Developers and technologists may be a challenging and unique audience for advertisers to reach. But before we address that, let’s review why they’re an important persona to make sure you include in your marketing strategy.

It used to be that executives and managers in corporate IT departments told developers what tools and technologies they could use. As companies have accelerated their digital transformation and moved to the cloud, the role of the developer has evolved too. They now find themselves with more control over the tools and technologies they choose to use every day, as well as having a strong influence over the tools being deployed across the organization.

Unsurprisingly, senior-level positions have the greatest amount of influence when purchasing new technologies. But with the exception of students, at least 62% of all developer types have at least some influence on purchasing.

While it may be hard to break through to this audience, it’s important to make them advocates of your brand and products. If you don’t, and only focus your marketing efforts on traditional IT decision makers, you could be missing out on significant sales opportunities.