Your SaaS content marketing playbook for better B2B marketing

A lot of SaaS (software as a service) companies focus on short-term success. Heck, we've been trained to achieve all of the above in the short-term: more customers more sales as well as faster growth in revenue, however for some companies...sheer quantities! The king of the hill was volume (yes as was content).

The market has evolved. SaaS companies are confronted with tighter budgets and unstable conditions where every effort is counted. Translation: B2B marketers can do more with smaller resources. True, volume-based marketing don'ta lasting, long-lasting, and purpose-driven marketing strategy.

An alternative approach to SaaS Content marketing. In this piece we'll look at what's a bit tired in the world that is content marketing. In addition, we'll hear from actual marketing professionals who've tried and tested the effectiveness of new strategies and channels your brand could adopt and implement.

The B2B content marketer's playbook

1.     What's the latest on the internet? SaaS Content Marketing
2.     The most effective methods for SaaS advertising as well as content
3.     SaaS content marketing situations to be aware of
4.     Video content marketing in B2B SaaS
5.     Content strategy tips for SaaS businesses
6.     wrapping up

What's been stagnant in SaaS Content Marketing?

We'll look at some of the most abused methods of marketing content that we would not advise.

Cold email sent outbound that contains no contents to justify it.

If you're not familiar with the concept an initial cold-pitch is usually distributed as an email to reach to the public without any additional information or worth proposition. The person receiving the email doesn't understand the purpose or what they should do, and isn't given an incentive to purchase the service or product you are offering.

It may have worked at times when people were more inclined to receive sales offers and always primed to buy however, it's not working now. Prospects today are constantly confronted with these types of messages. However, they're more likely to do not bother to look them up since they do not provide any actual benefits or details about the advantages your product will provide them with.

Phil Strazzulla, co-founder and founder of SelectSoftware Reviews, a website designed to assist HR professionals select the most suitable SaaS platforms. The two are in agreement:

"The least effective method to be used in 2023 will be cold outbound email with no support. Everybody receives too many emails that come from strangers we've never met thanks to software like Outreach, Apollo, and SalesLoft which makes it easy to automate and grow the number of outbound emails sent out to market."

He added "Marketing teams should pair this method with advertising for brand that are geared towards the same audience accounts and calling campaigns and offline mailing campaigns, if your budget supports it."

Generic content that doesn't address the audience in a specific method

It's easy to believe that the same piece of content is an ideal fit to all your viewers, but this isn't the case. Every audience has their own needs, so you should modify your content in order to satisfy or even challenge them.

B2B clients want to know what they can do with your service or product to address their needs. They need proof to prove the effectiveness of your product, but they also require suggestions on how they can help it function more effectively.

One of the best examples is HubSpot. The HubSpot blog is a resource to read posts on some of the issues that plague the customers they target, which includes salespeople, digital marketing along with customers service experts.

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Long-form content for the sake of it

Long-form content won't disappear in the near future but it's hard to differentiate between customers who have lots to do and aren't as busy. However, a majority of B2B companies make similar guides and consequently nurture sequences and gated deals don't work as well as like they used to be in the past.

It's the same for more lengthy pieces like white papers and research reports. These can also be challenging to comprehend since they're highly technical and are only suitable to a limited number of customers who might be interested. Case studies that are lengthy, although they are beneficial social proof, could prove to be an unnecessary waste of a prospect's limited attention. Are you truly willing to be seen as a second open screen on the marketing professional's busy screen?

If you've put money into extensive written content, you should think of repackaging the copy in short video clips for speedy distribution and consumption.

In this case, for instance, the Content marketing company Omniscient Digital provides video clips from their cases in along with their regular written case study. It's a fantastic way to showcase results without having to read through the entire document for those who prefer video (which the majority of us use).

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Emulating blindly competitors

Every day, an organization creates an online blog, and then copies competitors blog posts, in a succession of one after another. It's an incredibly popular SEO strategy and is frequent for businesses that provide software to other businesses due to the fact that these companies often see different SaaS firms as competition, even though they're different market segments and markets.

Yash Chavan who is the founder of the SaaS-based platform that helps influencer marketers. Saral believes with the idea that copying businesses or even marketing blogs isn't always an best idea. Chavan suggests:

"Understand that the products, markets, and marketers differ... therefore there are different ways to work with each. Utilize your strengths to the maximum. If, for instance, your software is able to collect great original information (e.g. Survey tools) Utilize it to produce original content. If your product involves invitations to people to purchase your product, profit from the idea of referrals. Don't try what marketing blogs suggest you do. you do you!"

The most effective channel are SaaS Content marketing

At the end of the day, the most effective methods of reaching your clients depend on the needs of your target audience as well as their needs. These are, however, the four most popular channels to use for SaaS content marketing. Yes even video!

1. SEO and evergreen content

Some examples of evergreen content are:

• Content from the book
• How-to-guides
• Best practices in the industry
• Success stories of our customers and customer testimonials

In order to make your content search-friendly, you have to increase its visibility across websites like Google as well as YouTube. This means making links (links to other sites) as well as writing compelling text as well as including keywords in your articles' title and body to enhance its relevance to search engines.

2. Email

Email marketing is one of the most traditional methods for marketing through content and is one of the oldest and one of the most efficient. As we discussed above strategies for marketing via email have changed with time (bye cold pitching, bye cold pitching,) however, the method is still a great tool in the eyes of SaaS marketers.

When you are creating relevant content for every aspect of your customers life - from nourishing bloggers to ease them into onboarding, and informing new customers with videos that remind the new customers about renewal dates to offering special upgrades discounts, email can be used to deliver targeted marketing 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 the ways SaaS companies can make use of email content for upgrades as well as renewals.

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3. Evenings (IRL as well as virtual)

Events for networking in person such as or conferences, while not in the same craze due to the outbreak but are getting back in the spotlight because people are seeking social events and celebrations that are live.

Events are a great way to build and build relationships with your clients and prospects gain new insight about your business and also validate ideas of new products or brand as well as network with possible collaborators, influencers and industry experts.

4. Social media

• Use your business's social media profiles on Twitter or Facebook to communicate important information to the people you want to reach. Users who like your profile on social media are choosing to remain loyal to you and could buy from your company in the near future.
• Share content (videos!) of people who are using your product or service. Content made by users who are real can help your followers feel more at ease with your business and would like to learn more about the service or product.
• Interact with users who post comments on the posts or pose questions on social media channels. You can respond with a an email for a deeper connection with customers who are interested in becoming customers.
• Don't forget about influencers and industry leading figures! Connect with them through social media platforms, and ask them to agree to help others by writing blog posts and/or videos, or giving a talk at the events.

SaaS content marketing examples to learn from

HubSpot

Hubspot has been publishing blog articles since 2014 and it has grown into one of the most successful content-related stories to be told in marketing.

The business makes use of its blog articles to draw new customers, and to offer value to its existing customers. The blog's section on marketing includes topics like automation of marketing as along with social media marketing and blogging.

However, what distinguishes HubSpot different is the fact that it uses various designs.

For instance, HubSpot uses a mixture of HubSpot ultimate guides, podcasts and videos in their blog posts in order to provide their readers with a variety of options.

HubSpot Academy is another important part of HubSpot's content strategy. The academy online provides short classes on everything from basic marketing techniques like identifying prospects on social media making an email drip program, and all the way to higher-level certifications such as the Certification in Inbound Marketing certificate..

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The reason it works:

• The emphasis is on helping customers solve real issues
• Variety of various kinds of content that appeal to different audiences and their interests
• Genuine voice that doesn't attempt too too hard to come off as funny or smart.

Microsoft

With the Office 365 blog, Microsoft has developed a platform of useful content that will aid users in understanding their subscription selection as well as usage-cases as well as tips about how to get the most of their subscriptions.

Microsoft has done a fantastic work through their Microsoft 365 University website. Microsoft has created an interactive online community that is accessible to students and educators which allows users to figure out more about Microsoft 365 products and services.

In addition, they provide an online class " Create Your First App," where you can learn how create apps using Visual Studio Code and Azure DevOps Services.

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How do you make it work?

Microsoft was focused on developing an eBook or video that would be available for 18 months and allow users to browse the content at their leisure. This approach eliminates the need to create every day new content and permits Microsoft to concentrate on meeting customer needs.

Adobe

Adobe has launched CMO.com, a publication that will benefit users through content that covers the top topics that digital executives must know about. This publication features articles by leading experts in the field and also perspectives from Adobe on technology, products and business developments.

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This is an excellent illustration of how SaaS businesses can utilize content marketing to increase and improve customer relationships that could result in increased sales.

The reason why it works

This is because the CMO's material is non-product-specific, which means they don't focus on the products or services. Content is designed to address developments, opportunities and challenges that can be avoided technological disruptions.

SARAL

SARAL is an influencer marketing platform that connects influencers and brands. Their blog is a valuable source of knowledge on the particulars of influencer marketing. The goal isn't just to promote the products however, but to also help intended customers (marketers) to run effective campaigns.

The founder of the company does not just publish blog posts. The founder also spreads his two ideas through 50 channels on a weekly basis and therefore reaches a greater populace.

The reason why it works

Yash Chavan the co-founder of Saral and Saral's CEO, has stated that changing his goal from publishing 2 blogs per week, to advertising two concepts on fifty social media channels greatly affected his content marketing strategies.

Chavan carried out an experiment that found that the site's traffic fell by 35% when the content wasn't distributed for a month. He also recommends to new SaaS founders and marketers to produce high-value content rather than a lot of content that is of lesser value and distribute it as much as possible.

Marketing via video content for B2B SaaS

Marketing via video is an effective method that is a great tool for B2B and B2C firms. Your content may serve different purposes in B2C and B2B (i.e., educate rather than. entertain).

In actual fact, HubSpot Blog Research discovered that 15% of B2B marketers consider creating thought leadership to be the primary goal of their video marketing plan in contrast to only 9% of B2C marketers.

Here are a few additional ways B2B SaaS firms use videos more frequently than B2C businesses:

• Explainer videos
• Product demos
• Live streamed of events
• Videos of the product
• Behind-the-scenes videos
• Reviews and comments from our customers

If you're a B2C company and you are an B2C business, then your approach with regards to social media may to differ from that of the strategies of an B2B SaaS firm. The B2C business model is heavily dependent on TikTok and Instagram and LinkedIn, while B2B businesses will likely use Twitter and LinkedIn frequently.

The reason for this is because the channels they use are more for their intended market: B2C brands want to communicate directly with their customers and directly, while B2B SaaS firms seek to communicate with professionals in the industry who have longer sales cycles and larger influencers.

Tips for content strategy SaaS businesses

Let's discuss some tips on content strategy to SaaS marketing professionals for 2023.

Know all possible about the target public

Before producing your content, it is essential to know who you're talking to and what they expect from your organization. In order to do that, you need to conduct market research and speak about potential buyers or consumers of your product or service. Learn what kind of information they need and how they would prefer to consume it, whether in videos, audio or text.

Create personas that represent your target audience's interests and needs. Use those personas to help you decide how to develop, design and format your content.

Feedback surveys is another method to get a better understanding of the customers who utilize your product. Surveys on feedback are helpful since they give you opinions and suggestions of real users to define the future direction for your product and service.

Pro Tip:Look at Google Trends for keywords that are relevant to your field and this will aid you in deciding what subjects you'll cover in your blog post or on social media.

Updating what you have

For SaaS companies, updating your website's content is an excellent way to make sure that your content is current and discoverable.

If you write or create video content, keep track of when the content is made available, as well as track the usage and the impact. Every quarter, review your library for any drops in engagement prioritizing those sources in need of updates. Additionally, as your service develops and grows, you must make sure your content matches the features you need as well as the appropriate pictures.

Also, you can update your current pages by adding more information and resources. It will be more valuable to those who have searched for similar information in the past but couldn't find the information they needed in your website.

Prioritize distribution

If you do not have a strategy for distributing your material, it's likely to not be noticed by those that are in the greatest need of it. It's crucial to know the locations where your desired audience hangs out online -for example, websites, social media sites, or discussion groups -create ways to get them to visit your site.

Be aware of the metrics that matter to you

It's crucial to be aware of the important metrics to you , and what is the most effective method of measuring them.

If you're looking to increase brand recognition and increase the value of users who come to your site as well as to improve retention. Content marketing is a reliable method of reaching the objectives you want to achieve especially if you ensure that you implement a carefully-planned method and produce content that resonates with your target audience.

If your aim is to generate leads the content you create must focus on bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) information that includes product details and is included at your conversion points (e.g. Demo requests or trial registrations that are totally free). Also, you can supplement your content strategies with advertisements that are paid to bring additional visitors to your content and assist in generating leads that can be qualified.

Produce unique, data-driven content

Data-driven content is a great way to share information with your fans. This is also an excellent way to differentiate yourself against your competition.

SaaS companies have an edge in this respect because they are able to access an array of information about their clients and customers who are likely to become. This information allows them to come up with information that is directly addressing the needs of their customers and assist them in solving their issues.

SaaS marketer, co-founder and founder of AdEspresso Massimo Chieruzzi believes that AI-based software for writing will soon be utilized to earn money from creation of content. The production quality of these software instruments will exceed those of copywriters. Only way for you to defeat the AI is to write original material.

"Quality could be a reference to many items. This could include the opinion of a person who has particular (and definitely not controversial) viewpoint regarding the field. It is also possible to compose information-driven material using SaaS internally-developed databases . "

Massimo says that, in AdEspresso, they initially invested in writing content analyzing the millions in Facebook Ads controlled by the platform. This approach was effective in establishing the image of the brand that gained trust and also as regular visitors. Additionally, it attracted a number of backlinks.

The wrap up

2023 will revolve around offering your customers and prospects with unique and relevant content in multiple formats--including, and especially videos. SaaS customers are on the move and want content with long-lasting value and a distinctive perspective.

Videos reflect your company's image and allow you to stand out against your competition But remember that if you provide specific, targeted information that gives anyone real value, you'll crush your competition with the power of content marketing.

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