Many SaaS (software as a service) companies focus on short-term wins. Heck, we’ve been trained to do everything in the short-term: more subscribers, faster sales, and for some companies…sheer volume! Volume was king (yes, just like content).
But the times are changing. SaaS companies face shrinking budgets and a turbulent climate where every effort counts. Translation: B2B marketers are doing more with less. Volume plays do not a sustainable, intent-driven marketing strategy make.
There’s a better approach to SaaS content marketing. In this guide, we’ll discuss what’s tired in content marketing and hear from real marketers who’ve tested and proven new channels and tactics that your brand can take and run with.
The B2B content marketer’s playbook
What’s tired in SaaS content marketing
Let’s examine a few exhausted content marketing that we don’t recommend.
Cold outbound email with no supporting content
For the uninitiated, a cold pitch is typically sent as an outreach email with no supporting content or value proposition. The prospect doesn’t know why or how to respond and hasn’t been given any reason to care about your product or service.
This approach may have worked when folks were more receptive to sales pitches and were always primed to buy, but it doesn’t work anymore. Today, prospects are inundated with these types of emails, and most ignore them because they don’t provide any real value or insight into what your product can do for them.
Phil Strazzulla, the founder of SelectSoftware Reviews, a website dedicated to helping HR teams find and buy the right SaaS platforms, agrees:
“The least effective method in 2023 will be cold outbound email with no support. Everyone gets too many emails from people we don’t know due to tools like Outreach, Apollo, and SalesLoft, making it so easy to automate and scale outbound email campaigns.“
He added, “Marketing teams need to pair this approach with brand advertisements focused on the same target accounts, calling efforts, and offline mail campaigns where your budget supports it.”
Generic content that doesn’t address a specific audience
It’s tempting to think any content will work across your entire audience, but that’s not the case. Your audience has different needs, so you must tailor your content to meet or even challenge them.
B2B audiences want information on how they can use your product or service to solve their problems. They want proof that it works, but they also want tips on how to use it more effectively.
A classic example of this is HubSpot. The HubSpot blog features articles that directly solve common problems of their target audience, who are digital marketers, salespeople, and customer service professionals.
Moreover, HubSpot includes tips and best practices about how to solve these issues using the HubSpot product itself, making this content valuable for prospects and customers alike (a.k.a. customer marketing).
Long-form content for the sake of it
Long-form content isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but it doesn’t always stand out in the eyes of busy prospects and casual subscribers. Unfortunately, many B2B brands produce similar guides, so gated offers and nurture sequences don’t pack the same punch they once did.
The same goes for longer pieces of content like white papers or research reports. These can also be challenging reads as they can be highly technical—and only interesting to a select few prospects. Even lengthy case studies, while valuable social proof, can lose prospect’s limited attention. Who wants to be just another open tab on a marketer’s crowded desktop?
We’ve seen content like videos and podcasts replace these long-form pieces; your audience doesn’t have to spend as much time reading. After all, video storytelling is a more appealing way to nurture prospects.
If you’ve already invested in long-form written content, consider repackaging the copy into short videos for quick consumption and distribution.
For example, content marketing agency Omniscient Digital includes short video case studies as a complement to their regular written case study. This is a great way to showcase results without requiring folks to read the entire article if they prefer video (which most of us do).
Blindly emulating competitors
It happens all the time: a company creates a blog and starts copying its competitors’ posts one by one. It’s a common SEO conten tplay and is especially common with companies that sell software to other businesses because those companies often look at other SaaS companies as competitors even though they’re different markets and niches.
Yash Chavan, founder of SaaS-based influencer marketing platform Saral agrees that copying other companies and marketing blogs is not a good idea. Chavan suggests:
“Understand that all products, markets, and marketers are different… so different things work for each. Play to your strengths. For instance, if your product gets great original data (e.g., survey tool), then use it to create original content. If your product involves inviting other people to it, go all in on referrals as a strategy. Don’t try what marketing blogs tell you to do – you do you!”
The best channels for SaaS content marketing
Ultimately, the best channels for reaching your customers will vary depending on your audience’s interests and pain points, but here are four powerful channels for SaaS content marketing—yes, including video!
1. SEO and evergreen content
Search-friendly, evergreen content is any content that remains relevant over time. It’s also known as timeless content because it doesn’t become outdated or irrelevant as quickly as other types of content.
Some examples of evergreen content include:
- Product content
- How-to guides
- Industry best practices
- Testimonial and customer success stories
To make your evergreen content search-friendly, you have to increase its visibility across search engines like Google and YouTube. This includes building backlinks (links from other sites), writing compelling copy, and including commonly-search phrases in your articles’ title and body to enhance it’s relevance on search engines.
2. Email
Email marketing is one of the oldest forms of content marketing—and still one of the most effective. As we discussed above, email marketing tactics have changed over the years (bye, bye cold pitches), but the medium remains invaluable for SaaS marketers.
As you create relevant content for every aspect of your customer lifecycle — from nurturing blog readers to onboarding and educating new users with video to reminding them about upcoming renewal dates to offering special upgrade discounts — email enables you to send it out through tailored campaigns.
Email also provides a unique one-on-one experience between you and your prospects or customers…something SEO and social media lacks.
The below example from Zoom showcases how SaaS brands can leverage email content for upgrades and renewals.
3. Events (IRL and virtual)
There are many different types of events that can be used as a channel for content marketing.
In-person events like networking events, conferences, and seminars, while not as popular during the pandemic, are back with a vengeance as folks are hungry for community and live celebrations.
But virtual events are still popular. In fact, we found that 72% of marketers expect to attend just as many, if not more, online events even as in-person events come back into play. Virtual events like webinars, roundtables, or seminars allow you to interact with people regardless of their location (or your event budget).
Events help you build and foster relationships with your prospects and customers, gain new insights into your market, validate new product or brand ideas, and network with potential partners, influencers, and industry experts.
Download our Stress-Free Virtual Event Checklist
4. Social media
Social media is both a content marketing medium and distribution channel, making it uber valuable for SaaS marketers. There are many different ways to use social media for content marketing, but here are some tips that can help you get started:
- Use your company’s Facebook page or Twitter account to share valuable information with your target audience. People who follow your brand on social media are opting to trust you and may purchase from your company in the future.
- Post content (videos!) of people using your product or service. Real user-generated content can help followers feel connected to the brand and want to learn more about it.
- Engage with people who comment on posts or ask questions on social media sites. You can even respond by direct message to build more intentional relationships with prospects.
- Don’t forget about influencers and industry leaders! Reach out to them through social media and ask them if they would be willing to share their knowledge with others by writing blog posts, creating videos, or speaking at events.
SaaS content marketing examples to learn from
HubSpot
Hubspot has been producing blog posts since 2014, and it has become one of the best content marketing success stories.
The company uses its blog posts to attract new leads and provide value for existing customers. Its Marketing blog covers topics like marketing automation, social media marketing, blogging.
But what makes HubSpot stand out is its use of multiple formats.
For example, HubSpot uses a mixture of HubSpot ultimate guides, podcasts, and videos within blog posts to give its audience an option.
HubSpot Academy is another critical component of HubSpot’s content strategy. This online academy offers quick courses on everything from basic marketing skills like finding leads through social media or creating an email drip campaign, all the way up to advanced certifications like Certified Inbound Marketer certification.
HubSpot is big on video marketing and features supporting videos within blog posts, educational videos on YouTube, and Facebook Live events.
Why it works:
- A focus on helping customers solve real problems
- A variety of different types of content that appeals to different audiences and interests
- An authentic voice that doesn’t try too hard to be funny or clever
Microsoft
With its Office 365 blog, Microsoft has created a hub of valuable content that helps customers understand their product range and use cases and provides them with tips on how they can get the most out of their subscriptions.
Microsoft has also done a fantastic job with its Microsoft 365 University website. They have created an online community for students and teachers where they can learn about Microsoft 365 products and services.
They also have an online course, “Create Your First App,” where you can learn how to build apps using Visual Studio Code and Azure DevOps Services.
Why it works:
Microsoft focused on creating an eBook or video series that could live for 18 months, allowing customers to browse the information at their leisure. This strategy eliminates the pressure to create new content all the time and allows Microsoft to focus on addressing customer needs.
Adobe
Adobe launched CMO.com, a magazine/publication that delivers value to readers through content spanning the most critical topics to digital leaders. It encompasses articles from thought leaders in the field and more viewpoints from Adobe on product, technology, and industry trends.
It’s an excellent example of how SaaS companies can use content marketing to drive and nurture customer relationships, leading to more sales.
Why it works
It works because CMO’s content is product-agnostic, meaning they don’t focus on their company’s products or services. The content concentrates solely on the trends, challenges, and opportunities to avoid digital disruption.
SARAL
SARAL is an influencer marketing platform that connects brands and influencers. Their blog provides valuable information on the nuances of influencer marketing, not just to promote the services but also to help its target audience (marketers) run successful campaigns.
The company’s founder doesn’t just post blog posts – he promotes two ideas across 50 social channels weekly – thus reaching a broader audience.
Why it works
Yash Chavan, Saral’s founder, says that shifting his focus from publishing two blogs per week to promoting two ideas across 50 social channels significantly impacted his content marketing strategy.
Chavan ran an experiment that showed his site traffic dropped by 35% when he stopped distributing content for one month. He also advises new SaaS founders and marketers to create high-value content instead of lots of low-value content and share it as much as possible.
Video content marketing for B2B SaaS
Video content marketing is a powerful tool for B2B and B2C companies. That said, the content you create might have different goals for B2B and B2C (i.e., educate vs. entertain).
B2B brands use video marketing primarily for brand awareness, while B2C brands use videos for advertising.
In fact, HubSpot Blog Research found that 15% of B2B marketers consider establishing thought leadership a primary goal of their video marketing strategy compared to only 9% of B2C marketers.
Here are some more ways that B2B SaaS companies use video content more than B2C companies:
- Explainer videos
- Product demos
- Live streaming events
- Product videos
- Behind-the-scenes videos
- Customer testimonials and stories
If you have a B2C company, your social media strategy will also differ from a B2B SaaS company. The former relies more on TikTok and Instagram, while the latter likely uses Twitter and LinkedIn more often.
This is because these channels are more suited for their audience: B2C brands want to engage with customers directly, whereas B2B SaaS companies want to reach industry professionals who have longer sales cycles and more decision-makers.
Content strategy tips for SaaS companies
Let’s discuss some content strategy tips for SaaS marketers in 2023.
Learn all about your audience
Before creating content, you need to understand who you’re talking to and what they want from you. To do this, conduct market research and speak with potential customers or users of your product or service. Find out what type of information they need and how they prefer consuming it, whether via video, audio, or text.
Then create personas that reflect your target audience’s interests and needs and use those personas to guide how you create, design, and format your content.
Running feedback surveys is another way to learn about your audience. Feedback surveys are useful because they allow you to gather the thoughts and opinions of real users to shape future products and services.
Pro tip: Look at Google Trends for keywords in your industry and this information to inform which topics you’ll cover in blog posts or social media updates.
Update what you already have
For SaaS companies, updating your content is a great way to keep high-value content relevant and discoverable.
As you publish written and video content, keep track of when it goes live and monitor its traffic and impact. Every quarter, review your library to identify drops in engagement, and prioritize those assets for updates. Similarly, as your product grows and changes, make sure your content reflects the correct product features and imagery.
You can also update existing content by adding new data and resources. This will make it more relevant to users who may have been searching for similar information in the past but didn’t find what they were looking for on your site.
Prioritize distribution
If you don’t have a plan to distribute your content, it will never be seen by the people who need it most. It’s essential to identify where your target audience hangs out online — whether that’s blogs, social media networks, or discussion groups — then develop strategies for reaching them there.
Don’t shy away from repackaging content to support distribution. For example, if you write a search-friendly blog post about the benefits of using your product, use the exact text to make a video to expand your reach on YouTube or Vimeo.
Know which metrics matter to you
It’s important to know which metrics matter to you and how to measure them.
Suppose your goal is to build brand awareness, provide value to your audience and increase customer retention. Content marketing is also a great way to achieve those goals — especially if you follow a strategic approach and create high-quality content that will resonate with your target audience.
If your goal is to drive leads, your content marketing should hone in on bottom-of-funnel (BOFU) content that naturally features product information and tees up your conversion points (e.g., demo requests or free trial sign-ups). You can also complement your content strategy with paid ads to drive additional traffic to these assets and help drive qualified leads.
Produce unique, data-driven content
Data-driven content is a powerful way to share insights with your audience. It’s also a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
SaaS companies have an edge on this front because they have access to a wealth of information about its customers and prospects. By leveraging that data, you can create content that speaks directly to them and helps them solve their problems.
SaaS marketer and founder of AdEspresso Massimo Chieruzzi believes that artificial intelligence-based writing tools will soon commoditize content production. And often, the output quality of these tools will be better than that of most copywriters. The only way to beat the AI is to create unique content.
“Quality can be a lot of different things. It can be thought leadership with a unique (and why not controversial) point of view on the industry. It can also be writing data-driven content leveraging SaaS internal data.”
Massimo shares that at AdEspresso, they initially invested in writing content analyzing the billions of dollars of Facebook Ads managed through the platform. This strategy paid off by helping build the brand, creating trust and returning visitors, and attracting many backlinks.
Wrapping up
2023 will be all about providing your prospects and customers with unique and relevant content in multiple formats—including, and especially, video. SaaS customers are busy and need content with a shelf-life and a unique POV.
Videos represent your brand and help you stand out from competitors, but remember — if you provide audience-focused, personalized content that provides someone with real value, you’ll crush content marketing.
See how video can elevate your B2B brand’s content marketing strategy.
