# Four pillars of DevRel

{% embed url="<https://developerrelations.com/strategy-and-metrics/the-four-pillars-of-developer-relations>" %}
Blog
{% endembed %}

## Summary

* DevRel programme usually/arguably revolves around fours pillars.&#x20;
  * Outreach&#x20;
  * Community&#x20;
  * Product
  * Education and support
* Pillar define what exactly is done in the programme.&#x20;
* Pillar can be further divide based on the tasks performed by DevRel and Dev Experience.&#x20;
* Offers a handy way to think about tactics to pursue a DevRel strategy.&#x20;

## Scribbles

### Four Pillars

* Outreach
* Community
* Product
* Education and support

#### What are the pillars for?&#x20;

* Pillars are about what you will do in your DevRel programme.&#x20;
* The strategic initiatives to meet the program's initiative are usually chosen from one or more of the given pillars<br>

### DevRel vs Developer Experience

* Once you take a close look at the four pillars, it's visible there are two halves -- outreach and community which is usually covered by developer relations, then we have product and education/support which is covered by developer experience.&#x20;
* DevRel programme needs to consider all four.
* A mix of tactics chosen will depend on the broader strategy. This brings us to the ***AAARRRP funnel***, which you can take a deeper look at in the scribble linked below.&#x20;

\[link the scribble]

#### Example of why the divide b/w DevRel and Dev Experience isn't always clear.

* One can have a great outreach program, arguably DevRel, to drive people from awareness to acquisition -- a better approach would be to have high-quality documentation, which arguably falls under developer experience.&#x20;

### Outreach

* Broadly, covered in two ways&#x20;
  * Online&#x20;
  * In-person
* Activities are done in order to drive customers.&#x20;
* Makes people aware of the products and helps them get a better overall understanding.&#x20;
* Helps people to overcome initial objections and push through to some commitment to using it.&#x20;

### Community

* Community is about creating a framework that enables developers to be successful with your product.&#x20;
* Having an active community around the product is 🔑 for many developers.
* Provides the evidence that people, other than the organization selling it are using it for various use-cases.
* Helps in amplifying efforts of DevRel programme.&#x20;

> *Community has a role to play in each stage but it’s most focused on moving developers from the acquisition through to the product stages. The social proof, additional support, and supplemental activities that a community delivers are all crucial in helping developers to feel comfortable about committing to your product.*

### Product

* DevRel teams can find themselves in marketing, engineering or anywhere based on the organization's goals.&#x20;
* Now, DevRel in the product might sound a little unconventional for beginners as to what role can they have in shaping the product -- right?&#x20;
* Developer advocacy is more talked about than developer evangelism, partly because advocacy is a two-way thing.&#x20;
  * Dev advocates, advocate the products to developers but also advocate on the behalf of developers in product discussions and ensure that developer needs are heard.
* DevRel teams should focus on ensuring that developer needs are hears and should represent the voice of developers in product discussions.
* In terms of dev funnel - DevRel's role in the product should focus on moving someone from activation to becoming a committed user. <br>

### Education and support

* This domain can likely be covered by several different teams.
  * Dedicated support team
  * Developer success team
  * Developer education team
  * DevRel itself.&#x20;
* Whether or not DevRel is directly involved in it, they should take account of activities necessary to educate developers and support them outside of the company's formal/dedicated channels
* DevRel team's role should be to support developers who aren't yet customers, to provide them with educational materials that the company's tech writes wouldn't cover.&#x20;
* To ensure that developers are more productive -- strong education and support is a must.&#x20;