Developer relations, a.k.a DevRel in the technology industry, involves advocacy, evangelism and liaising. There’s no argument that technology plays a major role in most organizational operations. Thus, connecting with your technical professionals is a critical activity that can help foster effective intercommunication between business leaders and core constituents – the DevOps teams and practitioners.
Fixate’s founders have a solid understanding of DevRel. Their experience in developer advocacy and evangelism is at the heart of their technical content creation services.
The Dawn of DevRel
It may seem like an overgeneralization to say that software developers are different from other buyers. However, their process for discovering, validating, and implementing technologies is unique to them and to the software development life cycle.
Developers tend to want to test and review tools themselves before talking to anyone. They normally expect to learn from their peers. And, they usually focus on solving problems, not on marketing messages.
As a result, companies that aim to engage external developers can’t rely on typical marketing and sales methodology. They need to tailor their approach so that they demonstrate more credibility and show more technical depth. They need to be stewards of technology, rather than marketers of products. That’s why developer relations was born.
Defining Developer Relations
Developer relations, which some referred to as developer advocacy, is a dedicated department in some technology organizations. But DevRel is better thought of as a category of activities that share a strategic objective. The goal of DevRel is to connect with and inspire developers from outside of your organization. You also want to gain their trust and establish credibility with them. That way, they will use your products with confidence.
DevRel includes the creation of an engagement strategy. Developer advocates create opportunities and make spaces for connections and conversations with developers. Actually, they help to create and maintain a developer community.
Developer advocates also produce technical messaging for marketing to developers. In some businesses where partnerships are a big part of the company’s engagement style, there is an ecosystem team that handles the technical aspects of building and publishing integrations.
Designing Your DevRel Strategy
DevRel will look different in every organization, depending on its size, mission, products, target consumers, and more. However, organizations that rely on strong developer relations often have:
- Developer advocates, who lead technical content creation.
- Community members, who set up and manage spaces for external developers.
- Marketing content created by DevOps peers and influential practitioners.
DevOps professionals may be part of your organizational structure, or they may be your target audience. Perhaps both! Either way, good developer relations creates a foundation for engaging and marketing to developers, and for leveraging the power of practitioner marketing.
To learn how Fixate can support your DevRel strategy, schedule a meeting. All meetings are followed up with pricing details.