Gen Z Rejects Links

Steve Bartlett demonstrated a counter-intuitive marketing approach that prioritizes organic discovery and FOMO over traditional direct marketing tactics. His strategy for launching the Bebo app proved highly successful, achieving 250,000 downloads in the first month with zero ad spend.

Key Points:

• Traditional Marketing vs. New Approach:

  • Engineers wanted trackable UTM links and direct call-to-actions
  • Steve rejected using any links, claiming "nobody posts links on Twitter"

• Core Marketing Philosophy:

  • Focus on creating FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
  • Make people feel they're discovering something, not being sold to
  • Multiple exposures are more effective than direct links

• Content Strategy:

  • Used memes instead of promotional messages
  • Created content about people being "annoyed" by hearing about Bebo too much
  • Leveraged network of Twitter accounts with combined 50M followers

• Psychology Behind the Approach:

  • People who aren't hearing about it feel out of the loop
  • Natural curiosity drives them to Google the app themselves
  • Being "annoyed" about hearing something too much creates more buzz than being sold to

• Results:

  • Hit #1 on app store charts
  • Achieved 250,000 downloads in first month
  • Spent $0 on marketing
  • Proved that indirect marketing can be more effective than traditional approaches