How to Conquer SaaS Content Marketing Without Boring Your Customers
At any moment, there are nearly 16,000 active SaaS brands in the United States vying for a slice of a global industry worth nearly $157 billion in 2020. It’s a crowded market, to be sure, but there are ways to stand out from the competition and engage with the exact type of customer that your software was designed to serve.
In this article you’ll learn tips, tricks and best practices for using content marketing to grow your SaaS business.
What is SaaS Content Marketing
Unlike traditional SaaS marketing strategies that focus on ad spaces to promote and sell, the primary focus of SaaS content marketing is to produce content (blog posts, articles, FAQs, etc) that builds authority in your niche and engages with your audience in a way that encourages them to “share”, “buy now” and “click here for more”.
Create Content for Each Phase of the Buyer’s Journey
The ultimate goal of SaaS content marketing is to produce content that effectively educates customers on how your product works; shows them how it solves their problems and guides them along the “Buyer’s Journey” to making a purchase. In SaaS content marketing, that journey typically includes:
Awareness – Fostered with engaging, educational content designed to inform readers on the different ways in which your software solves their problems.
Lead Generation – Delivered with free, gated, high-value content designed to encourage customers to engage with your brand and trust your tool/service.
Trial Sign-Ups – Promoted with Content that encourages potential customers to try your software. Typically includes an offer for a Free Trial.
Conversion to Paid Customers – Facilitated with compelling content designed to help Free Trial subscribers find and utilize the more valuable tools within your software.
Customer Retention – Maintained with educational content (How To Guides, FAQs, etc) designed to retain existing customers by helping them to be successful with your software and its features.
Why SaaS Companies Need Content Marketing
It doesn’t matter what your software does or who it’s designed to serve, content marketing is the best way to reach your target audience and grow your customer base. Now, you’re probably thinking that your target audience doesn’t spend their time reading content about SaaS brands, but that’s not the case.
Research shows that nearly 50% of B2B buyers read 3 to 5 blog articles or content pieces before contacting a salesperson. That means your potential customers determine which software they will likely buy based on content produced by competing SaaS brands.
If you’re not there to shape the narrative, your competition will do it for you, and I don’t need to tell you how big of a disadvantage that is. Fortunately, starting a blog is not only easy, it’s easy to outsource. All you have to do is click here to get started.
SaaS Brands Who Rock at Content Marketing
By now you have surely researched your competition; seen their blog and drawn some sort of conclusion as to whether or not you need content marketing. I’d say that you whole-heartedly do, but I’m also a content marketer and a little biased.
So, I included 7 brands who leverage SaaS content marketing to rank for strategic keywords, engage with their target audience, boost awareness and, most importantly, gain new customers.
HubSpot
When it comes to SaaS content marketing, HubSpot is virtually unmatched. With Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and complete subject matter mastery, HubSpot’s content shows their audience that they are not just a platform for its SaaS product, but a reliable resource for users and non-users alike.
Moz
The success of this brand’s SEO software is perpetuated by consistent content creation that has made Moz an essential destination for its more than 500,000 customers and any users within the online marketing space.
Unbounce
This brand employs a rich, deeply engaging blog centered on conversions, webinars, content guides and other free content designed to give readers a glimpse behind the company’s operation.
Hootsuite
Hootsuite is a driving force in the world of social media because the brand leverages its always entertaining content to showcase engaging content marketing tools to keep users talking and coming back for more.
Trello
Trello is among the most popular organizational tools online today, in part, because their content is designed to ease users from it’s free version to their premium plans by proving that their tool is so useful that users upgrade to paid users.
DropBox
Dropbox is one brand that not only lures in new users with its free services, but also with its content marketing, which naturally leans into the premium paid model by demonstrating the usefulness of the product.
Buffer
Buffer rose to become a major player in their niche, in part, because they have killer content marketing that reaches out to new prospects with a popular blog, noted for repurposing old posts and keeping content evergreen.
Content Strategies for SaaS Brands
It’s not enough for SaaS brands to have an awesome product. Branding, blogging and content marketing are critical to success. But a blog is only as good as the content strategy behind it, which is why you should outsource your content marketing to Otherworld Content.
Let’s spread the word and show the world just how amazing your software is. Contact me today for a custom content strategy that will grow your brand awareness and show the true value of your service.