Dropbox spends very little on advertising, yet it is worth over $4 billion today. Started in 2011, Dropbox has received several awards, including best overall startup. Instead of spending thousands on traditional advertising techniques, the company has mostly used growth hacks to gain customer attention and generate its expansion.
This article examines the seven growth hacks Dropbox used to become a $4 billion company.
1. Homepage that’s Signup Driven
The layout is simple. It prepares groundwork for other Dropbox products. The two-minute above-the-fold video provides an explanation of the product. Dropbox has used the mantra – don’t tell the user what to think, a wonderful product speaks for itself.
2. Easy Signups
The signup process has just a few steps and allows users to sign up on their desktops without requiring a web browser. As soon as the user signs up after installing Dropbox, a photo album folder and a “Getting Started” file appears to help new users gear up.
3. Referral Benefits
Referrals increased Dropbox sign ups by 60%. This incentive was the main highlight which helped them promote the application. For each referral a person makes where the invitee signs up as well, the referring person receives an upgrade of 500MB of storage space. A friend referral implies more trust than an advert.
4. Social Media
More people following the Facebook page and on Twitter makes a huge impact on the promotion of any brand or product. Dropbox also uses this technique very effectively. To flood in likes on Facebook and followers on Twitter, Dropbox put out an incentive of 125MB extra space to encourage new users. This resulted in 720,000 new users from Twitter followers.
5. Sharing Made Easy
Dropbox has made sharing files and pictures easy. Users just need to get a shareable link, and then can send it to anyone or even share it on Facebook to provide friends or family members access to that file or picture.
6. Dropquest
Dropbox runs a contest called “Dropquest” that makes users go through different puzzles and scavenger hunts. The top 176 who complete the hunt get free swag or free space. This has generated lots of publicity in the tech world.
7. Multiple Devices and Platforms
One of Dropbox’s main advantages is that it’s available from anywhere. The Dropbox is syncable with any tablet or SmartPhone, accessible from anywhere and at any time, as long as there is an internet connection.
