The article was originally published by me on TechinAsia

Do you think Slack is one of the actively used tools in the DevOps industry?

I think so. Let's talk about how Slack became so BIG in such a less time.

I have 10 growth hacks listed below,

1. Personal branding

Butterfield has been a well-known figure in the industry. He was the co-founder of Flickr, and he become even more famous after its acquisition by Yahoo.

2. Perfect timing

Slack found a perfect opportunity to help people reduce their email load and to find a better medium to communicate and manage projects.

3. UI/UX

The makers of the app have been focused on ensuring smooth communications through the look and feel of its website and apps.

4. Freemium model

Slack’s freemium model makes it easy and ideal for people to try it without any initial payments. Their pricing policy is simple and straightforward and their free plan is also feature-rich.

5. Minimal features

Since the beginning, Slack didn’t focus on too many features. They just wanted to be the best in what they were building, wth just one or two main benefits.

6. Word-of-mouth marketing

Butterfield himself used to share a lot of articles and news about Slack on social media channels and with his immediate friends to get their feedback.

7. User feedback

Slack did a lot of A/B testing and focus group surveys. This helped Slack build what people wanted.

8. Twitter

The company depends heavily on Twitter to interact with its customers and fans (you can see this in the number of tweets and replies the company dishes out).

9. Referral loop

One thing that differentiates the company is its referral loop. Anybody can create their own community around any interest and invite people around the world to join.

10. Integrations

Slack can easily integrate with any app and, in particular, with apps that startups use most. This is why many startups find the app useful.

The categories of apps you can integrate with Slack include analytics, sales, customer service, developer tools, HR, marketing, social media, and others.

Want to add something more? Feel free to add your comments.