In the developer marketing funnel, helping your audience discover your product or service is called the awareness stage. Here, you’re looking to create content that captures developers’ attention. You want to pique their interest with articles that address their pain points and provide information about your solution.
In the awareness stage, crafting content requires keeping specific objectives in mind:
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Creating a connection and rapport with your reader, which will convert your audience to customers
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Capturing the reader’s attention to build trust in and loyalty to your brand
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Making the reader aware of your brand and your product or service, as well as how your solution will benefit their development process
In this blog post, we’ll explore creating content that resonates in the awareness stage of the developer marketing funnel and examine strategies for capturing — and maintaining — your developer audience’s attention.
Unpacking the Developer Awareness Stage
The marketing funnel consists of three stages: awareness, evaluation, and conversion. The first stage — awareness — is the audience’s initial toe-dip into your content and service. In the evaluation stage, developers are actively considering adopting your product, so content written for this funnel stage highlights your product’s value proposition. Finally, there’s the conversion stage, where developers are nearly ready to commit to your product and seek content that seals the deal.
Each stage of the developer marketing funnel has different objectives and requires particular kinds of content. In this article, we’ll focus on the awareness stage — but we won’t stop there! This is just the first installment of a three-part series, where we’ll walk through each stage of the developer marketing funnel in detail.
But, for now, let’s turn back to the awareness stage.
Developers have an insatiable thirst for educational content. Fueled by curiosity and an inclination towards problem-solving, they actively seek solutions to their development woes while perusing content online. These qualities mean developers are more than adopters: They’re trend hunters eager to embrace emerging technologies and incorporate them into their projects.
But developers won’t find just any content impactful. Articles riddled with buzzwords and ultra-high-level marketing fluff aren’t going to yield the desired results. For developers, authenticity is key. Content also needs to be engaging, educational, and technically precise.
In short, awareness stage content must combine authenticity and technical depth to earn developers’ trust.
Introducing the Novelty of New Tech
In the awareness stage, content should guide developers into new technological realms. Content written for the awareness stage should invite the reader’s attention with a blend of innovation and information. By unraveling complex concepts, addressing challenges, and showcasing emerging trends, your content can ignite curiosity and encourage developers to navigate new territory.
Insightful blog posts and detailed articles act as a compass, directing readers toward knowledge and innovation — and demonstrating how your product or solution supports these endeavors.
Let’s review some content strategies that resonate well at the awareness stage.
Creating High-Level Overviews
High-level overviews are essential to the awareness stage. They serve as entry points into the intricate technological landscape of a brand or product, helping orient developers with the practices, concepts, and terminology necessary to build on their development skills.
These high-level articles also offer context and the “why” behind solutions. They weave a story, tracing the evolution of technologies and showing the motivations behind their adoption. This narrative deepens developers’ understanding and positions your organization as a knowledgeable, technologically sound source of information.
More than just a knowledge resource, these high-level concept introductions establish a connection between you and your developer audience. In the awareness stage, developers seek more than new features — they seek comprehension. By providing structured insights through various content forms, you can capture their attention and build a foundation for sustained engagement, transforming developers into informed and invested advocates for the technology they’re about to explore — including your own.
Sharing Expertise
Sharing only surface-level information in the awareness stage is not enough. Developers crave expert perspectives and insights. Creating content that showcases expert opinions and discussions on the latest trends provides your developer audiences with an in-depth, approachable view of emerging technologies, providing resources to help them navigate new technologies.
Aligning your brand with these trends and technologies also creates a symbiotic relationship. Developers see not just a product but a partner in the journey of technological exploration. Embracing and sharing expertise underscores your brand’s commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation, positioning you as a trusted guide. It establishes your organization as a thought leader invested in the same conversations that fuel developers’ curiosity.
Hosting Webinars
Webinars also play an important role in the awareness stage. Serving as an interactive forum where developers can delve deeper into emerging technologies, webinars create space for real-time engagement and learning. They enable your brand to jump into a dynamic, high-impact dialogue with the developer audience you seek to connect with.
In webinars, developers aren’t just hearing about your product and its features — they’re witnessing it in action, seeing it as a natural solution for their development challenges.
Featuring product experts as guides adds an invaluable layer to the learning experience. These experts possess a nuanced understanding — not just of the technology but of its practical applications. As they navigate the intricacies, they subtly integrate the product’s narrative, showcasing its relevance and capabilities within the modern tech ecosystem.
These sessions serve as live testimonials, transforming awareness into a journey of discovery where your brand becomes not just a provider but a trusted companion to the developer.
Showcasing Value in the Information Marketplace
Navigating the delicate balance between education and promotion requires a strategic blend of subtlety and value-driven content.
Before diving into the writing process, ensure awareness stage content centers on solving real-world developer challenges. Even high-level content should be backed by use cases and practical examples illustrating how your product’s features can overcome these challenges. Overall, articles should be educational, actionable, and attuned to developer realities.
Below are different kinds of content that can showcase your solution’s value while maintaining an informational bent.
Thought Leadership Pieces
Thought leadership pieces help capture developer interest by creating thought-provoking, inspiring narratives relevant to industry shifts and technological trends. These pieces demonstrate to your information-hungry developer audience that you keep up with innovations, have a keen eye for new trends, and, by extension, keep your solution current.
Introductory Tutorials
Introductory tutorials educate readers on how to use a specific product. These tutorials can feature short examples highlighting unique features and demonstrating your tool’s value proposition. They’re all about communicating value using a practical demonstration instead of a high-level sales piece.
Because developers are looking for products that walk the walk and not just talk the talk, introductory tutorials are a great way to get them to try your product firsthand. And by encouraging the developer to follow along using a free trial, you’re enabling them to see your solution in action.
Hands-On Series
Offering a hands-on tutorial series facilitates discussing existing or emerging technologies while showing how your product works. When you create a series of articles — as opposed to a one-off piece — readers become more familiar with the programming languages, tools, and requirements needed to use your product.
Additionally, tutorial series help you transition to the evaluation stage. Because developers have been able to follow a collection of tutorials and build on their familiarity with your product as they follow along, they’re primed for the more in-depth tutorials and technical overviews that accompany this next stage.
Next Steps
When crafting content for the awareness stage in the developer marketing funnel, it’s essential to balance educating and introducing your product or service. Creating a mix of high-level and hands-on articles highlighting your brand’s commitment to learning helps situate you as a reliable, trustworthy source — which is instrumental to building a relationship with the developer community.
From introductory and hands-on tutorials to thought leadership pieces and webinars, content produced in the awareness stage is instrumental in creating a foundational connection that will support you down your marketing funnel. When you establish yourself as an active participant in the tech industry — learning and growing alongside your readers — you demonstrate your commitment to your developer audience. This commitment will often be the deciding factor in a developer’s interest in your brand (and solution).
Don’t take a chance on creating awareness content that may miss the mark. Contact ContentLab for content that resonates at every stage of the marketing funnel. And be sure to catch the second part of this series, where we’ll dive into how to create content for the evaluation stage!
