📺 Cult Brands, TikTok Triumphs, and Tesla's New Twist – Your Weekly Growth Hacker TV Dose

Author

E
May 21, 2023

Hello Growth Hackers 👋,

Don't touch that dial! You're tuned into the right channel – Growth Hacker TV 📺, your one-stop shop for the best marketing insights every Sunday.

In this edition we’ll cover:

→ How to Transform Your Brand into a Cult
→ Hilton’s TikTok Ad
→ Tesla to Advertise for the First Time in Its History
→ 10 Tech Trends for Marketing Teams to Watch
→ Billboard of the Week
→ This Week’s Twitter Threads Worth the Read

Let’s dive in 🤿

How to Transform Your Brand into a Cult

In this ultra-connected era, customers crave more than just goods and services. They seek brands with which they share values and beliefs, brands that stand for something, brands that make them part of a larger narrative. And that's why creating a cult brand is more than just a strategy; it's the future of marketing.

Drawing insights from David Sacks' 'Your Startup Is a Movement' and Jordan Odinsky's 'Cult Wars: The Making of a Cult Brand,' we've charted a seven-step journey to help transform your brand into a captivating cult.

Step 1: Define a Grand Purpose

Every cult brand revolves around a grand purpose - like Tesla's mission to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. It's the magnetic force that attracts and holds your audience. Reflect on the societal impact you want your brand to have.

Step 2: Cultivate a Mission

Apple's fervent commitment to innovation drives its success. Your brand too needs a strong mission that ignites passion - within your team and your customers. Convey the change you seek and its benefits lucidly.

Step 3: Articulate the Problem Distinctively

The best cult brands express the problem they solve exceptionally well. Your task is to highlight the issues your audience faces and illustrate a world improved by your solution. Remember: “If you articulate the problem well, people will assume you have the answer.”

Step 4: Engage with Compelling Content

Create a narrative that compels your audience and clearly communicates your vision. Look at how Starbucks weaves sustainability into its story - your content should consistently reflect your brand's mission while underlining the urgency for change.

Step 5: Establish Media and Influencer Connections

Spread your brand's message far and wide. Build relationships with press and influencers who believe in your cause, just as Glossier leveraged influential beauty bloggers to amplify its reach.

Step 6: Earn your Marketing

Shift your focus to 'earned marketing,' which underscores branding, messaging, media coverage, and influencers. This strategy, exemplified by Dollar Shave Club's viral video, sparks more enthusiasm for your brand than traditional paid promotions.

Step 7: Be Authentic

Authenticity is the cornerstone of a cult brand. When a brand like TOMS demonstrates its dedication to improving lives, it naturally attracts people. Being genuine in pursuing your cause will facilitate connections with your brand and encourage others to join your movement.

In a world full of brands, only a few transform into cults, captivating the hearts and minds of people. Now it's your turn.

Hilton's TikTok Ad

In February, Hilton Hotels & Resorts made waves in the marketing world by releasing a game-changing 10-minute TikTok video that featured multiple popular creators and garnered millions of views. The ad took viewers on an expansive journey across different locations and genres, showcasing Hilton's deep understanding of TikTok trends and culture. The engagement was remarkable - 4 million views in the first two days, accelerating to 2.2 million daily views in the first two weeks, along with 500,000 likes and nearly 30,000 comments.

So, what lessons can marketers learn from Hilton's TikTok success?

1. Know you audience: Understand their preferences and behaviors to create content that resonates with them.

2. Know your platform: Focus on creating content that is custom-made for the specific social channel you want to target, instead of generic content.

3. Know your popular creators: Collaborate with beloved influencers to increase your reach and credibility.

4. Know your trends and culture: Stay up-to-date with the latest trends and platform-specific features to make your content stand out.

5. Prioritize authenticity: Build customer trust by being genuine and showcasing your brand's personality.

6. Long-form content can still be successful: A well-crafted long-form video can hold viewers' attention, like Hilton's 10-minute TikTok ad.

7. Be innovative yet relatable: Surprise viewers with creative ad concepts that are both groundbreaking and familiar to maximize impact.

In a nutshell, Hilton's TikTok triumph is a testament to the power of understanding your platform, knowing your audience, and harnessing the clout of influential creators, all while remaining true to your brand's identity. It showcases that the journey to viral success is not merely about being on a popular platform - it's about strategically curating content that strikes a chord with viewers, capitalizing on trends, and leveraging platform-specific nuances.

In this era where user attention is a precious commodity, Hilton's long-form TikTok ad breaks the mold and offers a lesson: there's no one-size-fits-all approach to social media content. The key lies in finding the sweet spot between innovation and relatability, authenticity and trendiness. And as Hilton has demonstrated, when done right, it can lead to unparalleled engagement and reach. So as you navigate the dynamic landscape of digital marketing, remember to play to the strengths of your chosen platform, keep a pulse on your audience's tastes, and above all, stay authentic to your brand. The results might just surprise you.

Tesla to Advertise for the First Time in Its History

Elon Musk announced at a shareholder meeting that Tesla will be trying out advertising for the first time in its history. This decision came after a shareholder, Kevin Paffrath, suggested that the company needs to do more to let non-Tesla fans know about its products.

Musk was surprised by the enthusiasm of the crowd at the event and said that Tesla would use ads to combat misconceptions about the brand, particularly regarding pricing and safety. However, there is no clear strategy for the ads yet, as Musk only decided to venture into advertising during the event.

It’s interesting to see a brand that prided itself in spending 0 money in marketing is now stepping into the world of advertising. This highlights the indisputable importance of marketing. No matter how revolutionary your product or service is, marketing plays a pivotal role in bridging the gap between your offerings and potential customers.

Even a giant like Tesla sees the merit in adopting a comprehensive marketing strategy, underscoring its essential role in enhancing visibility, correcting misinformation, and ultimately driving business success.

10 Tech Trends for Marketing Teams to Watch

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, marketers need to stay updated with the latest trends that will shape their marketing strategies. The article on Business News Daily outlines significant trends that businesses should leverage. Here are the most crucial takeaways for marketers:

1. Authentic long-form content remains vital: Educational content aimed at helping users rather than selling is fundamental to successful content marketing. Take advantage of Google's Helpful Content Update and focus on creating content that thoroughly answers questions and guides customers towards an informed decision.

2. Short-form video content is gaining popularity: TikTok and Instagram Reels have driven short-form video content into the mainstream, highlighting the importance of incorporating engaging and informative videos into your marketing strategies.

3. Adoption of chatbots and conversational AI will increase: Implementing chatbots and conversational AI can enhance customer experience by providing instant support, enabling marketers to optimize their resources.

4. Voice search is a critical focus: As voice recognition technology improves, marketers must ensure their websites and content are adequately optimized for voice searches, catering to users searching through voice assistants.

5. Data analytics will provide deeper insights: Utilize advanced analytical tools to gain insights from customer data, enabling you to tailor your marketing strategies based on consumer behavior and preferences.

6. Social media marketing will continue evolving: Stay updated with the latest social media trends, ensuring your social media campaigns engage with your target audience effectively across various platforms.

7. DeFi technologies aren’t dead yet: Decentralized Finance is still essential, signifying that marketers should remain aware of emerging opportunities within this space.

8. The metaverse will rebound: As virtual worlds become more prominent, marketers need to keep exploring new ways of engaging audiences within these environments.

9. A cookieless future is (still) coming: Google’s push for a cookieless future requires marketers to adapt by finding alternative ways to track user data and deliver personalized advertising experiences without relying on third-party cookies.

10. Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are now critical: Implement DEI strategies into your marketing campaigns to resonate with an increasingly diverse audience base and maintain a positive brand image.

In summary, staying ahead of marketing trends is crucial for businesses to thrive in today's digital landscape. By focusing on the key takeaways above, marketers can make informed strategic decisions that leverage technology and ensure a competitive advantage.

Billboard of the Week (a clever celebrity endorsement indeed 👀)

via @TheChiefPlug

This Week’s Twitter Threads Worth the Read 🐦

And with that, we've reached the end of another edition of Growth Hacker TV📺.

This week, we've journeyed through the captivating world of cult brand creation, decoded the secrets behind Hilton's TikTok success, examined Tesla's surprising pivot towards advertising, and delved into top tech trends.

As always, I hope these insights will fuel your creative thinking, spark new marketing strategies, and help you transform your brands in impactful ways.

Your feedback is invaluable to us. So, if you've found these insights helpful, have any questions, or would like us to cover a specific topic in the future, please hit reply and let us know.

Remember, growth hacking isn't just about quick wins; it's about learning, experimenting, and innovating. So, keep pushing boundaries, stay inspired, and most importantly, don't be afraid to disrupt the status quo!

Here's wishing you a week filled with much success, growth, and creativity. Stay tuned until next Sunday for more engaging insights from the ever-evolving world of marketing.

Stay growing, hackers 📈!

- E & Growth Hacker TV team