A dance with the algorithm

When asked to explain growth hacking, a lot of marketers randomly start spitting out a lot of technical vocabulary. I’d suggest that you forget all that complicated talk. Instead, imagine this: you are at the annual family Christmas party when all of the sudden grandma asks you to dance. Since you’re incapable of wobbling your hips, you hesitate. However, grandma is persistent. It is vital for the success of the party that you dance with her.

I can see the confused look on your face. I can’t really blame you for that, but bear with me for one more second. What if I told you that’s how algorithms operate? Your grandma would be the algorithm that decides if the party is a success (and eventually decides if you’re worthy of that Christmas envelope). The music would be the data telling you where you need to go.

The Gods decide

Now that we have our eyes on the prize (being successful and growing), it’s a good idea to understand what algorithms are. Because they are everywhere. They're in your phone, they're in your car, and they're in your favorite AI tool. When you read about algorithms on the internet, it can seem like they're nothing but a bunch of numbers, and that's it. But what is an algorithm really? And how does it work?

Let’s not dive into the science behind it. After all, we are marketeers, not computer scientists. But here is what you definitely need to know about algorithms: they’re godlike (quite literally). Based on how you surf the web, algorithms try to understand you and your preferences. They collect and analyze data for that. With that knowledge, it provides highly personalized content. In the earlier days, algorithms were more limited. They were limited to pre-programmed sets of commands (“If you liked post X, show Y). Nowadays, it’s capable of learning. It recognizes patterns in your behavior and even predicts what you’ll want to see next (sometimes even before you know it yourself).

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“Algorithms are the key to making sense of the world around us. They're the driving force behind everything from Netflix's recommendation engine to Google's search algorithm. Algorithms can be used to make huge decisions, like whether or not you get a loan. It’s important to understand how they work and how you can work with them.”

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Let’s go off-topic about one thing: should you fear algorithms? In a marketing point of view, we would not. Algorithms enable companies to offer tailored content for their users and clients. Big win for businesses. However, that also means that - as a consumer - you’ll have a better experience with products, apps, etc. Perhaps we shouldn’t look at them as gods, but more like partners. So algorithms in itself are amazing. Nevertheless, it is crucial that companies have good policies on how they handle data.

Become a lead dancer

So, how should you work with these “gods”? It’s all about training yourself to feel the rhythm of the music. That's kind of what growth hacking is like too. It's not about being a math genius or even knowing how to program. It's about listening to your data, letting it tell you where you should go next, and then moving in that direction. Just like the music telling you where you should sway grandma next.

And this isn't just some abstract process: it happens every time you open up Google Analytics or whatever tool you use for tracking your site's traffic. You have this huge amountof information pouring in—and if you're not listening closely enough, all that data will just wash over you without making any sense at all. But if you take the time to get familiar with what those numbers mean and how they relate to each other? You'll be able to dance with your metrics instead of just staring at them blankly!

And that’s how growth hacking becomes a cost-effective way to acquire new leads, clients, data and insights. And the best news of all: Brandsome Projects is here to help you in any way we can. We love to dance and we sure know how to sway the algorithms.

Want to know more about how Brandsome Projects can make your company grow? Do not hesitate to contact us. Let’s dance!

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