@orangejoe.near [Posted on DevHub](/devgovgigs.near/widget/Post?id=1818) ## Solution: DevHub's Approach to Marketing to Developers for Retention & Growth # TL;DR: - **Focus**: Shift from traditional direct marketing to a comprehensive approach that maps the developer's journey to becoming a committed community member, regardless of whether it is their first touchpoint or an experienced NEAR developer. - **Engagement Tools**: Engagement will come from many approaches. Over time, use communication channels like mailing lists and social media to maintain this engagement. - **Social Media Strategy**: Beyond announcements, our social media will deliver actionable content tailored to developers, aiding in deeper engagement and understanding. - **Reputation**: Introducing a system where we will recognize developers for contributions and collaborations within the ecosystem. It's about building a reputation that reflects commitment, expertise, and influence. - **Mentoring "Buddy" Program**: Soon to be launched, this program will pair new developers with industry and ecosystem veterans for guidance and support, emphasizing the importance of human interactions in our community-building efforts. ***The essence:*** *DevHub is not just marketing to developers but curating a unique journey for them, ensuring they're engaged, recognized, and supported throughout.* # Our Plan Our new marketing approach focuses on the developer's journey from multiple perspectives. Whether it is their first interaction with us or a seasoned NEAR developer, we want to help empower the journey to becoming a loyal community member. While effective in the past, the traditional landscapes of direct marketing have started to show their limitations in truly capturing and nurturing this journey. Although hackathons and direct advertising can generate initial interest, they often need help to keep it long-term. Our refined strategy aims to change that. We will actively engage, support, and track developers participating in DevHub programs and activities-i.e., hackathons, workshops, etc- through a strategy that includes incentives, gamification, and educational tools. For example, tools like ShardDog will be integrated to start tracking and engagement. Still, we will leverage communication platforms like automated mailing lists and social media to keep up engagement over time. This approach allows us to see firsthand the evolution of a developer from a curious participant to an active contributor to the broader community. Furthermore, for developers already in the ecosystem, our presence on social media will be more than just a platform for announcements. It will serve as a waypoint on this journey, offering digestible, actionable content that nudges our community forward, step by step, towards deeper engagement and understanding—building out precise actions to engage on topics of interest to developers specifically. Integral to our community-building efforts is the introduction of a reputation system. Earned reputation represents a contribution, a collaboration, or a step taken to further individual growth and the community's progress. As developers engage, contribute, and collaborate, they don't just earn "points"; they gain status within our ecosystem. This reputation is a testament to their commitment, expertise, and influence, giving them recognition beyond mere numbers. In this way, we're not just incentivizing activity but celebrating and acknowledging the unique journey and value each developer brings to our community. This reputation will help build a "Buddy" program for mentoring and connecting developers. As we look to the future, this mentoring program is a pivotal component we're eager to introduce. Recognizing that technology and tools can only do so much, the human element remains irreplaceable. Through this program, seasoned developers and industry experts within our community will provide guidance, insights, and direct support to newcomers. This grassroots approach serves as an effective marketing strategy, but, more importantly, our community's seasoned developers and industry experts will provide guidance, insights, and direct support to ensure that every new developer is equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and support they need to thrive. By fostering these one-to-one human interactions, we're reinforcing our commitment to individual growth and the collective progress of our community. Essentially, we're not marketing to developers but creating a journey for them. And in doing so, we'll foster a community that is engaged and deeply connected to our mission and vision. 