Trading up the chain refers to a method of @Media Manipulation in which a growth hacker will take content that has been cultivated on smaller publications as articles, blogs, etc. and submit those articles to slightly larger publications as news tips—repeating this process multiple times. The content created in the first link(s) in the chain—typically budding bloggers or publications with minimal resources—is often the result of the growth hacker sending a pre-written blog, article, etc. as a suggested story. Since this first link is publishing what is effectively donated story, they're not required to provide @FTC Disclosure; nor is any publication up the chain. @Trading Up The Chain is extremely effective in creating what appears to be @Earned Media and was first popularized in @Trust Me I'm Lying by @Ryan Holiday.

Tags

• #marketing-lexicon
• #trust-me-im-lying (See: @Trust Me I'm Lying)