The Best Practices of Business-to-Developer Marketing

While b2c and b2b marketing are terms all marketers are well versed with, the increasing impact of digital marketing and technology on all kinds of businesses calls for understanding and executing a new world of marketing which is ‘business-to-developer marketing’ (b2d marketing). B2d marketing revolves around companies emphasizing on attracting web developers (mobile and desktop) toward their open APIs – application programming interface, to develop tools and software that can tackle their internal data.

APIs help programmers to design tools that can access the internal data of a company or any digital product and therefore are an integral part of any business. One foremost example of this is Apple’s iOS that targets developers who are looking to create apps that can perform on iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. A commendable job has been done by Apple to market and document its APIs as their app store gets continuously populated everyday with apps that make us more productive, improve our day-to-day lives, promote brands, and also entertain us in many ways.

Listed below are some of the best practices to know all about APIs and reach your target audience of developers or programmers.

Comprehending the basic ins and outs of APIs

Across the globe, big brands have in-house developing teams in place whereas small to medium sized business might lack a similar expertise. For such businesses, there are sites like Code Academy that can guide people on how they can create their own applications by using APIs.

While tools such as these can assist you to a certain extent, the best bet is to get help from an experienced developer or an organization as it can help you in better and accurate identification of your business goals and seamlessly connect your data and technology with your customers.

Tools must sync with your target audience

There must be synchronization between the tools that your programmers use through API access and the developer audience that you want to reach out to. There are educational tools for iOS APIs by Apple using which you can get a soft guideline to build an app for an audience that has less experience. The primary concepts and best practices one needs to keep in mind in developing along with the tools needed are included in the modules. The simple tools by Apple can help anyone who wants to develop an app. They are easily accessible and assist you in understanding what you need to create an app that suits your requirements. There is documentation that is for more advanced developers who are already adept with the basics of web and app development.

Easy to understand and access

For any API, the most essential factor is accessibility. If your target developer audience cannot locate your API, it is not going to serve your b-to-d strategies well. Creating a site and tools which hold the technology and documentation for programmers to get a head start is crucial. You must also spread awareness when you launch your API, and you can do so through press releases, social media, or by getting help from ‘evangelist developers’ who can put your API through their app networks.

Similar to b2c and b2b, it is really important to understand your target audience. Choice of language to communicate with an advanced developer audience is vital and it must speak to their expertise. Targeting a not so advanced developer audience will require a completely different communication tone with messages that are intended to educate them.

Reward participation and provide opportunities to innovate

Creation of new and innovative products from APIs is what organizations across the world are looking for in their developer audience. To make the best of your APIs, developers must be given the freedom to work in tandem with their peers so that they come up with a wider range of ideas. You can achieve this through online programming events, hackathons, and competitions between startups, or similar platforms where someone can access an API and put forward an idea to develop it into an app.

There is no sphere in which rewarding the deserved does not work, as money is always a big motivator that encourages participation. Your API can work wonders for your brand if you are ready to share your revenues with the developers.