We Asked Students To Use Growth Hacking for Good Causes…The Results Were Incredible
We’re launching Europe’s first ever growth hacking academy. We received 420 applications but only had 21 seats. To choose the best we asked candidates to growth hack a good cause. The results were incredible. Sit back and take a big breath of goodness…
Some background…
Skip this and scroll down to the @growthtribe projects if you’re in a hurry.
Remember a few years ago when our Facebook feeds were bombarded with Farmville requests to “feed your friend’s puppy” or “give your friend’s cow some grain” and when you clicked it it would install Farmville.
This was a powerful growth hack. A little bit on the subversive side, ok, but an epic growth hack nonetheless. The exploit was so bit big that it became a “thing”. Memes started to spread.
Some people got really annoyed. But hey, when people start saying that you’ve literally taken over their Facebook feeds.. that’s also a sign that you’re doing something right ;)
I don’t have the exact numbers but I know that Farmville grew tremendously thanks to this trick. They were literally EVERWHYERE on our feeds. They were top of mind and they gained tons of attention.
Now imagine. Imagine for just one second that this Facebook growth hack hadn’t been used to grow Farmville. Image if people hadn’t been bombarded with requests to feed a virtual cow but instead has been bombarded with eye-opening messages that truly matter. Imagine that millions of people has been reached with videos about climate change, against hunger, plastic pollution, cyber-bullying, hunting of endangered species or any other cause that is deeply important. Imagine the power at the tip of our fingers and how it’s sometimes only used to grow products instead of good causes.
Like mentioned before we had to choose between 420 applications for our Growth Hacking Academy. We had the priviledge of choosing from amongst some of the brightest analytical creative thinkers around.
“What better way to do this than by asking bright minds to growth hack good causes.”
So we created a challenge called growth hacking for good. Applicants had one week to pick a good cause and create a landing page for it using persuasive techniques. They then had to promote the page. The results were beyond expectations. Here are some of the pages we received.
The @growthtribe “Growth Hacking for Good” projects
Climate change, cyber-bullying, women in tech, the sugar industry, invisible children, basic income, entrepreneurship in Africa…Here are the “Growth Hacking for Good” projects.
..an extremely creative initiative. This project tackles cyber-bullying by attacking bullies with what they need the most…love. “Our gunpowder: loads of kitten videos, happy emoticons, Facebook stickers, a lot of feel good gifs, Pinterest quotes, letters, personal motivation messages and a smiley face balloon delivered right in his front yard.”
..a website that promotes the Global Apollo Program. It’s compelling and awesome. It allows you to customise powerful and engaging tweets in a few simple clicks:
A compelling page against cyber-bullying.
The page was so captivating that it was featured by the Netherland’s largest national organisation against bullying
..a project created a landing page, a Facebook fan page and a hashtag #webheroes against cyber-bullying. The page already has 14o fans.
…urges you to click on a button to help children FAST before the picture of the child fades away and disappears after 10 seconds. Very smart and persuasive.
…educates you on how much sugar you eat every day without even knowing it. Did you know that there are 10 sugar cubes in a single soft drink?
..asks you the compelling question of whether everyone should receive an unconditional basic amount of income. You can only see results of the poll by linking your Facebook account.
The Better Internet Initiative
…another great page combatting cyber-bullying with lots of humour and awesome copywriting.
…another incredible page promoting the Global Apollo Program
..has figured out that “Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution […]Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged
..pleads for the right of a basic income for everyone
…will allow you to easily choose and manage the charities you wish to donate to.
and here are some of the other projects in no particular order:
So there you have it. Growth hacking shouldn’t be used only to promote products and services. It’s a super-power that should also be used to make the world a better place. Genuinely. Look out for other great initiatives from the students over the next months.
If you want to find out more about us, come check out our academy or send us an email: academy@growthtribe.nl
