Growth Hacking is Dead, Start Branding

As the world of marketing grows exponentially, it seems that every business is promoting growth hacking. They explain that if you want to grow your numbers and increase your business, this is the only way to do so.

So what is growth hacking?

Growth hacking is a marketing strategy that focuses on very fast growth of a business through certain media strategies to increase the numbers large and fast.

So what’s bad with this strategy?

There isn’t anything necessarily wrong with growth hacking but it does have drawbacks to your business in the long term:

Your business falls in the boring folder

With every business using growth hacking in most of their marketing strategies, all of the content marketing will end up being the same across every business. This means that your audience is already used to it and becoming bored of seeing the same strategy and content repackaged over and over again across multiple businesses. This creates an unoriginal environment for your audience in your industry

Inflated numbers

The end goal for growth hacking is to just increase the media numbers of your business. Likes, followers, engagements etc. Unfortunately, that is it. You increase some numbers but lack making genuine and lasting connections with your audience.

So what is the alternative?

Brand first

If you want to make a real and lasting impact on your industry and generate quality connections, having a strong brand is the best strategy in doing so.

So how is a brand better than growth hacking?

The ability to stand out

Instead of competing with your competitors on who has the most numbers or biggest social media, you won't be competing against anyone. As a business, you will be distinct and stand out based on your business’ brand core and your business’ visual identity.

Branding is forever

Brand power doesn't come from the most followers, it comes from how you position yourself in your industry with your audience. With growth hacking you are as big as how much you run the growth hacking machine. Branding gives longevity through how you connect and distinguish yourself to your audience.

With all the benefits of branding compared to growth hacking, how do you create an effective brand identity that beats growth hacking?

Here is a simplified version of a brand identity blueprint:

Brand goal

Just like anything in business, you need to set a goal for your brand.

Where do you want your brand to go?

How do you want your brand to be seen by your audience or even by different types of audiences?

Where do you see your brand in 2 years? 5 Years? 10 Years?

Then there are anti-goals. These are things that you want to avoid with your brand such as becoming irrelevant in your industry, being unrecognizable, or leading to a generic business.

Brand core

A brand core is the center and foundation of who you are as a business.

• What is your business story?

• What do you do?

• What problem do you solve?

• Who is your audience?

• What do you stand for as a business?

• Why do you operate as a business?

These are questions you should ask yourself about your business to get a better understanding of the foundational elements. This is what your whole brand identity will be based on and its most important part.

Brand Messaging

This is how you communicate your brand core to your audience. What media will you use and how will you use it?

Typically you think the 3 Cs of Brand Messaging

Clarity - how clear is your message and brand core. Will your audience be able to understand the message you give them?

Consistency - How well you can push the same brand identity and messaging while being consistent within.

Constancy - Be strong in your brand messaging. Stay faithful to what you believe in as a business and follow what you think your brand should be; not your audience or industry.

Visual Identity

This is the fun part and what people typically think of when they are discussing brand identity. Your visual identity looking nice isn’t the be-all-end-all, although it is important. Visually as a business, you should match your brand core and brand messaging or fit the “vibe” of your business.

This is where you can really express yourself as a business and really capture your audience. Our biggest tip is to have fun and don’t hold back when creating your visual identity.

Building a strong brand does take more work and require a little more attention, but the impact that a strong brand identity makes in your industry far outweighs any growth hacking strategy in effect and longevity.

Building a brand is all about you and your business.

Your brand is unique because it is yours.