Marketing Programs

Our marketing efforts are organized into several core programs. These are not rigid silos but interconnected strategic areas designed to support the entire customer journey, from initial awareness to long-term advocacy. Each program consists of various ongoing activities and campaigns aimed at achieving specific business goals.

1. Demand Generation

This area focuses on creating pipeline by attracting new prospects and capturing qualified leads.

• Paid Advertising Campaigns: We run targeted digital ad campaigns (e.g., ABM on LinkedIn, Google Ads) to reach specific audiences, drive traffic to our key content, and generate MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads). See Lead Activation for definitions of inbound vs. outbound lead sources.
• Gated Resources: We create and promote in-depth content such as whitepapers, ebooks, and guides. This content is gated, serving as a key tool for capturing new marketing qualified leads.
• Monthly Webinars: We host regular webinars to educate our audience, showcase our product, and generate new leads. They also serve as a valuable touchpoint for existing prospects and customers.
• Trade Shows & Industry Events: We participate in key industry events to build brand presence, network with potential customers and partners, and generate leads.

2. Content & Community Marketing

This area focuses on building our brand's authority and fostering a loyal community through valuable content and engagement.

• Content Marketing (Blog): Our blog is the engine of our content strategy, focused on providing educational and insightful articles to drive organic traffic, establish thought leadership, and support our other marketing initiatives.
• Monthly Newsletters: We engage our community and customer base with regular email updates, sharing product news, valuable content, and upcoming events.
• Social Media: We maintain an active presence on key social platforms to engage with our community, amplify our content, and build our brand's voice.
• Podcast "Industrial Visionaries": Our podcast features conversations with industry leaders to explore key trends, provide unique insights, and expand our brand's reach to new audiences.
• Community Engagement & Sponsorships: We actively support and participate in the broader community, including sponsoring key events like the Node-RED conference, to strengthen our connection with developers and users.

3. Brand & Product Marketing

This area focuses on shaping our brand perception and effectively communicating the value of our product.

• Website: While the website is a foundational platform rather than a program, its continuous improvement, content management, and optimization are a core marketing responsibility. It is the central hub for our brand and all our digital activities.
• Product Evaluation (Trials & PoCs): We offer two primary paths for customers to evaluate FlowFuse, representing our joint Product-Led and Sales-Led growth motions.
  • Self-Service Free Trial: The cornerstone of our Product-Led Growth (PLG) strategy is the FlowFuse Cloud free trial. This program is driven by Marketing to acquire new users and optimized by the Product team to deliver an excellent in-app experience.
  • Sales-Led Proof of Concept (PoC): For larger or more complex deployments, prospective customers may engage in a structured Proof of Concept. This is a sales-led process designed to validate specific use cases. Marketing supports this motion by providing relevant content and materials like customer stories and technical documentation.
• Customer Stories: This program focuses on creating compelling case studies and stories that provide social proof, showcase real-world use cases, and demonstrate the value of FlowFuse to prospects.

4. Customer Marketing & Advocacy

This area focuses on empowering our existing customers to become advocates for our brand.

• Voice of the Customer (Satisfaction Surveys): We systematically collect feedback through in-product surveys, post-webinar forms, and documentation sections. This continuous feedback loop is crucial for improving our product and overall customer experience.
• Customer Reviews Program: We actively encourage satisfied customers to share their experiences on platforms like G2. This program helps build trust and social proof for new potential customers.

5. Strategic Partnerships

We engage in strategic partnerships to expand our reach, validate our solutions, and create co-marketing opportunities that align with FlowFuse’s strategy.

Strategic partnerships can take different forms:

• Technology and solution partners led by sales through the Partners Program. This program focuses on building and nurturing relationships with technology partners and solution providers to expand our reach, enter new markets, and create co-marketing opportunities.
• Customers, where joint marketing initiatives are occasionally included as part of a sales negotiation. These initiatives are aimed at demonstrating that FlowFuse provides a suited solution for our ICP.
• Influencers or vendors with whom we may collaborate for sponsored content to reach audiences that value their expertise on topics relevant to our ICP.

When evaluating co-marketing opportunities, we consider:

• Relevance: Alignment with FlowFuse’s editorial calendar, strategic themes, and target audience.
• Value exchange: Clear deliverables such as published articles, videos, webinars, or social media posts, with measurable outcomes (reach, engagement, leads).
• Ownership: The Product Marketing Manager leads assessment and planning of co-marketing initiatives, in collaboration with the Marketing team and Sales as needed.
• Execution: DevRel validates externally created content to ensure quality, accuracy and consistency of deliverables.
• Measurement: Success is measured through defined KPIs such as reach, engagement, and lead generation.

All inbound proposals for co-marketing or sponsored content must be shared with the Product Marketing Manager for assessment before any commitments are made.

6. New Marketing Campaigns Process

Any team member can propose a new marketing campaign. This process ensures all proposals are evaluated consistently and that approved campaigns align with our strategic objectives.

Required Elements for All Campaign Proposals Every campaign proposal must include the following 5 components that will complete using this GitHub issue template:

a. Objective and Rationale Clearly define what you want to achieve with this campaign Explain why this campaign is needed now Connect the proposal to current business objectives or challenges

b. Target Audience Describe specifically who the campaign is targeting Include relevant demographics, behaviors, or characteristics Explain why this audience is important to our business

c. Key Message and Value Proposition Articulate the main message we want to communicate Explain what benefit or value we're offering to the target audience Define the proposed tone and communication style

d. Suggested Channels and Tactics Specify which marketing channels you recommend using Suggest specific tactics (social media, email, events, content, etc.) Justify why these channels are most appropriate for this campaign

e. Resources and Budget Estimate Provide an estimated budget (can be approximate) Identify what human resources would be needed Specify if external tools, services, or vendors are required

f. Campaigns performance tracking All campaigns will be trackes using the Campaigns feature on Hubspot (internal).

Submission Process

Complete the proposal template with all required elements above. Then submit your proposal to the marketing team via the department Slack channel.

The team will evaluate around each marketing team meeting for full review and discussion. You'll receive feedback and approval status. If approved, the marketing team will work with you on implementation planning.

The marketing team will evaluate proposals based on:

• Alignment with company goals and brand strategy
• Feasibility within current resources and timeline
• Potential ROI and impact
• Audience relevance and market opportunity
• Integration with existing marketing initiatives

New Marketing Campaign Template

Campaign Name: [Proposed name]

Proposed by: [Your name and department]

Date: [Submission date]

1. Objective and Rationale
[Your response here]

2. Target Audience
[Your response here]

3. Key Message and Value Proposition
[Your response here]

4. Suggested Channels and Tactics
[Your response here]

5. Resources and Budget Estimate
[Your response here]

7. Analytics & Tag Management

Adding Tags in Google Tag Manager (GTM)

When creating or updating tags in GTM, always configure the Consent Settings for each tag before publishing. Without this, a tag may fire as soon as the page loads — before the user has had a chance to accept or decline cookies — which is a GDPR compliance issue.

Consent settings are found in the Advanced Settings → Consent Settings section of each tag in GTM.

Required consent type by tag category

Trigger selection

• Google Tag type tags (Google Tag AW, Google Analytics 4): use Initialization - All Pages. These must fire before any other tags so that Consent Mode v2 can establish default consent state early. Both AW and GA4 fall into this category.
• Base tracking/pixel tags (e.g. LinkedIn InsightTag): use All Pages (Page View) — not Initialization - All Pages. Set the appropriate consent requirement and GTM will hold the tag until consent is granted.
• Conversion tracking tags (e.g. Google Ads Conversion Tracking for specific actions): use a specific event or page-view trigger scoped to the conversion event (e.g. a thank-you page, a button click). These should also have the relevant consent requirement set.

If you're unsure which consent type applies to a new tag, check with the team before publishing.

Adding new third-party tracking tools

To avoid compliance gaps, all third-party tracking scripts, pixels, and analytics tools must follow this process before being deployed.

Rule: GTM is the single point of control. No tracking scripts should be added directly to HTML templates, <head> tags, layout files, or JavaScript bundles. GTM is the only approved deployment path for third-party tracking tools. This ensures every tool is subject to consent enforcement and can be audited or disabled without a code deployment.

This also applies to integrations available inside third-party platforms. For example, HubSpot offers a built-in pixel integration (under Marketing → Ads → Settings → Pixels) that can deploy scripts like the Meta Pixel directly through HubSpot's own script. Do not use this. Pixels deployed through HubSpot fire outside of GTM's consent mode, making it impossible to enforce the correct consent type or audit them independently. Always deploy pixels through GTM instead.

Before adding any new tool, answer these questions:

1. What data does it collect? Does it collect personal data (IP addresses, user IDs, behavioral data)?
2. Does it set cookies? Check the tool's privacy policy or cookie documentation. If the answer is yes — or unclear — assume it requires user consent.
3. What consent type applies? Use the table above to determine whether the tool requires analytics_storage, ad_storage, or another consent type.
4. Is it strictly necessary? Only tools that are essential for the site to function (e.g. security, authentication) may be exempt from consent — and these are rare. If in doubt, require consent.

Checklist before publishing a new tag in GTM:

• Tag is deployed via GTM — not hardcoded in any template or layout file
• Consent requirement is set in Advanced Settings → Consent Settings
• Trigger type follows the guidance in the Trigger selection section above
• The tool and its consent category are documented in the table above in this handbook section
• A team member with context on GDPR has reviewed the setup before the first publish

Any new tracking tool that cannot be deployed through GTM (e.g. it requires a code-level integration) must be reviewed and approved before implementation. Reach out in the marketing Slack channel before proceeding.