While I do agree that in the example article mentioned all those were definitely Basic Marketing 101, I actually believe that "growth hacking" is real and is more of trying new things that no one has done before. These strategies/tactics are unique and different to every business depending on several factors such as type of business, target market, location, etc. These are also time sensitive and have a life cycle, meaning what worked 5 years ago will likely not work today.

It's a constantly shifting landscape with new unique opportunities appearing everywhere, you just need to find them and when you find something showing any promise, you gotta EXECUTE. And expect to fail (waste your time) often. When it happens, you shrug it off, learn from it, and look for another "hack".

Also, keep in mind that when someone finds and establishes a real "growth hack" that works wonders for their business, it will be a gold mine and they will 100% NOT be sharing it with anyone. They will try and milk it as long as they can. Once it's milked dry, that's when the "gurus" come out and share them (for money AKA paid courses, or blog views), literally at the end of the life cycle when it's not worth keeping a secret anymore.