Growth Marketing Tactics and Channels: The Complete Breakdown

Most teams don’t struggle because they’re “bad at marketing.”They struggle because they aren’t using the right tactics, at the right time, in the right order.

Growth isn’t achieved by doing everything. It’s achieved by doing the right few things that compound.

This guide breaks down every major growth marketing channel and tactic — when to use it, how it works, mistakes to avoid, and how it fits into your wider growth engine.

Use it as your channel strategy playbook.

What Are Growth Marketing Tactics?

Growth tactics are the practical, high-leverage actions you take to improve acquisition, activation, retention and revenue.

They must be:

• measurable

• repeatable

• impactful

• aligned to your funnel

If they don’t move a meaningful metric — they’re noise.

What Are Growth Marketing Channels?

Channels are the “pipes” that bring users into the business or move them deeper into the funnel.

Every channel should fulfil at least one of the following:

• Acquire (bring people in)

• Activate (drive the first meaningful action)

• Retain (keep them engaged)

• Monetise (convert or upsell)

• Amplify (create virality/referrals)

When channels and tactics align, you get a growth system — not a collection of activities.

The Complete Breakdown of Growth Channels & Tactics

Below are the core components of a healthy growth engine, broken down into:

1. Acquisition

2. Activation

3. Retention

4. Revenue

5. Referral

This mirrors the AARRR model and ensures a full-funnel view.

1. Acquisition Channels & Tactics

These bring new users into the funnel. Not all acquisition channels are equal — each requires a different maturity level, speed, cost, and skillset.

Paid Search (Google Ads)

Best for: High-intent traffic, fast validation, predictable scaling

Tactics:

• Keyword targeting based on buying intent

• Competitor bidding

• Landing page + ad alignment

• Negative keyword sculpting

• Smart bidding calibration (once enough conversions exist)

Use when: You have clear ICPs and tight messaging.Avoid when: You don’t yet understand your value proposition.

Paid Social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, X)

Best for: Demand creation, audience building, creative testing

Tactics:

• Creative testing at speed

• Awareness and retargeting loops

• Landing page variations

• UGC-style creatives

• Persona-specific messaging

Use when: You want to expand audiences or test creative angles.

Avoid when: You rely on it too early before your funnel is ready.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

Best for: Long-term compounding acquisition

Tactics:

• Technical SEO fixes

• On-page optimisation

• High-intent content clusters

• Pillar pages + topic authority

• Internal linking structure

• Backlink acquisition (digital PR, guest posting, “linkable assets”)

Use when: You're building sustainable acquisition.

Avoid when: You expect quick wins.

Content Marketing

Best for: Authority, education, nurturing, long-tail traffic

Tactics:

• Playbooks and frameworks

• Industry guides

• Case studies

• Comparison pages (“vs” content)

• Lead magnets

• Thought leadership

Use when: You want to build trust and reduce CAC.

Avoid when: Content is produced without distribution.

Social Media (Organic)

Best for: Relationship building and increasing brand signals

Tactics:

• Founder-led content

• Value-led serial posts

• Comment strategy

• Community engagement

• Partner cross-promotion

Use when: You have POV and something to say.

Avoid when: It’s treated as “posting for the sake of posting.”

Partnerships

Best for: Fast access to audiences that already trust someone else

Tactics:

• Co-marketing

• Joint webinars

• Mutual referrals

• Distributor/affiliate models

Use when: Your ICP is reachable through existing communities.

Avoid when: You rely on one partner too heavily.

Outbound + Sales Development

Best for: B2B acquisition, pipeline generation

Tactics:

• Sequenced outreach

• Account-based prospecting

• Warm intent data

• Event-triggered messaging

• Personalised landing pages

Use when: You have a clear profile of who you want.

Avoid when: Messaging is not validated.

2. Activation Tactics

Activation is the first meaningful action a new user takes.

Examples:

• Signing up

• Completing onboarding

• Booking a demo

• First purchase

Activation improvements often have the biggest impact on growth.

UX Improvements

• Reduce friction on key actions

• Simplify signup flows

• Improve mobile experience

• Clarify CTAs

• Remove distractions

Landing Page Optimisation

• Message-to-audience match

• Social proof placement

• Speed improvements

• Personalisation (by industry, persona, company)

Email Activation Flows

• Welcome sequences

• Education flows

• Nudges

• Contextual product prompts

Onboarding

• Guided product tours

• Shortened time-to-value

• Pre-filled setups

• Templates and starter kits

3. Retention Tactics

Retention is the engine of sustainable growth. Without it, acquisition becomes expensive and churn kills momentum.

Lifecycle Email & CRM

• Engagement flows

• Replenishment flows (ecom)

• Usage nudges (SaaS)

• Milestone messaging

Product-Led Retention

• Habit loops

• Feature discovery

• Re-engagement inside the app

• Value reminders

Customer Success Enablement

• QBRs

• Training sessions

• Onboarding support

Community Building

• Spaces for customers to interact

• Events

• Peer-to-peer support

4. Revenue Tactics

These directly increase the money generated per customer.

Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO)

• A/B tests

• Messaging refinement

• Pricing pages

• Checkout optimisation

Upsell & Cross-Sell

• Relevant product bundles

• Feature upgrades

• “Complete the set” journeys

Pricing Strategy

• Value-based pricing

• Tiered packaging

• Time-limited incentives

5. Referral Tactics

Referral is the most under-utilised lever in most businesses.

Referral and Loyalty Programs

• Incentives for sharing

• VIP tiers

• Rewards and points

Social Proof Loops

• Reviews

• UGC

• “Share your story” campaigns

How These Channels Work Together

A single channel won’t scale your business.A connected system will.

Example growth engine:

• PPC brings high-intent users

• Personalised landing pages increase activation

• CRO improves conversion

• Lifecycle emails retain and monetise customers

• UGC encourages referrals

• SEO compounds long-term demand

Every tactic feeds another.

How to Choose the Right Channels

Use these principles:

1. Go where the buyer already is

Not where you feel you “should” be.

2. Start with the highest intent channels

Google Search → Landing Page → ConversionThen layer in social, outbound, content.

3. Prioritise based on maturity

Startups shouldn’t behave like enterprises.

4. Don’t scale a channel before your funnel is ready

You’ll burn money.

Want help choosing the right channels for your business?

If you want clarity on where to focus, improve performance, or build your channel strategy, you can book a free consultation here:

👉 https://www.risemarketing.uk/book-a-call

FAQs

What’s the best growth marketing channel for my business?

There is no universal “best” channel — only the best channel for your ICP, price point, sales cycle and product.

To find yours, look at:

• Intent – Do people actively search for what you do? (→ Google Search)

• Demand type – Do you need to create demand first? (→ Paid Social, Content)

• Ticket size – High-ticket B2B favours Outbound, Partnerships, LinkedIn

• Sales cycle – Short cycles pair well with paid media and CRO

• Industry norms – Some sectors scale through SEO, others through outbound

A simple rule of thumb:

• High-intent need? → Search

• Education needed? → Content + Email

• Broad audience? → Paid Social

• Enterprise? → Outbound + ABM + Partnerships

If in doubt, test quickly with low-cost experiments before committing.

How many channels should we work on at once?

Focus on 2–3 active channels max.Anything more dilutes learning, slows execution, and burns team bandwidth.

A good structure is:

• 1 core acquisition channel

• 1 supporting channel (retargeting, lifecycle, CRO)

• 1 long-term channel (SEO, content, partnerships)

Mastery beats volume every time.

Should we prioritise paid or organic first?

Use paid to learn and organic to scale sustainably.

Paid channels:

• Fast validation

• High flexibility

• Great for testing messaging, ICPs, creative, landing pages

Organic channels:

• Compounding returns

• Build authority

• Lower long-term CAC

Startups often begin with paid to learn quickly, then invest in organic once the funnel is proven.

How do I know if a channel is working?

Use the three-channel test:

1. Efficiency

• CAC is sustainable

• CPA trends down over time

• ROAS improves with iteration

2. Scalability

• Can spend increase without destroying performance?

• Can we expand audiences or keywords?

3. Repeatability

• Are there documented learnings?

• Can new creative/ads/pages be produced consistently?

If a channel fails one of these, it’s a red flag.If it fails all three, pause it immediately.

How long should we test a new channel before deciding?

Most channels can be validated in 3–6 weeks if you have:

• Enough spend to generate meaningful data

• Clear hypotheses

• Simple experiments

• A functional funnel

Enterprise or outbound channels may require longer due to sales cycles.

A good benchmark:At least 80–150 conversions is the minimum dataset needed for any reliable conclusion.

Why does Paid Social often “not work” for companies?

Common causes:

• Weak messaging

• ICP too broad or unclear

• Not enough creative variation

• Funnel mismatch (awareness ads → bottom-of-funnel landing page)

• Underpowered budgets

• Wrong KPI focus (ROAS too early instead of CTR/CPC/lead quality)

Paid social is often blamed when it’s actually a funnel and messaging issue, not a channel issue.

Should we be on every social platform?

No — and most companies shouldn’t.

Choose platforms based on:

• Where your ICP actually spends time

• What format you can realistically produce (video vs static vs long-form)

• Whether your sales cycle requires education

• Whether your product has emotional, aspirational or social appeal

Most businesses only need one primary platform plus one supporting one.

Is SEO still worth investing in?

Yes — but only if you treat it as a business growth engine, not a content factory.

SEO works when:

• Technical foundations are fixed

• Keyword strategy aligns with ICP intent

• Content is high-quality, differentiated and distributed

• Internal linking is structured

• You have patience (3–6 months minimum)

SEO doesn’t work when:

• Content is generic

• There is no authority-building strategy

• Organic output is inconsistent

• There’s no distribution plan

SEO remains one of the highest-ROI channels long-term.

What’s the difference between demand generation and demand capture?

Demand Capture

You collect existing demand.Examples: Google Search, retargeting ads, pricing pages.

Demand Generation

You create demand from people who don’t yet know they have a problem.Examples: Paid social, content, thought leadership, podcasts.

A healthy growth strategy uses both, in the right sequence.

How do I pick between Google Ads vs Paid Social?

Choose Google Ads if:

• People actively search for your solution

• You have a clear ICP

• You offer a high-intent product

• You need immediate conversions

Choose Paid Social if:

• You need to educate or inspire the market

• Your product is visual or emotional

• You want to test creative angles

• You want to introduce a new category

Often, the best setup is both: Use paid social to create demand, and search to capture it.