The Happy Hour Growth Hack for Developer Relations

You want a way to quickly engage your community of third-party developers to help spread awareness of your brand and your platform. We’ve got good news: boosting your profile is easy, especially if you’re situated in one of the nation’s tech hot spots.

From New York to Dublin, San Francisco to Berlin and even Austin, if you’ve got a real-world concentration of tech folks around, it’s easy to tap in — just serve up what’s on tap!

With so many of our interactions taking place online, especially in the tech community, we can often forget how important real human-to-human contact can be in forming lasting and mutually beneficial relationships. A relaxed get-together at a local hang-out is a great way to build inroads with the folks you’d like to engage with.

Here’s how to do it right

• Pick a convenient time and place to host a gathering
• Shout it out on social media
• Let some of your area’s influencers know personally
• Collect RSVPs through email to build a list for ongoing communication
• Encourage folks to bring a friend (more fun for them, growth hacking for you)
• Invite a senior team member to deliver a brief talk to garner higher attendance
• Buy a few rounds and make a few friends!

Let local developers see the culture your company fosters, and turn them into avid fans and active participants in the success of your platform. If you can reserve a specific area and have an opening talk to help focus the gathering, you’ll see even better results.

As with all of your developer outreach efforts, BE GENUINE.

Hanging out with other geeks should be fun, so let it be — and let a good time be good business, too.