I gave a new talk on the Digital Marketing stage at Dublin Web Summit this week. It was called Enabling and Celebrating The Doers.
It was only a 15 minute slot, but the theme was to take a quick peak at the developer community; its size, make up, and what it produces. Then dip into the playbook of some of the companies doing a good job of engaging with it. Finally wrapping up with some ideas on how to celebrate the individuals that create awesome things with your tools.
Hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think, and thanks for all the kind comments received on Twitter afterwards.
1. ENABLING AND CELEBRATING THE DOERS
JAMES PARTON, DIRECTOR OF EUROPE, TWILIO
@JAMESPARTON
WWW.TWILIO.COM
635 HARRISON ST., SAN FRANCISCO CA
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As marketers you have no doubt been hearing about developers and the amazing things they are building
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This talk dips into the playbook of companies that have built businesses intrinsically linked to their ability to win the trust of the developer community.
3. 18.2 million developers globally in 2013
Source: Evans Data Corp
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So lets start by looking at the size of the developer community
4. more than 6% annual growth for next 6 years
Source: Evans Data Corp
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5. SEGMENTATION BASED ON END GOAL
CODE FOR ENJOYMENT = Hackers
CODE TO BUILD A BUSINESS = Entrepreneurs
CODE TO SOLVE A COMPANY CHALLENGE = Corporate Devs
CODE TO MAKE A LIVING = Guns for Hire
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So what are all those developers doing?!
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Developers build. That’s what they tell us that gets them out of bed in the morning. !
They build for fun, they build to learn, they build to solve problems, they build to change the world.!
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These segments are not mutually exclusive e.g. Corp developer attending a hack at weekend for fun.!
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And what are the outcomes?!
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You have startups like What’s App disrupting the 2.1 trillion dollar Telecom industry!
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Uber disrupting transportation and Air BnB disrupting accommodation - all long established and traditional sectors rip for a new entrant with a fresh business
model and better user experience.!
7. hellolamppost.co.uk
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They are also an amazing creative talent pool. !
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Give them the tools and they will come up with something amazing. !
8. hackdaymanifesto.com
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The rub for marketing folks is this community is notoriously anti marketing. You can't reach them using the standard marketing playbook.!
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More and more brands are jumping on the "hack day" band wagon. Let me tell you pizza and red bull is not a developer marketing plan. Hacks are becoming
much more specialized. Think about the outcomes. Never sponsor something you don’t attend and engage with. It’s not a branding exercise - its an
enabling and engagement exercise.!
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9. 9,992
8,000
32
2005
November 2012
September 2013
Source: Programmable Web
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The advent of developer marketing is closely linked with the rise in API marketing.!
Show if hands on how many of you are familiar with APIs?!
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Time doesn't allow for a deep dive into APIs right now, but its worth spending some time digging into what APIs mean for your business. It's no surprise that
the leaders in developer marketing are API providers!
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11. THESE COMPANIES REALIZE THEY ARE
ONLY SUCCESSFUL IF THEIR CUSTOMERS
ARE SUCCESSFUL
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API and Platform companies only succeed if their customers grow and succeed.!
So lets look inside the play books of the leaders.!
Think about how intrinsic that success link is with your company. !
Is this just a science experiment or an innovation department project?!
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DOers and builders need tools.!
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You need to be able to offer a tool or a service that solves a problem or adds value for the developer.!
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Like makes a phone call, sends a text message, sends an email, takes a payment.!
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Clear documentation - treating documentation as a product.!
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Quick start guides, tutorials and code samples!
Speed to “hello world” is vital.!
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And when self service isn’t enough. Putting a human face to hard core technology.!
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The role of the developer evangelist. !
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But great tools, a self service channel and evangelism is not enough.!
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It has to be a cultural level commitment to serve. It has to be in the DNA of the company.!
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One in particular has taken on a life of its own inside Twilio.!
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Celebrating our customers and making hero’s!
Case studies & PR!