Last week I was at an event which discussed growth hacking. What’s that? Growth hacking is a marketing technique developed by technology startups which uses creativity, analytical thinking, and social metrics to sell products and gain exposure. ~ wikipedia.org

Vincent Dignan, who is very good at this, came to NYC from London to share some tips. My top takeaways from the meeting may surprise you.

While there are some great tools and apps I learned about (and will share), three things stuck most.

1. This hardworking, social media expert is doing speaking engagements andnetworking. He finds them extremely valuable. He said, “it’s underrated.” How does this relate to non-profits? Getting in front of your audience and letting them know your story helps build trust. Don’t hide behind your computer and hope to go viral with just social media. Speaking at a conference gets you in front of a large audience at once. Networking consistently or even hustling every night for two weeks could grow your audience by 500.
2. Another goodie, pick up the phone, (love this ?). When everyone relies on email and social media, sometimes you just need to dial. People have a much harder time saying no over the phone.
3. While social media can get you more page views and build your list, continue your email marketing. Showing up in people’s inboxes is powerful. “Email is 40x as effective as Facebook and Twitter combined.” Do you really need another reason?

Vincent also shared some really great apps which I will be testing over the next few months and will let you know what I’m finding successful. One I’m particularly excited about is Optimizely. They have a free version and it allows you to A/B test areas on your website. Sumome is another. It allows you to add useful tools to your website easily and helps grow your website’s traffic. Check them out and give me a call if you want to discuss a strategy on how to utilize these apps best.

He also mentioned strategies for handling Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and several other social media platforms. The best advice regarding them is to start with one and do it consistently. Yes, there are tools out there to schedule posts, tweets, etc. but unless you have a dedicated staff person to handle all your social or you hire out, it’s best to stick with one channel and work it. Of course, if you want to hire social out, I know several great people to handle that for you and am happy to make the introduction.

This was one of the better events I’ve been to and there was an incredible amount of information passed on. Check out Vincent’s video when you have 30 minutes.