{"id":3559,"date":"2015-01-06T09:55:35","date_gmt":"2015-01-06T16:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/?p=3559"},"modified":"2015-01-06T09:55:35","modified_gmt":"2015-01-06T16:55:35","slug":"technical-content-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivaliq.com\/blog\/technical-content-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Technical Content and Marketing Belong Together"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"technical<\/a>5\u00a0Reasons Why Technical Documentation Belongs in Marketing<\/h2>\n

In the ordinary course of high-tech organizations, technical\u00a0content<\/a> teams get slotted\u00a0in a wide variety of departments, but usually somewhere lost in engineering.\u00a0This is because technical content – also know as technical publications or technical documentation or information development or . . . well, you get the picture – plays an unusual and, in my view, unique role.\u00a0I can hear you already saying, “Wait,\u00a0isn’t that what product marketing does?” Well, yes, exactly.<\/p>\n

As a technical editor, we have to understand the product and the engineering behind the product. But,\u00a0we also have to understand the customer, their wants and needs and how they\u00a0are\u00a0most likely to use the product.<\/p>\n

So this makes positioning tech content teams tricky.\u00a0 Most companies put us with engineering, which makes sense; after all, what we are doing is creating a portion of the product, so why not put us with the other folks who are doing the product creation?\u00a0 But some companies believe we\u2019re more of a services organization, and slot us into teams that also contain the support folks and the quality assurance (QA) teams.<\/p>\n

But sometimes, in a decision that almost invariably makes content writers scream, we are put in marketing. And while this may be a shock to my creative brethren and sistren, I genuinely believe that, if done well, this is not only better for the content team, but better for the marketing organization and the product and organization as whole.\u00a0 And yes, I\u2019m going to tell you why.<\/p>\n

Reason #1: \u00a0Technical Content Teams Must Understand\u00a0the Product AND the Customer<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"Cryptonomicon\"<\/a>In Cryptonomicon<\/a>, Neal Stephenson notes that the relationship between marketing and engineering is the most fraught in high tech.\u00a0 Engineers, honestly,\u00a0genuinely believe that if they make the product just right, it will sell itself. So why does it need any<\/em> marketing at all?\u00a0 (Indeed, many believe that if they do their job right, it doesn\u2019t need any technical documentation, either.)<\/p>\n

Marketers, on the other hand, like to point out that if they don\u2019t get the market to buy stuff, the engineers will be out of a job no matter how wonderful their product is.\u00a0 And to a degree, they\u2019re both right.<\/p>\n

Because of our job, not only are we the voice of the customer, but we are constantly in contact with engineering, QA, and support.\u00a0 The nerds.\u00a0 The folks who understand the product the best, who know where the bugs are, who know how all the pieces fit together. We\u2019re not engineers by any stretch, but perforce we must have a deep level of understanding of the product.\u00a0 If we don\u2019t, our descriptions will pure and simply, suck.\u00a0 (And you\u2019ve no doubt read plenty of manuals, quick-start information, user\u2019s guides, and whatnot that do suck, many for this very reason.)\u00a0 That\u2019s the \u201ctechnical\u201d part of our job description<\/p>\n

But at the same time, we have to understand what people want with<\/em> this durn product.\u00a0 Who is going to use it?\u00a0 How are they going to use it?\u00a0 How can we make the installation easier on them?\u00a0 What issues are they going to bump into that will make them reach for the phone to call support?\u00a0 What are the most important use cases that will help them out?\u00a0 And for the answer to a lot of these questions, the marketing folks have the answers, or at least are out there trying to get them.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s where it benefits not just the individual content writers, but also the content team, the marketing organization, the product line, and (expanding outward) the company as a whole.<\/p>\n

Reason #2: \u00a0Technical Writers Can Serve as a Bridge<\/h2>\n

\"Technical<\/a><\/p>\n

With the technical content team in marketing,\u00a0the marketing folks now\u00a0have quick access to a larger set of product knowledge than they might have before. And the marketers also won\u2019t need to interact with the engineers as much, which suits both groups\u00a0typically.\u00a0Writers are used to being go-betweens; it\u2019s a natural role for them.\u00a0 The engineers will consider them an engineering rep to the marketing team, and the marketing team will feel like they have a voice that gets listened to on the engineering team.<\/p>\n

Reason #3: \u00a0Marketing Holds the Customer Insights<\/h2>\n

\"Technical<\/a><\/p>\n

For the writers themselves, being in marketing\u00a0gives them an opportunity to get even more information about the customers, what they\u2019re going to use the product for, in what ways and to what degree.\u00a0 A common problem when you\u2019re writing technical content is that you often have to guess how customers are going to use the product. Marketing teams often have several people whose job it is to find that kind of thing out.<\/p>\n

As part of the marketing team, we can even suggest new research to conduct or questions to ask customers during case study interviews. Not only do the writers get access to vital customer insights that marketing holds, but it can also drive potentially new directions that marketing might not have thought of previously.<\/p>\n

Reason #4: \u00a0The Customer Gets a More Consistent Story<\/h2>\n

\"Consistent<\/a><\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly is a consistency of positioning, messaging and overall content delivered to the market. One of the critical problems that every company has is that a product gets shipped, and the implication is that it was designed and executed by a committee.\u00a0 The \u201cstory\u201d of the product isn\u2019t coherent. The product seems to assume you\u2019re going to use it for reason A, the sales force sold it to you to deal with reason B, the marketing people enticed you with reason C and the technical content assumes you wanted it for reason A, B, C or D.\u00a0 A mess.<\/p>\n

Technical writers interact with almost everyone, and joined with marketing, your story can be unified.\u00a0 You can keep the engineering team informed of marketing\u2019s thinking and encourage them to link up.\u00a0 You can make sure that marketing is informed of what engineering is doing and thinking, and help them be aligned.\u00a0 And most important of all, you can make sure your own team\u2019s work – often the first thing the customer sees when she opens the box or downloads the product – is totally aligned with the product story the organization wants to tell.<\/p>\n

Technical writers can make sure marketing materials have technical credibility, while including the marketing messaging in product documentation.<\/p>\n

Not only does this make the customer more comfortable and give a better impression of your product, but this spreads to the organization as a whole, and to the market in general.\u00a0 You get a reputation for cohesiveness, for thoughtfulness and for being customer focused.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you’re thinking, well, why can’t the content be consistent and coherent if technical documentation sits in engineering? Because it doesn’t. Typically because the content team is hidden in some hole in engineering without a voice. My experience is, when in marketing, writers have a stronger voice and become part of an overall content machine that spans release notes to press releases and everything in between!<\/p>\n

Reason #5: \u00a0Marketing is Becoming More Technical<\/h2>\n

I realize I said above that many marketers are not technical enough, but they are being forced to change. It’s no longer enough for marketers to be creative and great even planners. The best marketers I know are incredibly data driven, technology focused and can hold their own with the engineering team. Putting technical content teams in marketing helps drive this necessary shift more quickly.<\/p>\n

\"Need<\/a><\/p>\n

But . . . You Need to Have the Right Marketing Leader<\/h2>\n

I realize I’m making this sound simple. The one caveat is you need to have the right marketing, and for that matter, engineering, leader. The leadership must have a clear vision for the product, the market and the organization. When you get the right\u00a0marketing leader, the right marketing managers and the right content team together, amazing things can happen. I’ve seen it, so I know it can happen.<\/p>\n

In a time when \u201ccontent is king\u201d, marketers\u00a0need to leverage and partner with the technical content team.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

5\u00a0Reasons Why Technical Documentation Belongs in Marketing In the ordinary course of high-tech organizations, technical\u00a0content teams get slotted\u00a0in a wide variety of departments, but usually somewhere lost in engineering.\u00a0This is because technical content – also know as technical publications or technical documentation or information development or . . . well, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":4108,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Technical Content and Marketing Belong Together | Rival IQ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Technical content teams are rarely hailed as the heroes of product marketing, but they should be. 5 key reasons why technical content belongs in marketing.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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