by David I | Jul 27, 2017 | Developer Marketing, Developer Outreach, Developer Relations, DevRelate |
In my upcoming webinar, “Developer Marketing & Developer Relations – Similarities & Differences” (August 8 & 10, 2017) I’ll be comparing and contrasting the educational background, skills set, organizational reporting, roles and responsibilities, work done and shared. In this blog post I’ll list a wide range of the roles, responsibilities and work done by members of the developer marketing and developer relations teams. Some of these items will be primarily done by one group of the other. At the same time, there may be a secondary role and a shared role in some of the aspects of a well coordinated developer outreach and advocacy program. Depending on the size of the company, developer program and team member background, there may be less or more items to cover. There may also be more overlap of responsibilities for some companies.
As I look inside companies that currently have developer relations programs, I find a common set of program features. In larger developer focused companies you’ll usually find a dedicated team of developer marketing and developer relations staff. Looking deeper into most developer outreach programs and identifying the active team members, I find a wider collection of marketing specialists, partner managers, developer advocates, customer success staff, R&D engineers, business development managers and community leaders. To orchestrate such a wide variety of helpers takes a clear list of roles and responsibilities.
Roles and Responsibilities
Here is my extended list of developer marketing and developer relations roles and responsibilities. These are listed in no specific order or priority. I’ve added my own assignments (primary, secondary, and shared) for each of the aspects listed. Your organization and experience may identify with different items.
| Roles & Responsibilities (primary, secondary, shared) |
Developer Marketing |
Developer Relations |
| Demand Generation |
Primary |
Secondary |
| Customer Lifecycle |
Primary |
Secondary |
| Social Media |
Shared |
Shared |
| Social Ad Campaigns |
Primary |
|
| Content/Events Calendar |
Primary |
|
| Email Campaigns |
Primary |
|
| Brand Marketing |
Primary |
|
| PR |
Primary |
|
| Budget |
Primary |
|
| Contests |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Events / Meetups |
Shared |
Shared |
| SEO |
Primary |
|
| Strategic Planning |
Shared |
Shared |
| Technology Road Maps / Briefings |
|
Primary |
| Public Speaking / Presentations |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Blogging |
Shared |
Shared |
| Webinars |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Conferences |
Shared |
Shared |
| Hackathons |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Office Hours |
|
Primary |
| Demos |
|
Primary |
| Sample Code |
|
Primary |
| Tutorials |
|
Primary |
| Online Q&A |
|
Primary |
| Developer Feedback |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Market Research |
Primary |
|
| Success Stories |
Primary |
Secondary |
| Developer Quotes |
Primary |
Secondary |
| Product Videos |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Technical/HowTo Videos |
|
Primary |
| Online Community |
Secondary |
Primary |
| Prototypes, POCs |
|
Primary |
What’s on your list of Roles and Responsibilities?
It will be great to hear your thoughts, comments and additional items via email or during the upcoming DevRelate webinar, August 8th & 10th. Send me an email with your own experiences and history.
David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
by David I | Jul 11, 2017 | Developer Marketing, Developer Relations, DevRelate |
On the road to my August 2017 DevRelate webinar, “Developer Marketing & Developer Relations – Similarities & Differences“, August 8 & 10, I am putting together background research and information about several high level aspects for each team member. In this blog post I am starting with a focus on education, skills and organizational reporting. Take a look at each of the aspects and let me know what you think about the details related to your own experiences and knowledge of industry experts you interact with. In subsequent blog posts I’ll drill down into roles, responsibilities, work done, audiences, metrics, ROI and other aspects.
Education
In looking at a wide range of Developer Marketing and Developer Relations practitioners active in the technology products, devices, platforms and services, I’ve found common characteristics, degree attainment, and focus areas. Of course there are many journeys that we take to get to a specific Developer Marketing and Developer Relations position. Do these educational backgrounds resonate with you and others you know?
- Developer Marketing: BA, BS, MA, MS, MBA and/or PhD in Marketing, Communications, Business Administration, Economics, Public Relations, Journalism, Computer Science, Software Engineering, International Business, Management, Finance, Creative Writing.
- Developer Relations: BA, BS, MA, MS and/or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics.
Skills
In the wide array of skills and experiences, you can often find some of the following listed for Developer Marketing and Developer Relations team members. There can be a wide range of past experiences, job history and interest areas. Some differences can be traced to the industry, product, service, device, platform or other positions held by each member of the developer outreach team.
- Developer Marketing: Messaging, Writing, Demand Generation, Marketing Campaigns, Go To Market Strategies, Budgets, Branding, Social Media, Events, PR, AR, Advertising.
- Developer Relations: Programming, Public Speaking, Demonstrations, Webinars, Videos, Developer Advocacy/Evangelism, Technical Writing, Blogging.
Ideal Report To
Depending on the size and complexity of the company, products, services, devices, platforms and other technology areas, Developer Marketing and Developer Relations leaders and team members would ideally like to report to one (or more) of the following executive level members and organizations.
- Developer Marketing – report to the CMO as part of the Corporate Marketing organization.
- Developer Relations – report to the CTO and be part of the Software Engineering organization.
Are there other education, skills and organizational reporting aspects that you’ve experienced or found?
There is never a college degree, experience level, job history and organizational structure that fits neatly for all Developer Marketing and Developer Relations professionals in each industry and company for today’s software, devices, platforms and services world. In looking at my network of friends and job requirements postings, I’ve found any number of additional aspects that could be (should be) included. Send me an email with your own experiences and history and I’ll consider them for the upcoming DevRelate webinar in August.
David Intersimone “David I”
Vice President of Developer Communities
Evans Data Corporation
davidi@evansdata.com
Blog: https://www.devrelate.com/blog/
Skype: davidi99
Twitter: @davidi99
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidi99/
