Developer Content Strategies That Work (and Scale)

Creating technical content that attracts and engages developers is essential but can be challenging. Here’s how to build a developer content strategy that works and scales for your B2B technical products.

Where Does Developer Content Fit in the Marketing Funnel?

Understanding the marketing funnel is crucial for tailoring content to each stage of the customer journey. The funnel typically includes:

• Top-of-Funnel (TOFU): This stage is about creating awareness and attracting new visitors. TOFU content should be educational and informative.
• Middle-of-Funnel (MOFU): At this stage, potential customers learn more about your product. MOFU content should be detailed and persuasive.
• Bottom-of-Funnel (BOFU): Here, potential customers are ready to make a purchase. BOFU content should be highly targeted and promotional.

Different products and Ideal Customer Profiles (ICPs) will require variations in the funnel stages. For example, Strapi focuses on TOFU content to drive traffic and create brand awareness, while Intel’s Edge AI Developer Platform uses a mix of content across all funnel stages.

Measuring Content Value and Success

To measure the success of your developer content, consider the following metrics:

• Keyword-based measurement: Track how well your content ranks for relevant keywords.
• Persona-based measurement: Evaluate if your content helps move leads further along the buying process.
• Virality: Monitor if your content is being shared by influencers and users.
• Engagement: Check impressions, clicks, views, and time spent on the page.

The best metrics to track will depend on your goals. For increasing brand awareness, focus on virality and engagement. For generating leads, track persona-based measurements and conversion rates.

Prioritizing Content and Where to Start

When building a content strategy, prioritize based on your customers’ needs. Start by understanding their common questions and pain points. Create content that addresses these issues.

• Use Cases: Identify how customers are using your product and create content around these scenarios.
• Balancing Hype vs. Reality: Focus on actual use cases and problem-solving over trendy topics.
• Customer Intent: Prioritize keywords that indicate buying intent when analyzing search volumes.

Where Does SEO Fit In?

SEO is crucial for driving traffic to your developer content. There are two main approaches:

• Data-driven SEO: Use keyword research tools to find high-volume search terms.
• Intuition-driven SEO: Focus on topics you believe are important to your audience.

Balance data-driven and intuition-driven strategies. For example, target keywords one level up from your product, and talk to customers to understand their problems and relevant search terms.

Using Calls to Action (CTAs) in Developer Content

CTAs in developer content should be subtle and focus on providing value. Avoid overt sales pitches and instead:

• Provide Solutions: Focus on solving problems and helping users.
• Appropriate CTAs: Tailor CTAs to the content format and audience. For example, use CTAs to subscribe to newsletters in blog posts and to download free trials in white papers.
• Reduce Barriers: Make it easy for developers to try your product.
• Showcase in Action: Use demos, tutorials, and case studies to demonstrate your product.
• Offer Free Resources: Provide samples, code, or resources to encourage deeper engagement.
• Invite Interaction: Encourage replies to emails or participation in events.

Distribution

Effective distribution is key to getting your content in front of the right audience. Publish on platforms where developers are active, such as Medium, Stack Overflow, and GitHub. Consider syndicating content to other sites and engage with developers in relevant communities.

Beyond The Written Word

Diversify your content beyond written formats. Examples include:

• Webinars: Share knowledge and expertise with a large audience.
• Demos: Show how your product works.
• Video Tutorials: Provide immersive learning experiences.
• Short-form Videos: Use platforms where your audience is active.
• Influencer Outreach: Partner with developer influencers to reach a wider audience.

Is Refreshing Content Worth It?

Refreshing content is important to keep it relevant and useful. Prioritize updating popular content and consider using AI tools to help with the process.

Dev Content Strategy

Creating a technical content strategy is complex and ongoing. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. The best strategy evolves through long-term testing and iteration. Focus on creating valuable, informative content for your target audience, and regularly review and adjust your strategy as needed.

For more information on scaling technical content or to learn how we work with startups, connect with us today.