1. Leveraging Social Networks

One of the quickest ways to achieve viral growth is by leveraging social networks for sharing and promotions. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and others have billions of users who can quickly spread the message about your startup.

Example: Dropbox used a simple yet highly effective viral strategy by giving its users extra storage space for referring their product to others. This encouraged a behaviour that users were sharing Dropbox with their social networks, leading to a significantly accelerated user growth.

2. Incentivize Word-of-mouth Promotion

Word-of-mouth advertising gives startups an incredible reach, without the advertising costs. Incenting users to promote your startup can be an important boost to the viral growth.

Example: Uber used a simple user-referral program, offering free rides to users who referred their service to others.

3. Content Marketing

Creating valuable content can help you develop a loyal audience that promotes your brand organically. Topics should be related to your startup’s field but ought to provide value to a broader audience.

Example: Buffer, a social media management tool, became popular among its audience through consistent blogging about social media marketing strategies, even without directly advertising their product.

4. Viral Looping

With viral looping, an existing user introduces a new user who in turn becomes an existing user and introduces another new user, creating a loop.

Example: Instagram gained massive popularity by allowing users to post their edited photos directly to their social media feeds, thereby attracting their friends.

5. Engagement and Retention

Returning to a product is just as important as the initial sign up. By focusing on user engagement and retention strategies, startups can ensure repeated use of their product, leading to positive word-of-mouth.

Example: Slack focuses on making the first interactions with their product delightful to ensure high user retention. Slack offers a walkthrough of the platform’s functionality and offers user-friendly, humorous tips, making sure that the user’s first experience with their product is positive

6. Partnerships and Collaborations

Partnering or collaborating with an established company can give a significant lift to the startup’s reputation, trust and ultimately, growth.

Example: Spotify partnered with Facebook, allowing users to share what they’re listening to. This strategy provided Spotify with a massive user base and led to the rapid growth of the music streaming startup.