specific tools.

For example: How to use LinkedIn Search

This made Zapier a content destination for content related to different tools within Zapier's ecosystem.

The result?

From 0 to 600k readers in 3 years.
3. LinkedIn

LinkedIn had a hard time initially getting users to use LinkedIn.

So, they implemented what they called a "Reconnect Flow."

After a new user was onboarded, LinkedIn asked you one question: "Where did you used to work?"
Based on your answer, LinkedIn would show you a list of possible connections from your previous job.

Easy way to use your onboarding process to generate user momentum.

LinkedIn's page views increased by 41%.

Searches by 33%.
4. Facebook

FB didn't always have 2B+ users.

One of FB's keys for early growth was determining their north star metric.

They learned that the clearest indicator of retention was if a user connected with 7 friends within 10 days.

If they didn't -- they left the app.
Because of this data, FB created an onboarding experience that focused on their North Star Metric.
5. PayPal

PayPal had the OG growth-oriented referral program.

Because buying things online was so new -- PayPal gave away $20 to users who signed up.

If you referred someone -- they got $20. And so did you.

Giving away free money works.

PayPal grew to 5M users in months.
The takeaway here?

2-sided referral programs work.
6. Airbnb

Early on, Airbnb knew their target audience was on Craigslist looking for places to stay.

So, they created an API integration that allowed users to post their Airbnb ad on Craigslist and Airbnb at the same time.
Now, a user's Airbnb listing is on a platform with MILLIONS of users.

This growth hack generated massive awareness for Airbnb early on.
7. Twitter

In 2010, growth was slowing down for Twitter.

To change this, they optimized their onboarding experience to create a higher network effect.

When a user would sign up -- they would immediately suggest 10 accounts for a user to follow.
This quickly puts content in a user's feed.

Users quickly understood the value of Twitter.
That's it for now...

But if you want more marketing content just like this then...

Follow me (@alexgarcia_atx) to make sure a marketing thread shows up on your feed for the next 3 days :)
It's also a newsletter that I send to 5800+ marketers. (over 50% of them open it daily)

Join them 👇

bit.ly/3flYp6b
TL;DR

1. Tinder - Tinder manually got users to sign up by going to sororities and frats. They found their target audience and created a network effect.

2. Zapier - They used search intent to drive people to their blog with a ton of "How to" content.
3. LinkedIn - LinkedIn optimized its onboarding process to generate user momentum.

4. Facebook - They determined their north star metric and created their onboarding experience to grow their NSM.

5. PayPal - PayPal created a 2-sided referral program to generate new users.
6. Airbnb - Airbnb created an integration that allowed users to seamlessly post an Airbnb ad on a platform with millions of users (damn)

7. Twitter - Twitter optimized its onboarding experience to connect with more friends and stay on the platform.

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More from @alexgarcia_atx

7 May
I've studied hundreds of growth-hacking strategies.

These 7 are proven to work 🧵
1. Hotmail

Hotmail used an email signature to hack their way to growth.

Anytime a user would send an email — Hotmail added a signature line to the bottom.

Recipients would receive a free account when they used the link in the signature.
They hacked their way to 12 million users in 18 months.

Here’s the signature: Image
Read 14 tweets
6 May
Twitter threads are the new blogs.

Over the last 5 weeks, I've 32x my Twitter following posting a thread a day.

These 15 learnings will help your threads go viral 🧵
1. Identity

Figure out what you want to be known for and create around it.

Overtime, you will form an idenity.

For ex:

@david_perell = The Writing Guy

@mrsharma = The DTC Guy

I want to be known as "The Marketing Guy."
So, 50 marketing threads over 50 days to jump start the process of forming my digital identity.
Read 26 tweets
5 May
Compelling copy with complementing visuals is a cheat code.

Together, it helps a consumer understand and visualize your product.

No one does this better than Apple.

Here are 10 examples from Apple's site 🧵
Apple announced the release of their new iMacs.

Unlike the previous editions, these come in seven "vibrant" colors.

And you get to choose the color that matches your personality.

A fun play on words + killer creative (it's actually a vid) = ENGAGED.
This headline lives over the screen.

The placement is intentional.

Your eyes shift to the headline. And automatically you see the visual and register how thin it is.

All the white space around the screen help illustrate the width even more.
Read 14 tweets
4 May
For business, copywriting is vital.

Learn how to write copy, and you can sell water to a fish.

So, I compiled my favorite writing tips from Mark Twain to Amazon.

Use these 7 tips to win at business writing 🧵
1. Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

This is the “Show, Don’t Tell” technique.

When writing, it’s your job to make your words come to life in the reader's mind.
2. Amazon

Replace adjectives with data.

A ton of Amazon Prime Members - > 98% of Amazon Prime Members

Common adjectives do nothing for context.

Replacing them with data helps the consumer mentally visualize the context.
Read 11 tweets
3 May
Walt Disney revolutionized the entertainment industry.

So much, his vision is now the 24th most valuable company in the world by market cap.

From storytelling to an unforgettable experience -- Disney's marketing is just as magical.

Here are 8 marketing lessons from Disney 🧵
1. Identity

From the jump, Disney identified Disney World as “The Most Magical Place on Earth.”

As a consumer, you know what to expect when you plan your vacay at Disney.

It’s going to be an immersion into a fantasy world better than reality.

An amazing move by Walt Disney.
2. Kids to adult

Adults are kids grown up.

The right experience and you can bring the kid out of any adult.

Disney is the best at this.

They focus on creating a memorable experience for adults as much as they do for the kids.

This creates 2-folded desire (kids and parents)
Read 16 tweets
1 May
9 Proven Ways to Grow and Optimize Instagram🧵
1. Relevancy > Strategy

Strategy has its place but relevancy supercharges growth.

Social and culture go hand in hand.

The more relevant you are in culture the more of an impact your content will have.

Big moments = pause your strategy and execute on relevance.
2. Use ALL IG features

Instagram’s algo rewards you if you can keep consumers on your content.

Use all features:

- reels
- igtv
- stories
- highlights
- carousel

Your audience will roam your content.

In reward, your content will become more discoverable.
Read 14 tweets

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