1.
[2019 Guide Present]
How to Growth Hack Small
News Business Through Viral
Loops With Local Influencers ✔
SEO GROWTH MARKETER
EMILIJA GJORGJEVSKA
2018/2019 strategy and beyond

2.
THE STORY TABLE
SUMMARY BLABLA
Why Should You Give a Fuck?
Our Case Study
You Experienced This Too...
Setting Up the Game
I Wish I Knew This Before...
Acquired Wisdom
@ 2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer

3.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
GET TO KNOW...
ME.
Let's be clear right up front.
I'm not a wizard.
Nor do I believe that anyone is.
I just LOVE what I do and anything related to it. ENDLESSLY.
I have a BSc in Computer Science and was mentored in product
development, marketing, and business by national and
international pros.
I'm ME. Em - I.
Spell it and you'll get a short version of my name. Emi.
My work was recognized by the IEEE, British Council, Nesta, UT
Austin, Pioneers, as well as my faculty (FCSE-Skopje) and
popular home-country media.
Enough chitchats about me.
ALL I CARE ABOUT IS YOU. I want you to LEARN. NOW.

4.
WHY SHOULD YOU GIVE A FUCK?
Simple hacks are everywhere around us.
We are just too "busy" to recognize them. Use
them.
Most people just copy what they see somewhere
else and expect the same result. Magic. Miracles.
All this without having a true, deep
understanding of why something works...or
doesn't.

5.
OUR CASE STUDY
WHAT WE AIMED TO BE
I worked for a small business company,
Smartportal.mk, which operates as an
independent publishing company, focusing on IT
related news. They wrote mostly about local and
global trends, gadgets and entrepreneurship
events.
I met Misho, the owner, during my PR work for a
soft skills event that I've organized. Long story
short, we quickly started to collaborate.
If you have an opportunity to work with Misho,
please buy him a beer or macchiato first!
(Thank you for everything) @2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer

6.
OUR CASE STUDY
REAL TALK: The competition in the (IT)
news market is INSANE. Everywhere.
Besides this, Facebook has changed its
algorithms and it's hard to have quality
organic reach without investing.
Especially if you're dependent on
Facebook.
BUT is that really true?
Our visitors didn't opt in. The traditional
approach and news picks didn't have a
positive outcome. The engagement levels
were low. The visits dropped through time
or were unstable.
BEWARE: Smartportal still outperforms
most IT sites and it's in the top 2 in MK.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer

7.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
YOU EXPERIENCED THIS TOO..
* Bureocracy.
* Unrealistic KPIs.
* Little to no budget.
* Competitive environment.
* Pressures from investors or ads partners.
* Little opportunities to use your knowledge.
* FEAR. Especially when trying something new to you.
* No additional team members & contributors. Etc.
I UNDERSTAND.
Done it to others. And people did it to me.
Saints do not exist.

8.
WHO WE MARKET TO
GOING DEEPER
TECH ENTHUSIASTS
Engineers. Tech companies. Geeks.
Gamers. Sci-Fi fans...focusing on 25-
35 age group, Macedonia.

9.
SETTING UP THE GAME
WHAT WE AIMED TO BE
MY JOB: Creating content. Without a lot of
expectations. Just write, write, write.
No SEO requirements. No promotions.
Nothing special. However, I saw a
challenge and acted upon it.
OBSTACLES: Do the work but not invest
(lots of) additional time. Not dependent on
financial investments. Increase visits.
Increase engagement. Do networking for
future benefits. Online first.
Most of these things were my personal
challenges, not something I was asked for. @2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer

10.
SETTING UP THE GAME
WHAT WE AIMED TO BE
OPPORTUNITY:
Faculties, individuals, local success
stories, wunderkinds and even companies
are often overlooked as potential
solutions. What's even better, they need a
promotion, too. WIN-WIN for all.
Direct monetization is not always the key.
THE STRATEGY:
Get in touch with all these overlooked
people. Write about their experiences.
LEARN FROM THEM. Establish and provide
space for further collaboration. @2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer

11.
THE RESULTS....

12.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
THIS IS AVERAGE, CASUAL SMARTPORTAL POST
BEFORE
SMARTPORTAL:
11 REACTIONS
0 COMMENTS
0 SHARES
In: Movies, IT
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-netflix

13.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
THIS IS AVERAGE, SPONSORED CASUAL
SMARTPORTAL POST BEFORE
SMARTPORTAL:
46 REACTIONS
1 COMMENTS
4 SHARES
In: Gadgets, IT
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/sm
artportal-android

14.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
AFTER
Keywords on Facebook:
(smartportal CERN)
SMARTPORTAL:
125 REACTIONS
8 COMMENTS
13 SHARES
In: Science,
Experiences
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-cern

15.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
AFTER
Keywords on Facebook:
(smartportal жаклина анѓелковска) SMARTPORTAL:
89 REACTIONS
5 COMMENTS
10 SHARES
In: Best student,
Business
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-
beststudent

16.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
AFTER
Keywords on Facebook:
(smartportal јован андонов)
SMARTPORTAL:
226 REACTIONS
3 COMMENTS
14 SHARES
In: Education, Advice
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-jovanETH

17.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
AFTER
Keywords on Facebook:
(smartportal петар ниновски) SMARTPORTAL:
307 REACTIONS
7 COMMENTS
21 SHARES
In: Business,
Education
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-brainster

18.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
AFTER
Keywords on Facebook:
(smartportal гоце симоноски). SMARTPORTAL:
91 REACTIONS
3 COMMENTS
9 SHARES
In: Science, Music
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-
sciencemusic

19.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
AFTER
Keywords on Facebook:
(smartportal мој психолог) SMARTPORTAL:
165 REACTIONS
5 COMMENTS
19 SHARES
In: Psychology, IT
Link:
https://tinyurl.com/s
martportal-
psychology

20.
WHAT PERFORMED BEST
According to our analysis, education was #1.
People who did something outstanding on the international level (like Jovan,
teaching assistant at ETH Zurich, even though anonymous to most), psychological
aspects in people's lives in the IT era and well-known individuals on national level
brought the best results.
LESSONS LEARNED
We helped these people to be heard and in a few cases even increased their
businesses. They helped us grow and reach more people too. We all learned.
We all benefited.

21.
WISH I KNEW THIS BEFORE
It's not always as sweet as it looks at first sight. Plot twist.
Sometimes, the people we reached out to never found time to do the job even
though they wanted promotion. This tells a lot about someone's personality and
professionalism.
I'm not being rude or smart. I want to teach you that these kinds of events happen
behind the curtains. You should be happy about that. It definitely helps make better
strategic partnerships and friends above all.

22.
Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5
40
30
20
10
0
Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5
40
30
20
10
0
Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 Item 5
40
30
20
10
0
RESULTS OVERVIEW
KEEP YOUR HEAD COOL
COMMENTS
10 AVERAGE
SHARES
14 AVERAGE
LIKES
167 AVERAGE

23.
DO THE MATH
Individual, direct link posts and reactions (likes, shares, comments) from other places
weren't included. Just Smartportal's Facebook page gathered feedback.
SIMPLE FORMULA
It should be done separately, but I've summed up all the average reactions, comments
and shares versus what the average casual post gathers. It's 191 vs 11 or 191 / 11 = 17.

24.
IMPROVEMENTS brought us 17X BETTER RESULTS compared to average casual posts!
Did the same with the average sponsored posts. It's 191 vs 51 or 191 / 51 = 3,7.
IMPROVEMENTS brought us 3,7X BETTER RESULTS compared to average paid posts!

25.
ACQUIRED WISDOM
Personal stories always perform well.
Initially, they started to spread organically. The people we wrote about shared
them. Personal and company blogs were included. Social media profiles, too.
Friends. Family. Partners. Colleagues. Employees. Teachers. Individuals were
amazed by their story. Even the phones were ringing.
They all had a beautifully designed exponential effect that gave the initial boost.
After being sure that we had momentum, we boosted selected posts with cheap
ads to make them even more viral.

26.
THE SECRET?
The basis of these stories was always something WORTH SHARING.
I mean...You can invest a lot of time and money TO TRY to achieve your goal BUT if
the product is not good enough in its core, IT'S WORTHLESS. There's no other way
around.
Remember this. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY AROUND.

27.
MY MANIFESTO
CREATIVITY IS COMBINATORIAL.
JUST DO IT.
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer
Partherships Playtesting Growth Engagement Saving money

28.
IT HAS TO BE YOU NOW
GO OUT AND WORK YOUR WAY
TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
DEFINE THE PLAN
SET UP WELL DEFINED
GOALS
JUST DO IT
PLAYTEST UNTIL YOU FIND
THE MAGIC FORMULA
ANALYSE
DEFINE THE SCOPE OF
THE PROBLEM
@2019 Emilija Gjorgjevska | SEO Growth Marketer

29.
SAY HELLO TO ME
BECAUSE "IF YOU LIKED IT, THEN YOU SHOULD
HAVE PUT A RING ON IT" - BEYONCE
LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/
in/emilijagjorgjevska/
EMAIL ADDRESS
emmagjorgjevska@gmail.com
SEO & GROWTH
MINDED MARKETER
P.S. Don’t be sneaky dammit - let’s CONNECT and collab ✔