Diana Smith
Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org, Twilio
Content
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
We think of messaging in three tiers and have different frameworks for each. Product marketing usually collaborates with PR and brand for Level 0 and Level 1, while we own Level 2. Level 0 Messaging: Highest-level company messaging, found in press releases, first sales decks slides, the “about u......Read More
9852 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
These are all interrelated. Messaging: Includes value propositions, your story, and pitch. Also includes things like naming, alternatives, and taglines. Value Proposition: These are the top benefits you want to focus on for your product based on customer and competitive unput Pitch & Story: Th......Read More
4747 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
We find it helpful to have a single messaging document that everyone in the company can access. It goes through our mission/vision/description all of the way down to messaging segmented product, customer type, and industry vertical. A shared document enables all of the teams to be on the same pag......Read More
3483 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
We match internal promotion based on the level of the product announcement. Small updates are little features that mostly existing customers are excited about. Medium updates are larger changes that potentially open up a small new audience or unlock new revenue potential. Large updates are major ......Read More
3414 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
I think you can have two flavors of product marketers. The first are very analytical and business-minded. They identify the key top customer problems and benefits for the product. Then, they might need to collaborate with someone in brand, content, or copywriting to make those messaging points sp......Read More
2970 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
You nailed why platform products are difficult to message. This is also why I think they are more fun than working on “point solutions.” (Please forgive me for using that heinous jargon.) In the best-case scenario, you can identify an overarching value proposition for using the platform that r......Read More
2757 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
You asked exactly the right question as the best messaging is all three (consistent, creative, and differentiated). Getting there isn’t easy. I try to break it down step by step. I start with differentiated. What’s different about us that’s valuable to our customer? Then creative: how do we expr......Read More
2679 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
Messaging that speaks to everyone rarely speaks to anyone well. I’d prioritize your top segment to focus on, make sure your brand messaging resonates with them, and ensure your other customer segments can find messaging for them via pathing on your site or other targeted campaigns. I've seen m......Read More
2369 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
I agree that a product marketing-minded person is very helpful in the early days of a startup. PMMs tend to be good generalists because we own messaging and go to market planning. We also need to deeply understand the market, product, and customer base. In the early days as the first marketer,......Read More
1926 Views
Diana Smith
Twilio Director of Brand and Product Marketing, Twilio.org • July 17
The key thing is to do what you just mentioned -- grab attention. Do something different. Either tell a bolder story, take a different angle, focus on a differentiator, or show how other players in the market have it all wrong. This is a never-ending battle because your competitors will likely co......Read More
1731 Views