Although growth hacking as a term has only come into the popular lexicon recently, it has become a rallying cry of growth-minded marketers ever since. Fortunately, because growth hacking itself has become a massive part of the industry, it’s never been easier to find inspiration and insight into how it works and how you can use it for your own brand.
Today we want to talk about growth hacking influencers. These are the people who live and breathe this mantra and know everything about how to utilize it effectively. Whether you’re a startup or you work at an established company, following these influencers and learning from them is going to put you on a much better path towards growth.
So, with that in mind, we want to break down what a growth hacking influencer is, how they do what they do, and why you should follow them.
What is a Growth Hack Influencer?
These days, the word influencer has become synonymous with social media sites like Instagram. At its core, the term refers to people who can sway public opinion about a product or service by sharing it with followers.
Simply put, an influencer is essentially a celebrity spokesperson. However, when it comes to intangibles like growth hacking, influencers take on a whole new meaning.
Rather than sharing some new growth hacking tool and making money off its sale, growth hack influencers are people who are vital resources in the world of growth marketing. They influence trends in the industry by sharing new ideas and case studies to their followers.
In short, a top growth hack influencer will be a useful guide for both new and veteran marketers who are trying to utilize these methods more efficiently. Following an influencer will yield new insight into the topic and ensure that you are doing everything you can to experience rapid growth.
Top 25 Growth Hacking Influencers
So, now that we know what these people do, let’s focus on whom to follow. Twitter is one of the best places to find and follow growth hacking influencers, so we’re going to provide the Twitter handle for all 25 people on our list.
#1 Sean Ellis
As the person who coined the term “growth hacker” in the first place, number one can only belong to Sean Ellis. Who better to influence the industry and provide valuable data on growth hacking than the man who created it? His brand Growth Hackers is another vital resource for anyone looking for insight into how to expand quickly.
#2 Morgan Brown
As the co-founder of GrowthHackers, Morgan is the yin to Sean Ellis’ yang. They worked hard to make sure that the brand has become the go-to resource for marketers around the world, and Morgan has written a book about different growth strategies. If you’re trying to learn from the best, you should go straight to the source.
#3 Patrick Cines
According to his website (which is decidedly retro in its appearance), Patrick helps people connect to the world’s largest community of advertisers. He’s given TED talks, he’s helped build a wide array of different startups, and he founded a cryptocurrency group at his alumni, Penn State. Although growth hacking isn’t all that Patrick does, he’s still really really good at it.
#4 Nilan Peiris
If you haven’t heard of Transferwise, it’s a money sending service that costs a lot less than traditional routes, like banks or Western Union. It’s so good that it was founded in part by Richard Branson. As the VP of growth at Transferwise, Nilan’s job is to help expand the business’ user base into new territories. By all accounts, he’s a wizard at it. His tactics can help other services grow as well.
#5 Jon Miller
At Marketo, Jon Miller helped grow the business to a one billion plus IPO. Marketo started earning $150 million in revenue and had over 4000 customers by the time Jon left. He then took that same passion for growth to his current venture, a marketing automation platform called Engagio. Not only is his experience useful, but so is his app.
#6 Brian Balfour
You already know that HubSpot is a bible for marketers, and Brian used to be the VP of growth of the site. What makes Brian’s insight so helpful is that he publishes essays about growth hacking tactics and how they can be applied to different businesses and industries. He makes it easy to learn the ins and outs of the process.
#7 Andy Johns
Being a part of the growth team for sites like Facebook, Quora, and Twitter is a resume made of pure marketing gold. These days, it seems like these platforms were birthed onto the internet with a massive user base already, but Andy was part of the team that made it happen. He currently runs Wealthfront, an automated investment manager.
#8 Everette Taylor
Although most people assuming growth hacking is all about businesses, Everette proves that you can use that same mentality to go from the streets to the CEO of a major company. Although he currently sits at the head of Millisense, a marketing firm that works with the likes of Microsoft, he was homeless on the streets of Richmond during his teenage years. His insight transcends marketing and illustrates how experience can shape your trajectory.
#9 Casey Armstrong
If you’re not familiar with full stack marketing, then allow Casey to show you what it’s all about. Just like full stack development, this methodology means that marketers like Casey are familiar with all levels of marketing, from growth hacking to traditional email messages. Having this kind of comprehensive view of marketing enables Casey to blend different tactics to fit the needs of his clients, including Mavenlink, WebbROI, and PaleoHack.
#10 Nichole Elizabeth DeMere
Growth hacking (and marketing in general) is not just a man’s game. Nichole is one of the top influencers in the field because she has researched the topic and writes extensively about it. Also, she serves as a consultant for various startups and tech companies, including Zest. Is, Product Hunt, and even Growth Hackers. Her blog is a valuable resource for anyone looking to dive into the world of growth hacking.
#11 Peter Van Sabben
Some influencers are helpful because they share their experiences so that you can learn vicariously through them. In Peter’s case, however, he actively teaches startups on how to utilize different growth hacking techniques, meaning that he can become an integral part of any brand’s growth strategy. He is the current founder of Growth Tribe, which aims to help all startups get past their failures and become successes.
#12 Lincoln Murphy
As a writer and a consultant, Lincoln Murphy knows a thing or two about promotion as a means of creating growth. He’s been around the block, and he understands how growth hacking works both in theory and in practice. One of the most valuable assets he can offer is his definitive guide to growth hacking, along with his blog posts at sixteenventures.com.
#13 Andrew Chen
Although Andrew currently works at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, he’s been integral in the growth tactics for a wide array of companies, including Uber, AngelList, Barkbox, and Dropbox. With a resume like that, you know that his insight is more than valuable enough for your brand. To make it easier to digest, Andrew has also written numerous essays on the various elements of growth hacking so that you can pick and choose which ones are suitable for your situation.
#14 Karol Pokojowczyk
If you’ve used Colibri.io before (or merely heard about it), then you’re familiar with Karol’s work. As the founder of this incredible service, he’s enabled brands of all shapes and sizes see how they are making an impact online. By analyzing data and providing such detailed insight into various marketing tactics, Colibri IO (and, by extension, Karol) is an essential resource for everyone interested in growth hacking.
#15 Patrick Vlaskovits
If you haven’t heard of the Lean Entrepreneur, it’s a worthwhile read. The book talks about how to start a business without much capital and how to grow it as lean as possible. For many startups, this book has become something of a bible, as well as a roadmap to success. Patrick not only wrote the book on lean growth, but he is the co-founder of Superpowered, a platform that helps developers integrate audio into their work.
Bottom Line – Start Following Growth Hacking Influencers
One of the core strategies behind growth hacking is that nothing happens in a vacuum. You look at what other people have done, take out the parts that don’t work for your situation, and then focus on what will build an audience as quickly as possible.
So, with that in mind, you need to start cultivating information and insight from as many sources as possible. We highly recommend that you follow and engage with each one of these influencers so that you can get a more well-rounded idea of growth hacking and how it can be applied to your brand.
Get your copy of bestselling book
“Ready Set Growth Hack:
A beginners guide to growth hacking success”
