A 6-step guide to content marketing for SaaS in 2023 | AcademyOcean
Highlights:
What is SaaS content marketing?
Why does content marketing matter for SaaS?
10 steps to creating your SaaS content marketing strategy
Today we want to talk about content, more precisely — the content used by SaaS companies to market their brand and products to potential customers.
Content is king!
No doubt about it, every marketer knows that. But the way content marketing is conducted in 2023 is very different from 2010 or even 2015. Let’s take a look at what has changed over the past years and how to tackle this task in the upcoming year.
What is SaaS content marketing?
SaaS content marketing is all about quality and useful content. The main idea of this is to attract people to your products (SaaS). It plays a crucial role in educating your audience, building brand awareness, and ultimately driving conversions.
Why does content marketing matter for SaaS?
Long-lasting effects
One of the key benefits of SaaS content is its long-lasting effects. Unlike traditional advertising, which may have a short-term impact, well-crafted content can continue to generate leads and conversions for an extended period. This means that the effort and resources invested in content creation continue to provide returns over time.
Cost-effective nature
Compared to traditional marketing saas methods, this one is cost-effective for SaaS. Creating and distributing content through digital channels often requires less financial investment than running paid advertising campaigns. This makes it an attractive option for startups and smaller SaaS companies with limited marketing budgets.
Lifetime value
It contributes to your clients' lifetime value. By providing quality materials, you can help your TA understand and maximize the advantages of your software. Additionally, it allows to boost retention levels and maximize their value. This not only boosts revenue but also enhances your brand's reputation.
Crowded place
The Internet is becoming more and more crowded as more people join the digital realm. The amount of information grows proportionally. This means that every day more and more companies are pumping out articles, videos, podcast, and social media posts about their products and services. It all comes down to competition for your audience’s attention.
How does this affect content marketing? — You need to put out more content, a lot more content.
It does not mean, however, you have to spam out dozens of meaningless posts on your Facebook page. But it does mean you have to consider establishing your presence on several different platforms. Depending on your target audience, you may want to look towards more Linkedin content, Instagram, Medium, or maybe even Reddit or Snapchat.
Raised expectations
The SaaS market is rapidly growing. According to Martech 5000, there are almost 7000 SaaS marketing solutions alone, not counting other industries.
The market becomes more and more saturated and every company is now under pressure to over-deliver on the expectations.
This means your content marketing must keep up and provide your audience with valuable and relevant content. In other words — quantity must be backed up by quality.
What is considered quality content for a SaaS? — Well, as always, it depends on your niche, your audience, and many other factors. But a good place to start is to create visual, written and audio content around your product:
- Showcase how it solves specific tasks or helps achieve goals in an article.
- Demonstrate new features via an infographic.
- Talk about the experience your customers have with your products on your podcast.
The creative part is up to you, which brings us to our next point.
The WOW! Factor
Having a WOW! effect on your audience was always good, even before the internet. Today, however, the standard is raised much higher and the number of platforms at your disposal has grown tenfold.
To reach the desired effect your team would have to come up with some great ideas. For example, you can surprise everyone with an Instagram world record.
At the time of writing of this post, the egg had more than 50 million likes.
Keep in mind though, after you’ve created the WOW! effect and captured the audience’s attention, you must properly use this leverage to your advantage.
Hint: Don’t go straight to the sales pitch, build more trust and brand loyalty.
Long-form content
When social media took off, especially in the early Twitter era, it was all about short messages, a lot of short messages. Today long-form content is making a comeback.
Many marketers acknowledge that long, detailed and informative posts are receiving higher engagement from the audience. The rise of podcasts can also be attributed to this fact. People want to consume more in-depth knowledge and hear discussions.
A good place to start posting long-form content will be, of course, your SaaS blog. Thankfully, there is no shortage of topics to discuss.
Hint: Try telling your audience about your company in a story format.
Give them an overview of your trip to the latest conference, add some pictures or video, share your experience.
Also, Linkedin is seeing an increase in engagement on long posts, so you might want to look towards this platform for content distribution.
10 steps to creating your SaaS content marketing strategy
Achieving steady content marketing growth requires a well-thought-out strategy and careful implementation. But here, I will share the universal guide to content marketing suitable for any industry.
Defining your business goals
Before you embark on your journey, clearly define your goals. Are you looking to increase sign-ups, boost user engagement, or drive upgrades? Your goals will shape your content strategy.
Gathering customer intel
Understanding your TA is paramount. Research to gather insights into their pain points, preferences, and behaviours. This data will inform your content creation efforts.
Creating a content lifecycle strategy
Develop a comprehensive content lifecycle strategy that outlines how content will be created, published, and updated over time. This ensures a consistent and organized approach to content marketing.
Types of content to create
Consider a variety of social media marketing for SAAS sorts of content cater to different preferences:
Blog posts
Publish informative blog posts that address common user questions and challenges related to your SaaS product.
Videos
Create video tutorials, demos, and testimonials to engage and educate your audience visually.
Podcasts
Explore the podcast format to discuss industry trends, share expert opinions and create useful materials on the go.
Lead magnets
Offer downloadable resources like eBooks, whitepapers, or templates in exchange for user information, such as email addresses.
Conversions
Optimize your SAAS marketers' content for conversions. Use CTAs and landing pages to guide users toward desired actions. Those can include scheduling a Demo or free trials or subscribing to your newsletter.
Distributing your content
Effective distribution is essential. Utilize various channels to interact with your TA. Analyze your audience to learn which content distribution channels they prefer and use them with appropriate content to your benefit.
Let’s sum this up. What’s changed in content marketing for SaaS companies in 2023:
- Consider building your audience on new content distribution channels.
- Higher expectations from your content due to more competition.
- The need for WOW! factor.
- Long-form content is making a comeback.
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