Growth Hacking VS Digital Marketing
Similarities and Differences
Growth hacking is the next level of digital marketing. They both share some common principles but are differentiated by many aspects.
A growth hacker really is just a marketer, but one with a different set of challenges to tackle and tools to work with. In fact, growth hacking and digital marketing emphasize experimentation, creativity, and are tracked with measurement tools such as increased engagement, increased conversion, increased retention. In addition, the process of working in both concerns the utilization of customer psychology and customer personas.
The aspects that set digital marketing and growth hacking apart are:
Background:
Digital marketers don’t usually have a tech background, while growth hackers do. In addition, a growth hacking team consists of almost every department in the company: Marketing, design, tech, etc…
Goals:
In the growth hacking AARRR funnel, digital marketing focuses on the first two phases: Lead acquisition and activation. Digital marketers simply generate leads, or in other words, make the audience wants the product.
Growth hacking focuses on all five phases: Acquisition — Activation — Retention — Referral and Revenue. Growth hackers work closely with people from other departments to define the products based on data.
Marketers have lots of KPIs to track, while growth hackers, focus only on metrics that lead to growth: More web traffic, more social media engagement, and most importantly more sales.
Here’s an example: A marketer could use engagement rate to analyze an overall goal of building brand awareness. A growth hacker, by comparison, could set a goal of increasing social sharing by 50%.
Keys to Success:
Acquiring new customers and increasing brand awareness is key to digital marketing success. With growth hacking, product and data analysis are keys. A/B testing and conversion optimization are crucial in a growth hacking process.
Conclusion:
Growth hacking is not a replacement for digital marketing. Far from being separate entities, growth hacking and digital marketing are intrinsically linked. Nevertheless growth hacking is all about the mindset of growth!
GrowaholicLab is a data-driven growth hacking agency that helps you carry your business forward across the different stages of a product life cycle by fully utilizing the latest digital marketing techniques and trends.
