Program Resources and Workflows

This page contains the tools and workflows used to drive awareness, engagement, retention and advocacy of our programs.

Communication channels

E-mail

Addresses

The team uses a set of contact e-mails, generally one per program, with additional specialized e-mails. They are used to enable program members and anyone interested to directly contact the team. Emails are handled with GitLab Service Desk, which allows to collaboratively manage the inbox.

Program e-mails:

1. opensource@gitlab.com: GitLab for Open Source Program
2. education@gitlab.com: GitLab for Education Program
3. contributors@gitlab.com: Used for the Co-create and Notable Contributor programs (this is a shared inbox for all contributors’ requests).

Outreach campaigns

The Developer Relations Program Managers are responsible for email outreach campaigns to their program members.

1. File an Marketing Operations issue to create a list of all known program members in existing databases. Given constraints in database segmentation, this list must be generated from leads that have been converted and contacts directly associated with institutions, communities or companies that have already signed-up for one of our existing programs including the GitLab for Education Program, GitLab for Open Source Program or GitLab for Startups program.
2. File a one-time email request issue to send the initial program email to the above list. The initial program email must be sent by a campaign manager to ensure that the email is properly staged and follows existing protocols.
3. Once the list is generated and initial program email is sent, the Developer Relations DRI for outreach emails will receive access to Marketo and permission to send email campaigns to the above specified list. The Developer Relations DRI will use the initial email as a template to stage and send all future outreach emails.

The following protocols must be follow:

1. Developer Relations program outreach emails will only be sent by the DRI using the initial program email as a template.
2. Developer Relations program outreach emails will only be sent at a maximum frequency of once a month.
3. Developer Relations program outreach emails will only contain content relevant directly the Developer Relations Program. Content can include: call to action to engage, announcements regarding program requirements or terms, or newsletter type content.

Social Media

To request program content to be posted through GitLab social media channels use this form.

EveryoneSocial allows to increase reach by empowering GitLab team members to share content through their personal channels. Add the content on EveryoneSocial Developer Relations channel and any other relevant.

Newsletters

None of the programs have currently a newsletter. PMs leverage the following newsletters to raise awareness of our programs, both internally and externally:

• Company Newsletter: Sent to GitLab team members to communicate relevant updates twice a month. To add program-related content, add a comment in the current issue, following these instructions.
• Customer Newsletter. Sent to customers on the 4th Thursday/Friday of the month. To add program-related content, add a comment in the current issue attached to the FY26 epic as per process.

Content

Creating new assets

The Brand Creative team can help design, create, support and review assets such as designs, tanuki tabs, swag, and more. To submit a creative request use the relevant template.

The Developer Advocacy team creates content tailored for developer audiences. You can send a request by submitting an issue as per the team’s process.

You can also create your own content, ensuring alignment with GitLab’s brand guidelines. To create assets, use Canva under the GitLab team account, which provides access to Business features and includes a brand kit. All assets should be at a minimum reviewed and approved by the Brand Creative team.

Asset Library

Check the program pages to find each program specific resources. Generally:

• Canva assets can be found in the Strategy Programs folder. Please tag as draft WIP resources or not yet approved.
• Design assets for the programs can be found in the Corporate Marketing Project using the ‘find file’ feature and searching for the name of the program.

Measurement

UTM

UTM allows to use attribution method to calculate the ROI of our campaigns, by identifying the source of traffic. Generally, all links we share should use UTM parameters.

PMs can use the UTM builder tool to build URLs with UTM codes, following these instructions.

Support

To open a ticket with GitLab Support on behalf of a program member, fill an internal request choosing option “Create a support ticket on behalf of a prospect or customer”.

The recipient is the program member and therefore they will see the information in the fields highlighted, and receive ticket responses directly.

We use this process for:

• Manual credit card validation for program members