56. I made it to the Times Square!

Not a filter, not AI — just my actual face in actual New York. Still wrapping my head around it. 🫢

Last night I got this completely unexpected email -

I’ve been on Topmate.io, a platform for experts to monetize their knowledge, for a while now, offering growth marketing advice to founders and marketers. As part of the ‘Topmate Elite’ campaign, where they feature some of their experts in the middle of Manhattan, my face was on Times Square! 😱

My first reaction was - it must be a fake ‘personalized’ email. You know the ones that have your name on the subject line, but the content is as generic as most corporate mission statements.

Then I clicked on the links and saw the images -

Ah - this must be AI-generated. We have all seen such images these days, right?

I was going to dismiss it when I thought of checking with the CEO, Ankit, who is always very prompt in his responses.

Only this time, I was shocked by his response! 😱

Throughout my 20-year marketing career, I have designed numerous campaigns, but I never expected to be featured in one myself. Thank you, Topmate.io, for this surreal moment.

The reason I am writing about it in my newsletter, which focuses on Growth Science, is that this is an excellent example of Certificate/Praise Marketing - one of the most effective yet underutilized growth hacks.

The idea is so simple. We all want to look smart, don’t we? 😎

And nothing flatters our ego more than being recognised for an accomplishment.

Make it easy to share with a flattering image, and you have got on your hands a viral marketing engine! 💵 💵 💵

As my idol

Tom Orbach

says in this fabulous newsletter, he used this tactic to generate 1,000+ social shares.

Every personalized certificate creates 3 powerful effects:

🏆 It taps into status-seeking behavior → People love showing off achievements that make them look skilled and successful.

🧲 It creates a sense of community → Certificates make people feel part of an exclusive group of achievers.

✅ It requires absolutely zero effort → Unlike other UGC, users don’t need to create anything - just download the photo and share :)

-Excerpt from Your #1 marketing channel is people's egos by Tom Orbach

For B2B businesses, it can turn your users into ambassadors who can yield a significant multiplier effect through their network.

When I searched for ‘Topmate billboard’ on Google, I got about 20,000+ results. On LinkedIn, most posts sharing this billboard feature news received at least 50 likes.

This is also an excellent example of how spending on brand marketing results in a viral growth marketing campaign that spans almost all channels (FB, IG, LinkedIn, Twitter, YT, TikTok, and even Substack) 😉

Moreover, the feeling of FOMO among other experts on Topmate.io may encourage them to engage more with the platform. Win! Win! Win! 🏆 🏆 🏆

Certificate/Praise Marketing is rooted in the basic human desire to be recognized. The success of such a campaign would be driven by -

1. The credibility and prestige of the badge - I recently completed two Ironman 70.3 events in the last four months, but my parents seem more excited by the fact that my face appeared on a billboard for a few seconds. A billboard is visible, instantly understandable, and easily shared with others. I am the topic of discussion in many family WhatsApp groups today 😉
   

2. The exclusivity of the badge - It should feel earned, like a privilege. It should not be something anyone can achieve easily. A notable example is LinkedIn's Top Voice program, which is invitation-only.

3. It should be easy to share. My e-wallet gave me this badge for joining their eco fun run, which I love, but there’s no shareable link or clear explanation. Even if I post a screenshot, it doesn’t tell the whole story. A good badge should be instantly shareable and self-explanatory.

🎯 If you’re a B2B business, here are three certificate/praise marketing ideas you can explore -

1. Curated Authority Lists - Highlight thought leaders in your ecosystem, like Favikon’s Top LinkedIn Influencer List or G2’s Grid Reports. Now, you might think this will be very resource-intensive to curate, but you can start by simply posting a list on LinkedIn. For example, I posted about the best marketing newsletters to follow, and it received engagement from most of the influencers I tagged in it.

2. Partner Excellence Awards - Celebrate your top-performing partners or clients just like the Shopify Commerce Awards, HubSpot Impact Awards, or MoEngage’s Partner Day. Recognition = Retention. And when your partners proudly share their win, it creates a PR loop that promotes you in return. The simplest way to execute this would be to choose some partners you would like to recognize, and then create a simple certificate and share it on LinkedIn, tagging the partner.

3. Make Data Personal (and Shareable) - Turn usage or engagement data into storytelling moments — like Spotify Wrapped. It’s a powerful way to personalize your relationship with your customers - to show them that you see them as a unique user. After all, no two humans use a product the same way. But this is a complex data science project. The simplest way to implement this idea might be to create a spoof of the wrap (using a tool like this) that your users might find engaging enough to share.

Hope you enjoyed this. Each month, I explain a powerful growth marketing idea. Subscribe to this newsletter to be notified when I post.

If you want personalized growth marketing advice, please check out my Topmate profile