Ask HN: Is social media a user acquisition strategy? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Is social media a user acquisition strategy?

4 pointshansy5 comments

I was having an argument with another founder about listing social media as a user acquisition strategy in a pitch deck. I think social channels might be a way of getting users, but to me it doesn't seem like a reliable way to do so unless your target user is best reached through social media.

Or am I just over-thinking what user acquisition strategy means?

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I think people misconstrue the value proposition of social media. By definition, social media channels are where people congregate... so therefore wouldn't it benefit EVERY company and product to understand how social media best applies to them?

The targeting options in Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn (not just paid via ads, but also via strategic searches and groups) are vast. If you know how to find the right users, and build trust with them, then that is a high-converting way to start the acquisition funnel via Awareness (McClure's AARRR metrics).

I should also note that for various clients and companies, I've seen at LEAST 20% conversion rates, through the actual homepage registration (legitimately acquired into the SQL database, not just email list).

It depends on your company. Are you geared toward creating shareable content that appeals to your target market? Then social medias is definitely a viable user acquisition strategy. Just look at Upworthy (although lately they've been dinged by Facebook, apparently).

But if your social media strategy is to just create a Twitter/Facebook account and put out a few random blog posts, then don't expect that channel to bring in a consistently large amount of users.

Just adding my 2 cents here.

I would say that if you are consumer-facing and your product has a broad appeal, then perhaps user-acquisition could work on social media.

The trick is to not focus on user-acquisition and to build user-relations. Perhaps your first followers may not need your app, but maybe their followers and followers-followers might find it useful.

Buffer is one of those companies that uses social media to acquire users. But I know they've invested significantly in writing their blog posts. It really depends on your product.

as social media is pretty much anywhere people chat or gather on the internet wouldnt this site be part of a social media strategy? in some cases posting to hacker news just hoping on a wish and a prayer it gets picked up is some startups strategys. so in short. yes its a very valid strategy.

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