Community Engagement: Best Practices for Developer Advocates.

[aleeusgr]

As a developer advocate, building and nurturing a community is a crucial aspect of our role. Effective community engagement can lead to increased awareness, adoption, and loyalty for your product or technology. In this discussion, we'll explore strategies and best practices for developer advocates to engage with their communities, build meaningful relationships, and drive growth.

Discussion Objectives:

1. Share successful community engagement strategies and tactics
2. Discuss the importance of empathy and understanding in community building
3. Explore ways to measure the effectiveness of community engagement efforts
4. Identify common pain points and challenges in community engagement
5. Collaborate on innovative ideas for community growth and engagement

Discussion Questions:

1. What are some successful community engagement strategies you've implemented in your role as a developer advocate?
2. How do you measure the effectiveness of your community engagement efforts, and what metrics do you use?
3. What role does empathy play in building and maintaining a strong community, and how do you prioritize it?
4. What are some common pain points or challenges you've faced in community engagement, and how have you overcome them?
5. What innovative ideas do you have for community growth and engagement, and how do you plan to implement them?

[aleeusgr]

Here are some social media-style narratives that can be used in open-source developer onboarding:

1. Welcome to the Team: "You're part of something big now! Congratulations on joining our open-source community. We're excited to have you on board and can't wait to see what you create!"

Example Onboarding Step: Share a link to the project's Contributing Guidelines to help new contributors get started.

2. Learn from the Experts: "Want to learn from the best? Our maintainers are here to guide you through the project's development process. Don't be shy to ask questions!"

Example Onboarding Step: Invite new contributors to join a project-specific Slack or Discord channel for real-time support.

3. Showcase Your Skills: "Ready to shine? Share your work with the community and get feedback from experienced developers. You'll be amazed at how much you'll learn!"

Example Onboarding Step: Encourage new contributors to share their own open-source projects on the community's social media channels.

4. Get Ready to Contribute: "Time to get hands-on! Browse our issue tracker to find a bug or feature to tackle. Don't worry if you're new to open-source; we'll guide you through it."

Example Onboarding Step: Provide a link to the project's issue tracker and encourage new contributors to pick a beginner-friendly issue.

5. Community Love: "We're not just a community, we're a family. Join our discussions, meet new people, and build life-long relationships with fellow developers."

Example Onboarding Step: Share a link to the project's social media groups or online forums to encourage new contributors to get involved.

6. Make a Difference: "Your contributions matter! By working together, we can build something amazing that will make a real impact in the world. So what are you waiting for?"

Example Onboarding Step: Highlight the impact of the project and encourage new contributors to share their own experiences.

Example Onboarding Flow:

1. Welcome Message: Send a welcome message with links to Contributing Guidelines and community channels.
2. Initial Tasks: Provide a set of beginner-friendly tasks or issues to get new contributors started.
3. Support Channels: Invite new contributors to join project-specific support channels.
4. Regular Updates: Share updates on project developments, new features, or releases to keep contributors engaged.
5. Community Engagement: Encourage new contributors to participate in online discussions, meetups, or other community events.
6. Showcase Successes: Highlight successes of new contributors in the community's social media channels.

Tips:

• Make sure to track the onboarding flow to understand where new contributors drop off.
• Use multiple channels (e.g., email, Twitter, Slack) to reach new contributors and accommodate different communication preferences.
• Design a clear and concise onboarding process that makes it easy for new contributors to get started.