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The world of SaaS content marketing can seem paralyzing at first. With so many platforms and types of content, it can be difficult to know where to start.
Like many things, the best place to start is at the beginning with the basics. In this guide, we'll define content marketing, how it's different for SaaS companies, and how it works, so you can get started with confidence.
Content Marketing Strategy for SaaS: The Absolute Basics is the first part of a series all about content strategy for SaaS. Check back soon for Parts 2, 3, 4, and 5.
Table of Contents
With about five billion internet users today, chances are, your target audience is looking for you online. Content marketing can help you connect with them.
This form of marketing focuses on the creation, publishing, and distribution of content for a targeted online audience. This content comes in many forms, including videos, social media posts, images—the list goes on.
Software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies can also use content marketing to reach their audiences. SaaS companies often use content to build brand awareness, drive interest in their platforms, and convert website visitors into paying users.
As a SaaS company, content marketing will look a bit different for you. First, while other companies are marketing products and services that can be sold more than once, your platform is used multiple times by each user, typically on a subscription basis. Your content marketing strategy will need to focus on both user conversion and retention.
You'll also need to use unique messaging when speaking to your audience. SaaS companies must take extra care to make sure technical topics are easy to understand for all. At the same time, you must easily communicate the benefits and features of your products.
Content marketing is often a highly effective marketing strategy for companies in any industry or niche. That's why 82% of marketers have reported actively using content marketing. For SaaS companies, there are so many benefits to using content to market products and platforms.
With billions of users active on the internet daily, online content is the easiest way to get tons of eyes on your brand. Social media platforms, such as TikTok and Instagram, see millions of active users each month. Sharing valuable and educational content online is an easy way to connect your service to the users who need it most.
It's no secret that users prefer to use the services of companies that they know and trust. Online content can be a powerful tool to educate audiences and help them with a need. When a user continues to see your content, they begin to recognize your brand, which creates a feeling of trust.
A key goal of SaaS content marketing is to drive web traffic, most often to a website. Once a potential user lands on your website, they can learn even more about your products and the benefits you they provide. The result? Increased conversions and leads. According to a recent survey, 67% of marketers say that content marketing generates demand and leads for their B2B businesses.
Content marketing provides an incredible opportunity to establish a brand for your SaaS company. Branding includes everything from the visuals you use to your messaging. Content marketing allows SaaS companies to create a consistent brand that can adapt to multiple forms of content, including videos, photos, or text.
SaaS content marketing focuses on supporting potential users throughout the entirety of their journey. For example, content helps build brand awareness, provides education about your solutions, and inspires potential users to convert.
However, content marketing doesn't stop there. Effective content marketing in the later stages of the customer journey also inspires users to stay loyal to your brand. Loyalty is critical for SaaS companies, especially those whose products are subscription-based.
Now that you know the benefits of content marketing, you may be chomping at the bit to get started. Let's discuss how content marketing works and the tools you'll need to start building out your strategy.
Content marketing works to provide relevant content to your audience to build interest, keep them engaged, and inspire them to convert. Content should be created for each stage of the customer journey and sales cycle.
What could this look like for your business? For example, you could start by using social media and your website to publish content such as reviews and photos, which help potential users in their search for solutions.
Once a potential user finds your product, longer-form content, such as videos and case studies could be used to address any questions or concerns they have as they consider your platform. Following potential users along on their journey will ensure you're addressing their needs consistently, which often inspires conversions.
There are many types of content you can use in each stage of the customer journey. When a user starts their journey, they may be more likely to gravitate towards visual content like online videos and photos that give an inside look into your products.
Further along in the journey, additional content such as blog articles and email campaigns can be great for helping potential users understand your platform and services. These content types are perfect for answering specific questions users may have about your product as they consider purchasing it.
You can also utilize user-generated content, or UGC, which is content created by your own users. UGC content is an effective way to build trust in your brand. Customer reviews and testimonials are just two examples of user-generated content that result in high impact.
Not sure where to start when creating content? Check out these tips!
Once you've created your content, you must publish and promote it. There are many different content platforms you can publish your content to.
Many of the top social media platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook are great places to start. Not only do these platforms have massive user bases, but they also provide plenty of opportunities to share visual content.
The key to selecting the right content platforms for you is to consider your goals. Start by asking yourself these questions:
It's also important to create content that can be used across multiple platforms. For example, with the rising popularity of TikTok, many prominent platforms have created channels for sharing short videos. Just one of the videos you create could reach multiple audiences when cross-posted to different platforms.
Before you can use the power of content to reach your marketing goals, you'll need an effective content marketing strategy. A content marketing strategy is a plan that will help you map out what it is you want to achieve from start to finish.
When you have a strategy in place, you'll find that it's easier to identify both successes and areas of potential improvement as you move forward. And as you refine your strategy, it'll become easier to hit your goals. Here are a few things any effective content marketing strategy should include.
Goals and objectives are foundational elements in your SaaS content marketing strategy. First, to determine your goals, you'll want to consider where you want your business to go in the future and the steps required to get you there.
Next, you can map marketing objectives to your overarching business goals. While goals represent the outcomes you'd like to achieve, objectives are the specific actions that will get you there. As you map objectives, your content marketing strategy will begin to take shape.
While it may be easy to assume that your target audience is everyone who comes across your content, this isn't necessarily the case. In fact, there's a group of people out there who will benefit from your platform the most: your target audience.
By defining your target audience, you can refine your messaging to ensure it resonates. As a result, you'll see returns on your marketing investment much more quickly.
Web content is vast. And with all the different platforms and content types at your disposal, it's best to have a plan in place you can refer to as you create, promote, and measure content.
A content plan lists all of the content you plan to develop and publish over a specific period of time. It ensures content deadlines are met and new content opportunities are capitalized upon. Plus, it ensures you remain consistent, which is critical for reaching your marketing goals and objectives.
After you publish your content, you need to promote it to maximize its reach. And once you promote your content, you must measure its success to see what's working and what's not.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics you should use to test how relevant your audience finds your content. There are many KPIs to choose from, such as conversion rate, click-through rate, and website traffic. By monitoring these metrics, you'll uncover critical insights you can use to improve your content strategy.
SaaS content marketing is complex. However, with a proper plan and the right tools, you can create a content marketing strategy that will help you meet your goals.
Since visual content is a huge cornerstone in SaaS content creation and marketing strategy, utilizing a tool like Cohley will help you simplify the process while producing impactful results.
Cohley can help you generate custom-branded content such as photos, videos, and product reviews for your SaaS business, so you can focus on growth. To see how we can support your content strategy, book a consultation today!