How to Create Effective Video Content for Developers
Video is no longer a “nice-to-have” in developer marketing. In fact, 62% of developers prefer long-form video as their primary learning method, surpassing blogs, documentation, and even short-form videos.
So, how do you create video content that resonates with your technical audience?
In our recent webinar, we spoke with Jake Ward, Co-founder of Data Protocol, and Kevin Blanco, Senior DevRel Advocate at Appsmith, to explore the unique challenges and best practices of creating developer-focused videos.
From audience insights to production tips and distribution strategies, this post will cover the main insights from the webinar to help you or your DevRel teams create video content that drives results, from increased engagement to higher conversion rates.
What Makes Developer-Focused Video Content Different?
Both Kevin and Jake emphasized that developers are a unique audience, and similarly to written content, video content needs to be tailored to their specific needs and preferences.
More specifically, they’re smart, skeptical, and have very little patience for marketing fluff. They’re not going to be impressed by flashy visuals or empty phrases.
So, what does resonate with developers?
- Accuracy and Technical Depth: Developers want to learn from experts who know their stuff. They’re looking for videos that provide accurate information and dig into technical details.
- Practicality: Don’t just tell developers about a concept—show them how to apply it. Provide practical examples, code snippets, and clear explanations that they can use in their own work.
- Problem-Solving, Not Product Promotion: Developers are looking for solutions to their problems, not sales pitches. Focus on educating them and helping them overcome challenges, not pushing your product.
- Concise Delivery: Developers have a short attention span. Keep your videos concise, and get to the point quickly.
The bottom line is that your video content needs to provide real value, or they’ll quickly move on.
How to Categorize Developer Audiences for Video Content?
Creating effective video content starts with understanding your audience. Developers have different needs, interests, and levels of experience.
Use The Developer Journey as a Guide
One way to categorize your target audience is by using the developer journey, i.e the stage your audience is currently at.
“The most important thing is to tailor your videos to the developer journey. For me, the developer journey is like my Bible, and it’s always the reference when I have to do a video.” - Kevin Blanco, Senior DevRel Advocate at Appsmith
To use the developer journey, consider where your target audience falls within their journey with your product or technology:
- Discovery: Are they just becoming aware of your product and need a high-level overview?
- Evaluation: Are they actively comparing your product to competitors and need detailed feature comparisons or demos?
- Learning: Are they ready to start using your product and need tutorials and how-to guides?
- Building: Are they actively building applications with your product and need advanced guides and advice?
- Scaling: Are they using your product in production and need help with scaling, optimization, or enterprise-level features?
Experience Level
Beyond the developer journey, consider your audience’s experience level. Beginners will appreciate clear explanations and foundational concepts, while seasoned experts will be more engaged by advanced topics and complex use cases.
Technical Focus
It’s also essential to consider your audience’s technical focus. Are they primarily frontend or backend developers? Do they specialize in DevOps, data science, or a specific programming language? Tailoring your content to their area of expertise will make it more relevant and engaging.
Consumption Style
Understanding how developers engage with your community and consume content can also inform your video strategy. For example, Kevin mentioned that some developers are continuous learners who prefer content broken down into multiple parts, while others are more task-oriented and want quick, straightforward solutions.
How to Identify the Right Topics?
Once you’ve decided to invest in video content for developers, how do you choose the right topics and formats to ensure the videos resonate with your audience?
While Data Protocol’s approach is driven by the specific needs of their clients who refer developers to their platform, Appsmith and other developer-focused companies can benefit from a data-driven approach, relying on a combination of analytics, community feedback, and business goals to guide their video content strategy.
- Analyze User Behavior and Engagement: Track key metrics like video views, watch time, and completion rates to understand what types of content are performing well. Use this data to inform future video topics and formats.
- Listen to Your Community: Engage with developers on forums, social media, and at events to understand their challenges and what content they’re craving.
- Align with Business Goals: Ensure your video content supports your overall business objectives, whether it’s increasing product adoption, driving leads, or building brand awareness.
What Types of Developer-Focused Videos Are There?
Jake outlined three main categories of developer-focused videos: product, skill-based, and engagement. Each category can target different stages of the marketing funnel, helping you reach developers at every step of their journey.
- Product Videos: Primarily marketing-focused, designed to showcase your product’s features, benefits, and use cases. Think product demos, feature explainers, and customer testimonials.
- Skill-Based Videos: Focused on education and empowerment, helping developers learn new skills or improve existing ones. Tutorials, code walkthroughs, and best practice guides fall into this category.
- Engagement Videos: Aim to build community and foster relationships with developers. Live streams, community spotlights, and event recaps are all great examples.
The Video Production Process
Once your research and planning phase is done, it’s time for production. Both Jake and Kevin shared their approaches to video production, highlighting the strategies that have led to their success.
Jake shared how Data Protocol has achieved an impressive 78% completion rate on their enterprise videos, significantly higher than the industry average of 6%. He attributes this success to their distinct approach, which prioritizes engagement:
- Concise, Graphic-Heavy Videos: They keep their videos short and to the point, relying heavily on visuals to convey information and maintain viewer interest.
- Interactive Elements: They incorporate interactive elements like knowledge checks, fly-ins, and notes to keep viewers actively involved and prevent passive viewing.
- Instructional Design Principles: Their Head of Content is an instructional designer, ensuring that scripts are carefully crafted to facilitate learning and comprehension.
- A User-Friendly Platform: Their platform itself is designed to enhance engagement, providing prompts, cues, and a clear structure to guide viewers through the content.
Kevin is a firm believer in strong pre-production planning. He emphasized that the more time and effort you invest upfront, the smoother and more efficient your production process will be.
His typical production process involves:
- Meticulous Pre-Production: This includes defining goals, identifying the target audience, crafting a compelling narrative, and creating a detailed shot list. This pre-production work informs every subsequent step of the process.
- Scripting: Kevin uses the script to determine the types of shots he needs, the steps to demonstrate, and the overall flow of the video.
- Filming: He sets up his lighting, equipment, and different camera angles based on his script and shot list, then records all the necessary footage.
- Editing: Kevin edits his videos himself, but he acknowledges that others might have a dedicated editor on their team. He emphasizes that the pre-production work is crucial for the editor to understand the intended message, tone, target audience, and appropriate pacing for the video.
Entertainment vs. Education in Developer Videos
Entertainment can be one of the most powerful ways of reaching new audiences or increasing engagement.
Kevin acknowledged the need to use entertainment for awareness purposes. He shared how Appsmith uses entertainment elements to attract new users who might have negative preconceptions about low-code platforms. By incorporating humor and relatable scenarios into their videos, they aim to break down those barriers and spark curiosity about Appsmith’s capabilities.
However, both Kevin and Jake emphasized that entertainment should never come at the expense of educational value. Entertainment should never feel distracting but engaging.
“You need to NOT make it distracting, and you’re good to go.” - Jake Ward, Co-founder of Data Protocol
Distributing & Repurposing Video Content
Distribution and promotion can make a huge difference in the success of your videos, and it all comes back to understanding your audience and knowing where they spend their time.
While distribution channels are less relevant for Data Protocol, as they primarily work with clients who refer developers to their platform, Kevin emphasized the importance of a multi-channel approach for developer-focused companies. He suggested considering distribution during the planning phase, and exploring options beyond just YouTube.Think social media platforms, online communities, and even physical events.
“It might be the best case scenario to showcase a specific portion of a video or a demo at a physical event…Not everything is just YouTube.” - Kevin Blanco, Senior DevRel Advocate at Appsmith
Kevin also recommended repurposing video content to maximize engagement and drive views.
For example:
- Create shorter, vertical videos for social media: These are more likely to grab attention in a fast-scrolling feed and can be used to drive traffic to your longer-form content.
- Add subtitles to all videos: Given that 80% of videos are watched on mute, subtitles are important for accessibility and engagement.
- Use eye-catching visuals and fast transitions: Incorporate B-roll footage, animations, and other visual elements to keep viewers engaged.
The most important factor when deciding on your distribution channels is knowing where your audience spends their time.
“If your user persona is a CTO, I don’t think it’s gonna be on TikTok. It’s probably going to be more on LinkedIn, looking for use cases that reduce costs or align with their goals.” - Kevin Blanco, Senior DevRel Advocate at Appsmith
Final Thoughts
As someone who works with developer-focused companies every day, I’m constantly reminded of the differences between creating content for technical and non-technical audiences. The only way to achieve success with video and other content types is to make it useful, educational, and help developers solve real-world problems.
One thing to keep in mind about video content is that it’s more challenging to refresh in the future. That’s why I wholeheartedly agree with the speakers’ emphasis on investing ample time in the pre-production phase, conducting thorough research, and deeply understanding your audience and their needs.
Another interesting piece of advice from our speakers was to give your video audience a sneak peek or a “tease” of what they’ll get right at the beginning of the video, especially for long-form content. This can significantly increase the likelihood that viewers will stick around for the entire tutorial.
Finally, in a world where advanced video editing has become more and more accessible to users, it’s important not to forget that the most successful developer videos are those that provide genuine value.
“Nobody’s watching our videos for entertainment value. They’re trying to get the information they need.” - Jake Ward, Co-founder of Data Protocol
I hope this blog post has given you some insights into creating effective video content for technical audiences. If you want to learn more about DevRel and Developer Marketing, join our upcoming live webinars with Q&A sessions, where we explore similar topics and feature insights from industry leaders.
By Annika Puura
Annika is an Operations Manager here at Draft. With a background in international business, finance, and education, she is fluent in Estonian, English, and Spanish. When not at work, she enjoys running, dancing, and doing HIIT workouts.
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