marketing teardown: posthog

the dev-first product analytics tool that is blowing up

Author

Tom Snyder
August 01, 2024

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hey marketer! 

today I’m digging into another b2b saas tool, but this time it’s product analytics: posthog

it honestly took me longer than it should have to understand what the name meant – it’s a portmanteau of post and hedgehog 📮🦔

brand in the hot seat: posthog

today's treasure trove

who is posthog?

quick stats:

posthog is a product analytics tool you can insert into your web app product to see a full picture of how users are using it. you can do things like launch surveys in-app, view session replays, a/b tests, feature flags, etc. 

kinda like google analytics, but way better.

there are other competitors (adobe, fullstory, pendo, to name a few big ones), but posthog is incredibly a little baby at 4 years old.

the little hedgehog that could was in y-combinator, and then blew up on hacker news, propelling them into the limelight. 

posthog’s branding

we could not talk about posthog without mentioning their branding – it’s incredible.

they use a little cartoon hedgehog as an avatar ALL OVER the place. watch it sip coffee, write on a whiteboard, and… destroy a city dressed as godzilla?

amazing.

it’s rare to find a brand that really – and I mean REALLY – leans into funky branding. especially in something as dry as the product analytics space.

it makes my little marketing heart leap when a brand fiercely jumps into personality-led marketing – and posthog is pulling it off well. 

in addition to their avatar, their website is beautiful and full of flat icons and design, with a retro feel. this is starkly opposed to adobe analytics’s website (which looks like it hasn’t changed since 2007).

these not-so-subtle branding decisions work as positioning – juxtaposing them in contrast to their big, legacy competitors.

target demographics

the h1 says it all: “how developers build successful products”

it’s a product analytics tool for developers first – not marketers.

let’s take a magnifying glass to this h1.

first, it says “developers” – not “companies” and not “teams.”

this positions them as for solo builders and small teams. the ones who are actually building the product from scratch, not inheriting it from their software forefathers and foremothers.

another positioning nod is their pricing page. not the tiered monthly approach or vague “contact sales for enterprise pricing.” 

nah, they state their pricing in terms of product events (website hits, screen views, button clicks, etc). a calculation that engineers can figure out, but us marketers aren’t so familiar in measuring.

marketing campaigns

posthog’s marketing comes down to a lot of organic video. 

it. is. fantastic. 

they’ve ditched tiktok and instagram so they can focus on where their audience is: youtube and twitter.

their youtube content is exactly what it should be: long-form content focusing on either tutorials or brand story and short-form content with quick tips.

the twitter strategy is beautiful: engaging (with the hedgehog), and they’ve even roped that designer back in to make standout posts that really open the loop and draw you in.

for their developer-first target demo, this hits. bravo 👏

sponsorship opportunities

while posthog does no facebook ads, some paid search, and only uses a couple of channels for organic content, they do plenty of content marketing. even writing their own newsletter: “product for engineers.”

video and blog post galore – but is this the best use of resources?

it’s a sweet engine they’re building, but I think they can go a few steps further and venture into sponsorship territory.

we know that indie makers are their target demo, so they can run sponsorships in these newsletters:

  • indie hackers

  • product hunt

  • lenny’s newsletter 

oh, but don’t stop there – build up that community by:

  • sponsoring contests for indie builders

  • give discounted posthog rates for other y-combinator alumni

  • host meetups in partnership with vc and startup incubators

wrap up

posthog is doing a phenomenal job marketing right now – it’s focused, but fierce. I’m wishing the best for them.

if you read this far, thanks! what’s your favorite web or product analytics tool? reply to this email and let me know! (and read the other deep dives here)

✌️,

tom from marketer gems