marketing teardown: 🦋flutterflow

In partnership with

howdy, marketer! 

last week, we were all about that drip with a deep dive into shinesty, but now I’m flipping the script and peeping a dope tech tool.

no-code has been blowing up lately, starting with website builders and now leveling up to app builders.

there’s a ton of competition out there, but what’s lit about these tools is how the user experience can be totally different from one to the next. some are a breeze, while others need a bit more tech-savvy – which makes it perfect for users at every level to find their vibe.

brand in the hot seat: 🦋 flutterflow

today's treasure trove

• what is flutterflow?

  • flutterflow’s branding

• template marketplace

• content marketing

• build contests

what is flutterflow?

quick stats:

• youtube – 80.1k subscribers, 414 videos

• instagram – 4.9k followers

• facebook group – 52k members

• x/twitter – 6,24.9k followers

• tiktok – 20k followers

• monthly website traffic – 2.3m

this no-code builder isn’t just another bubble.io – it’s specifically designed for building mobile apps base on google’s flutter programming language. yeah, users can deploy these as web apps for anyone on the internet, but the builder is mobile first, with premium features offering one-click deployment to app stores.

I used this platform to build a few products (one of them is marketer tools) and went deep into the community while I was learning it – even though it’s “no-code,” it’s tough to wrap your brain around some of the logic if you aren’t familiar with programming at some level.

flutterflow includes built-in responsiveness, simple firebase integration, drag-and-drop components, and a marketplace of templates and plug-and-play libraries.

flutterflow’s branding

the branding is modern and slick – honestly, what you’d expect from a tool like this: deep blue and purple gradient, sleek “f” outline for the logo, and lots of responsiveness animation on the website.

they keep it chill with their style and tone. it’s not my usual vibe, but I gotta admit, it makes sense for a platform like this – flutterflow is all about letting users’ products shine, not stealing the spotlight.

for b2c brands, having a strong brand can reflect onto the buyer because they can showcase that brand to others (think stanley mugs or the supreme logo), while b2b products can benefit from a strong brand (re: posthog’s teardown), a platform is unique in that aren’t typically in front of the users.

template marketplace

for platforms, the template marketplace is a marketing channel.

I spent some time working at a gen-ai presentation builder (think pitch.com or gamma.app) and I drilled down on what templates we should make by using the typical seo strategy:

• find keywords

• identify competitors in the results

• create better content.

people are constantly searching for phrases like: “how to build ____ app” or “building a ____ app clone” or similar. so, flutterflow comes in with their template marketplace of app clones to satisfy search results. 

they’ve got a lot of ground to cover, but this could be a killer growth hack for them since only their direct competitors can come close to matching what they offer.

content marketing

like I mentioned, the template marketplace is an seo play here, but for their content marketing, they have a blog, youtube channel, social media channels, and knowledge base.

flutterflow has gone hard into video tutorials and guides, and even feature updates, helping to make youtube their biggest channel. a smart move since there are tons of third-party channels dedicated to teaching and reviewing no-code tools, so a user who just watched a video on “bubble versus flutterflow” might then see a suggestion for “build a flutter app fast” from flutterflow.

where they can do more is long-form videos for soup-to-nuts app builds. showing a start-to-finish helps give users inspiration in what they could possibly build but also the inside baseball of how flutterflow experts use the platform. 

build contests

I actually just participated in a build challenge for a different platform and it was phenomenal.

there were guides, a timeline, and lots of emojis in the slack group, but it was hosted by the creators of a tool (and encouraged participants to use the tool for the challenge).

I’ve always been a stan for these types of build contests because they:

1. are typically low-cost – a couple of winners might get a prize + social shoutouts

2. it gets users using the platform hard in a concentrated period – this really helps reduce churn because the user realizes a short time-to-value

3. users organically share their experience – social sharing is integral in any of these “challenges.” participants are excited to share their progress and proud to show off what they’ve made (boom, instant free brand ambassadors)

flutterflow has done these build challenges before, but to make it even better, they could partner with a well-known no-code creator and leverage their audience, while they also guide users through the challenge. without the creator’s personality behind the challenge, it becomes super transactional.

wrap up

flutterflow is doing so much right, but they need to be more strategic with some of their campaigns. 

• kick up their seo by using keyword-focused app templates

• partner with a no-code creator for build challenges

• offer more long-form start-to-finish video tutorials

one thing they do really well that I didn’t touch on is community.

tons of facebook group members and they have an active community on their website. so, how can they turn this community from active users into raving fans?

a question for another day.

thanks for reading and I’d love to hear what thoughts you have about flutterflow and this teardown. (and read the other deep dives here)

✌️,

tom from marketer gems