Growth loops
Optimize for comments, then wire the output of one turn into the input of the next.
- comments > shares
- giveaway machine
- praise-led
- creator armies
The engines that compound because their output feeds their input. Where a stunt spikes and fades, a loop turns once and sets up the next turn.
The one law for social loops
Comments > shares. The feed rewards conversation, not distribution. Optimize every mechanic for comments; replies (each one a notification that pulls the commenter back) roughly double engagement on your own post.
LoopThe giveaway → pipeline machine
Make entering stupid-easy but flattering, and give away things people show off.
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Best comment mechanics: WRONG answers only (people fetch a funny line and paste it), tag-a-friend, you both win (a gift to give, not a bother), guessing games (zero risk of looking dumb), and the secret weapon - team challenges ("get 5 from your company to comment, all 5 win"), which forces people to share the post into their own work Slack. Prizes people show off (apparel with a joke, desk toys, experiences for couples) beat free trials or gift cards. Gamify the brand, not the product.
The loop
↺ ship the prize with a handwritten note + "post a photo, tagged, get a $150 card" → winners post → new audience → back to the top
LoopPraise-led marketing
The cheapest way into someone else's audience isn't paying them - it's praising them.
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Build a genuine "Top [Role]s" platform with public criteria and a nomination box, research each winner hard, then reach out decisively: "We're writing an article about you and your role…" (not "considering"). The decisive frame makes them want to control the narrative, so they collaborate and then share it to their audience. Keep it honest and specific; celebrate smaller voices too (hungrier to share); aim at sharing-prone audiences (marketers, creators - not CFOs).
LoopCreator armies & community as distribution
- Pay per view, not per follower. Open ambassador programs anyone can join - post about us, get paid per impression, no minimums - can pull eight-figure monthly impressions.
- Cultivate future buyers. Student clubs and certifications train people to use your product before they're even hired, so they arrive on day one as users.
- Scarcity as belonging. A hard-to-earn certification people wear on their profile turns users into public advocates.
Advanced: the cross-platform flywheel
Never mention "giveaway" on the social post itself. Put the contest in a newsletter/other channel that says "commenting on my post enters you." The post stays organic and credible, newsletter readers flood the comments, the algorithm boosts it, new people discover the newsletter and subscribe - then come back to comment. Self-feeding across two channels.
Product-led growth
Ship a playable link instead of a demo form - the product is the marketing.
- playable link
- delight
- dogfood in public
The strongest distribution is a product people can touch without talking to you. When the product is hard to explain, the answer is almost always "show it, don't tell it."
The default
"Try it yourself" > "Book a demo." If people can play with your product in a browser, skip the demo form and ship the link. A playable AI demo hit a million users in a matter of days, mostly from people posting clips of it.
MoveShip a public, playable link on day one
Replace the press release with a URL.
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Let people generate the "aha" themselves - a face-swap in the browser, a live game, a one-of-one personalized demo for each journalist with their own face in it. Distribution takes care of itself when the product is the content.
MoveBuild delight where nobody expects it
Small, joyful, in-product moments that exist purely to be shared.
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A hidden easter egg, a celebration animation when a user completes a core action, random funny release notes people anticipate. These cost little and manufacture word of mouth from inside the product.
MoveDogfood in public
Using the product in public is the marketing.
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Hire someone (or assign the team) to use your own product publicly and post the output - a filmmaker who does nothing but make videos with your video model, a team that publishes the exact playbook and receipts from using your own ad product to cut cost-per-lead 10x.
Old-school PLG loops still work
The Dropbox "space race" mechanic - students nominate their university to win access, then spam classmates to vote - is evergreen. Any referral loop where a user's self-interest recruits the next user belongs in the toolkit.