[Case Study] Video content as a Developer Relations strategy
Tags: devrel, beginners, showdev
Published: 2019-11-22 17:19:20

In this video, I discuss how Flutter, Convertkit, and AWS do an excellent job at using video content as a Developer Relations strategy:

{% youtube jsslS6ffmRY %}

Transcript:

Hi! Welcome back to my channel!

In the last video, we discussed community-driven developer relations strategies. And in this video, I want to look at content-driven developer relations strategies. And I particularly want to talk about video-driven content.

As a user, my basic expectation from a piece of content about a product that I am trying to use is that it meets me where I am and helps me achieve my goals.

I saw this video on YouTube about [every programming tutorial ever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAlSjtxy5ak).
It was so accurate -- like, I think that's how most of the tech content is. Especially the programming tutorials in video format are -- is that you start off with something simple and by the end of like, an 8-minutes video, they have like a fully functional application. And as a user, it makes me feel kind of stupid for not knowing how to bridge that gap and
also frustrated because it did not really teach me what I need to do.
So the videos that I appreciate as a viewer and as a user are videos that are empathetic and understand where I am as a user and then try to take me to the level where I am trying to be.

And a product that does this extremely well is [Flutter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yr8F2S3Amas&list=PLOU2XLYxmsIK0r_D-zWcmJ1plIcDNnRkK). Flutter is Google's UI toolkit for building compiled applications from a single codebase. And they have this amazing video series called "The Boring Flutter Development Show" where they take you behind the scenes in the app development process. You can see them getting frustrated by things not working, or just staring at the screen
trying to figure things out, or asking for help. Basically being every normal user ever. 

And that is so comforting to know that this technology is complex, so it's okay if I, as a user, don't get it at the first shot. It's okay if I struggle with it because these people, who are experts at this technology, also struggle with it. So I think it builds a very human, empathetic connection with the user, and I feel them being in my corner and rooting for me. And it gives me the confidence to keep going and keep trying things out until it works. 

Another company that follows the same principle or meeting the users where they are and then providing video content to take them where they want to be is ConvertKit. ConvertKit is an email marketing platform for creators. So most of its users are creative entrepreneurs. And the Convertkit team seems to be really good at understanding their users on a very real level.

If you look at their [YouTube videos](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7uOQK6nAYXbrB2pDeirBFA), it's not only about using Convertkit features or only product marketing videos but it is videos that help me as a creator to answer questions that I might have in my creative journey.
They have content about how to create digital products or how to win creative battles. All these videos help me as a creator to up my game.
So I have more confidence in the features because I think that if they are so attuned to their users' needs in the YouTube content that they create, they would also be equally mindful in the features that they put out for me. So this building trust and thought leadership through video content is something I think Convertkit does really well.

And the third organization I want to talk about is AWS. I find their video strategy to be innovative in terms of platform. In addition to a normal YouTube channel, AWS has a Twitch livestream. So I think that is another example of meeting the users where they are -- Not all users
would be on YouTube; a small number, but a significant number, might also be on Twitch. Like, I watch a lot of Dungeons and Dragons on Twitch, so I do find myself switching between YouTube and Twitch. And I think if I am going to watch a livestreaming app development content, my natural inclination would be to watch it on Twitch instead of YouTube. That's why I am very interested in following their journey.

So that's it for today. I hope this video was helpful. In next week's video, I want to discuss the companies that I think do an excellent job
of using blogging as a Developer Relations strategy.

I will see you in the next video. Bye!