REACHES DEVELOPERS WITH ADVOCATECREATED CONTENT

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1 A N A DVOC ATE M A R K E TI N G SUCCESS S TO RY FE ATURING HOW MONGODB REACHES DEVELOPERS WITH ADVOCATECREATED CONTENT How advocate marketing helped MongoDB create more engaging content and reach a wider audience through trusted channels IN NFFLLUUI TI ITVI EV. E CO. CMO M

2 How MongoDB Reaches Developers With Advocate-Created Content ABOUT MONGODB Database software 2007 Founded Headquartered in New A global company: Users: MongoDB is the Annual conference: York City and Palo Alto 600+ employees leading non-relational MongoDB World across 18 countries database, downloaded more than 20 million times HIGHLIGHTS: MONGODB S ADVOCACY HUB ME ET THE MONGODB ADVOCACY TE AM MongoDB was creating powerful content, but the team wanted to expand how they engaged advocates in the developer community. After launching The MongoDB Advocacy Hub with Influitive, MongoDB integrated developer advocates seamlessly into their content creation and distribution strategy, allowing them to boost engagement and increase the company s content distribution to customers and prospects. By integrating their content marketing strategy with an advocate marketing program, the MongoDB team worked smarter not harder to generate: 140,000 50, clicks on content shared by advocates website visits in four months from advocate social shares advocate social shares on average per quarter 24 advocate-authored blog posts written in three weeks 220+ online reviews on 3rd party sites 2 Meagen Eisenberg CMO Francesca Krihely Senior Manager, Content Marketing Meghan Gill Director of Demand Generation & Community

3 THE CHALLENGE: TURNING DEVELOPERS WHO HATE MARKETING INTO CONTENT MARKETERS Software developers have challenging and demanding roles, and require tools and resources that simplify their workflow and empower their teams. When exploring new technologies, they look to their peers for advice at conferences, in the blogosphere and on online review sites. When engaging developers, marketers at a company like MongoDB have to take special care to speak to their specific challenges and provide their audience with credible proof points that articulate customer benefits. Meghan Gill, Director of Demand Generation & Community, and Francesca Krihely, Senior Manager, Content Marketing, were tasked with creating more content, reaching a wider audience and driving demand. They knew that if they wanted to create truly engaging content that captured the minds of their prospects, they d need the help of their biggest fans within the developer community. Our advocates can say things that make our brand more credible, says Francesca. By telling their stories, our advocates could help us build trust among other developers. MongoDB already had advocates who were doing great community work on their own, such as hosting meetups and writing the occasional blog post. However, bringing all of these stories together and tracking them proved challenging. In the past, Francesca would reach out to customers on a one-by-one basis and ask them to write their story. She d help them come up with a topic, offer editorial support, and encourage them to publish on a specific day. Between all of the back and forth, it could take Francesca a month and a half to get just a short testimonial. We didn't have a scalable way to figure out who we'd reached out to recently, or who might be interested in writing a particular story, says Meghan. We needed a better way to manage our content development process and our relationships with enthusiastic advocates. 3

4 ENGAGING THE DEVELOPER COMMUNITY WITH A FORMAL ADVOCACY PROGRAM MongoDB decided to start a formal advocacy program using Influitive s AdvocateHub a platform CMO Meagen Eisenberg had successfully used at her previous company. Based on Meagen s experience, I knew that an advocate marketing program would streamline our work while allowing us to nurture more advocates, so they would be inclined to help us with our content, says Meghan. In September 2015, The MongoDB Advocacy Hub was launched. The program gives MongoDB s customers access to exclusive content, educational material, contests, and the company s network of developers. MongoDB can also ask members to complete advocacy challenges that will both elevate their advocates' online persona and help the company reach its goals. These requests range from sharing MongoDB content on social media, to writing product reviews or blogs. When advocates complete a task, they receive recognition from MongoDB and are often publicly thanked in the program for other advocates to see. The program also makes tracking and measuring the impact of advocate activity easier for MongoDB. I was skeptical at first, says Francesca. I thought maybe advocacy will work for us. I wasn t expecting it to fundamentally evolve the way we work with and reward our customers. MongoDB advocates loved that they could showcase their knowledge, expand their networks, learn from their peers and build social capital through the program. They were happy to be at the heart of MongoDB s content strategy. Getting in on the ground floor with this new way of interacting with [MongoDB s] other customers made me feel like, Hey, we truly value you as a person and as a user. It connects you not only to MongoDB, but to the developer community at large. Being a part of that is always fun, just to see where the product is going and how other people are using it. -Douglas Duncan, database administrator and MongoDB Advocacy Hub member 4

5 PARTNERING WITH ADVOCATES TO CAPTURE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES Here s how the MongoDB team leverages their advocates to create more and better content at scale: 1. Coming up with ideas that resonate with buyers The MongoDB team focuses on creating content that will appeal to their audience. So, they poll advocates to figure out what to prioritize in the content calendar. Asking for ideas is also a great litmus test to see which content will resonate with potential buyers, says Francesca. Our advocates are happy to help us shape the direction of our content, says Meagan. Seeking their opinion in advance builds excitement, as advocates look forward to seeing their suggestions in print. 2. Becoming honorary members of the MongoDB content team MongoDB s developer advocates contribute technical content to the blog. For example, Francesca once asked advocates to assist with a blog post that she was writing about retail technology. I m not an expert in retail technology, but our advocates are, she says. Thanks to their contributions, I was able to publish a helpful post on the topic that is both informative and speaks to our prospects interest. To generate more advocate-authored content, Francesca ran a contest for her 28th birthday asking advocates to submit 28 blogs within three weeks. By making her request personal and fun, Francesca received 24 blogs authored by her advocates. A few of them actually started blogging on a regular basis outside of the challenges, she says. 5

6 MOBILIZING ADVOCATES TO INCREASE BRAND REACH AND TRUST 3. Sharing content to help MongoDB reach a wider audience MongoDB makes it easy for advocates to share content with their social networks by providing sample messaging to them. The team also encourages advocates to write about MongoDB in their own words through a Tweet of the Week challenge. Francesca asks advocates to submit their self-authored tweets about MongoDB and picks one winner to highlight in the community each week. Advocates are excited to share as the content helps brand their digital persona and raises their professional profile. These activities also help MongoDB extend their reach through their advocates' networks. 4. Training advocates to speak at live events The conference circuit is a great way for technical professionals to increase their professional profile. But, getting up in front of a crowd of your peers can be intimidating. MongoDB teaches their advocates how to be better public speakers by offering them time with the same speaking coach that advises MongoDB s executives. Advocates can connect to the coach through a webinar, making it easy for even those across the globe to get access to the material. It s a win-win opportunity: advocates can have a rewarding experience and drive brand awareness for MongoDB. Thinking about the intermediate steps is important when building an advocacy program, says Meghan. What will it take to make someone a speaker, blogger or content creator for your company? MongoDB advocates enjoying a local user meetup. 6

7 MOBILIZING ADVOCATES TO INCREASE BRAND REACH AND TRUST 5. Encouraging advocates to write reviews Developers often search for peer reviews on technology websites and forums before they buy. MongoDB wanted their advocates to write reviews on Gartner Peer Insights, a new tech review site run by the research firm Gartner. Getting a few reviews on the site is difficult as the review writing process is time consuming, and Gartner puts each review through a long vetting process to confirm authenticity. Francesca knew this could be the perfect way to boost MongoDB s brand recognition and give their advocates a chance to show off their expertise. So she challenged them to visit the site and write honest reviews that would help their peers make better decisions. As a result, MongoDB quickly had 20 new, advocate-generated reviews, which helped put them ahead of large, wellestablished competitors like Oracle and Microsoft. Today, they have more reviews than any other vendor in their category. Passionate advocates will put time into creating valuable content on thirdparty channels, says Francesca. You just need to treat them right first. 7

8 ADVOCATE-CREATED CONTENT BRINGS 50,000 TARGETED VISITORS TO MONGODB S WEBSITE IN JUST 4 MONTHS By combining content marketing with advocacy, the MongoDB team now creates better content by teaming up with their advocates to work smarter, not harder. Involving advocates at every stage of the content development process has helped MongoDB achieve the following results: 140,000 clicks on content shared by advocates 50,000 website visits in four months from advocate social shares 500 social shares on average per quarter 24 advocate-authored blog posts written in three weeks 220+ online reviews on 3rd party sites Our advocates are amplifying our content and driving more qualified visitors to our website, says Meghan. They also make our content more authentic by recommending it in their own voice. To get these results without advocates, we would have needed to hire more people, says Francesca. Instead, we build loyalty by getting our advocates involved in our marketing efforts. People don t buy because they read your marketing content; they buy once they truly believe in your brand promise and putting advocates at the center of your content is the fastest way to make them believe. Companies that consistently leverage their customers voices in their content strategy will have a powerful advantage over their competitors. -Meagen Eisenberg, CMO at MongoDB 8

9 LESSONS LEARNED: FRANCESCA AND MEGHAN S TOP 5 TIPS FOR FUELLING YOUR MARKETING WITH ADVOCATE-CREATED CONTENT Don t push an agenda. Ask your advocates what they want to write about. You may have ideas, but you ll get better results when advocates are excited about contributing their own. Don t limit your content requests to blogs and ebooks. Advocates can contribute to your website, ads, webinars, podcasts, and live events. Find out which channels they like best and create a variety of advocacy opportunities for them. Some advocates need nurturing before they re ready to create content. Offer them helpful resources that will increase their confidence before you ask for something big. Make social sharing easy, fun and valuable to expand your brand's organic reach through your advocates' networks. Track how advocate-created content performs. Tie it to specific campaigns and goals to show others in your company the power of advocacy. 9

10 How BMC Software Mobilized Thousands Of Customer Advocates To Become A Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader MONGODB S ADVOCACY HUB IS POWERED BY INFLUITIVE Amplify your advocates voices with Influitive s advocate community software to: Uncover more powerful, customerfocused stories Easily create content that resonates with buyers Increase your brand s reach on trusted third-party channels and social networks Visit to learn more