10 B2B SaaS Content Marketing Strategies That Truly Works
Unlocking the “magic” of content marketing is easier said than done for many marketers. Often it can feel like you are constantly spinning your wheels, playing catch-up with endless tactics and no eventual finish line. Understandably, this can lead to feelings of frustration and paralysis because what should be a research project suddenly becomes an all-consuming day job. At their core though, content marketing tips or tricks that work well may seem simple or obvious but often they come down to one thing: strategy.
There is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to content marketing strategy. What works for one SaaS company might not work for another, and what works today may not work tomorrow. However, some general tips can help any B2B SaaS startups create a successful content marketing strategy.
Below we listed ten of the most important content marketing strategies for B2B SaaS startups. But before that, let’s first set a shared understanding of what content marketing is about.
Content Marketing Defined
Content marketing is “a form of marketing based around the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain a customer or audience.” In other words, it involves creating valuable information for your users that they can use and share. It is a necessity for most businesses – big or small – as we live in the age of information, where people expect to get what they need right away and on-demand.
Why is Content Marketing Important to B2B SaaS Startups?
It’s not a secret that buying decisions are driven by content. The top B2B SaaS marketers agree that the buyer journey has become more complex and longer, with less interaction from salespeople. This means you need to create valuable and helpful content for your users (prospects, customers) to drive brand awareness, generate demand, and nurture relationships.
Now that we’re on the same page, let’s look at 10 B2B SaaS content marketing tips and tricks to help you create a successful strategy.
B2B SaaS Content Marketing Strategy Tips:
1. Know your buyer’s journey
The first step of creating a successful b2b SaaS content marketing strategy is to know exactly what stage in the buying cycle your audience is in. Are they researching potential products/services? Have they just become aware of a problem? Or are they looking for solutions to a problem?
Knowing where your audience is in the buying cycle will allow you to create valuable content that resonates best with them.
A SaaS company that sells to CIOs, for example, might start by providing educational content such as infographics or webinars targeted at the awareness stage of the sales funnel. As users get more involved in the buying cycle, they would like to read helpful content related to their pain points. This is when you can provide detailed guides and case studies to turn them into a lead.
2. Create buyer personas
Once you know where your audience is in the buying cycle, create a buyer persona for your SaaS product. You can do this by researching the problems they face and their biggest concerns. You can use this information to create targeted content that speaks directly to them.
Creating buyer personas is crucial because it allows you to understand your target audience better. When you know who they are and what their needs are, you can create content that resonates with them. You can also use this information to create targeted ads and improve your lead generation efforts.
3. Use your buyer personas
Your buyer personas should be the basis of all your content. They should dictate what types of problems you decide to address and how you address them. If you don’t want to create an entirely new persona, use your current customers as a base and expand with the information that you learned in tip number two.
A SaaS product like Wrike makes it easy to create buyer personas. You can input your own information or use the profiles available on their site.
4. Create useful content that resonates with your buyer personas
It’s important to note here that “useful” doesn’t mean short and sweet; it means using content that’s helpful to your buyer personas. For example, if a potential customer is in the research phase of the buying cycle, you may have to create comprehensive guides and white papers instead of blogs and email newsletters. It all depends on what type of information your buyer persona would find valuable.
To create useful content, it would be best to conduct keyword research on topics related to your product/service. It’s also imperative that you create content around your audience’s problems. It doesn’t matter how great your solution is if people don’t know that they have a problem in the first place.
5. Be consistent with your messaging
Consistency is key. It’s the only way you’ll be able to create an identity for your SaaS company and establish trust with your audience. Make sure every blog post, email newsletter, ebook, etc., aligns with your messaging strategy; don’t make people guess what they should take away from each piece of content.
B2B marketing expert Neil Patel recommends that you keep your messaging the same for at least six months. You shouldn’t underestimate this tip because it will likely take some time for your audience to learn how to recognize your messaging and understand what you’re about, so be consistent and give it time.
6. Keep your audience in mind with every post
It’s vital that your content gives potential customers what they’re looking for and speaks to their pain points. Also, keep in mind the type of tone you want to be associated with your SaaS company when creating content. Do you want to come off as an authority? A good friend? Take a look at all the other blogs and newsletters that your potential customers read and determine how you can stand out from them.
A SaaS marketer implementing the tips above would likely create blog posts that are highly informative, thorough and in-depth. However, it’s important to remember that quality content doesn’t mean lengthy blog posts. If you want to create shorter content (e.g., tweets, videos, etc.), then ensure that the quality is high.
7. Maintain a consistent flow of content on every channel
Since social media is an integral part of B2B SaaS marketing, it’s essential to maintain a consistent flow of quality content on various platforms (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). Your followers on each platform should receive the same type of content as those on others, so make sure your blog posts are being uploaded to all social media channels.
8. Optimize your website for keywords and conversions
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the most important (and frequently missed) piece to creating a successful B2B SaaS marketing strategy. It’s also imperative to optimize for conversions, so you’ll need to include your target keywords in the content of the pages and make sure that these pages are easily found in Google searches.
Having a high ranking in search engines is instrumental to B2B SaaS companies because people aren’t going out of their way to find their products/services. Make sure your blog posts, social media content, and landing pages are optimized for specific keywords that potential customers might use when searching for a solution to their pain points.
9. Use metrics to guide future content
Don’t be afraid to track metrics related to the performance of each piece of content you create. This data will be incredibly valuable and can guide future content creation. For example, you may find that some types of blog posts or videos get more views than others; determine the topic areas that attract the most attention and create more content.
10. Educate your audience about your SaaS product
Don’t make the mistake of assuming people know who you are and what you do. Potential customers are coming to your site for the first time, so make sure they understand all the value you can provide them. Educate your audience on how your SaaS product will help them solve their problems or accomplish their goals.
The best way to do so is through interactive content. For example, you can create a demo or webinar that they can sign up for to learn more about your SaaS product.
B2B SaaS marketing experts recommend creating three types of interactive content: product knowledge center, how-tos, and live demos.
Pitfalls to Avoid in B2B SaaS Content Marketing
As B2B SaaS marketers, we always want to align our content with the buyer personas’ search queries and pain points. What gets us in trouble is creating content that’s not helpful or valuable to anyone. Here are a few examples of what you should avoid:
1. Avoid using industry jargon in your posts.
You might think using the right words is essential, but people shouldn’t have to become experts in your field just to read what you wrote.
2. Avoid using clickbait-type titles that don’t deliver on their promises.
People hate when companies try to trick them with convoluted headlines and then disappoint when they get to the post itself. Always keep your audience in mind and deliver on your promises.
3. Don’t be a broken record with the content you’re producing.
It’s essential to provide people with various resources, including blog posts, ebooks, social media content, etc. Don’t make everything revolve around one specific product or service. You want people to understand WHY you do what you do, not just how you do it.
You may also want to read our article on 10 B2B SaaS Digital Marketing Mistakes By SaaS Startups.
Important Metrics To Gauge Success of Content Marketing Strategies
There are dozens of metrics you can use to measure the success of your B2B SaaS content marketing strategies. Here are some of the most important ones for each stage:
Strategy Stage 1: Goal Setting & Audience Audit
When your SaaS company is just getting started with content marketing, the most important metrics are leads and awareness:
- Leads – Do you have a process in place for capturing and nurturing leads?
- Awareness – Are your target personas aware of your product/service?
Strategy Stage 2: Content Creation & Distribution
When you’ve developed a content strategy and are in the process of implementing it, the most critical metrics are traffic, shares/retweets/likes, and subscribers:
- Traffic – How many people are visiting your site or content?
Shares/retweets/likes – How often has your content been shared on social media platforms? - Subscribers – How many people are following your company on social media?
Strategy Stage 3: Conversion & Nurturing
When you are in the process of converting leads into customers, you should monitor metrics, including email list signups, events attended by prospects, and customer acquisition costs.
- Email list sign-ups – How many people are signing up to receive your company’s email updates?
- Events attended by prospects or customers – Do people visit your booth at events?
- Customer acquisition costs – How much does it cost you to attract a new customer?
Strategy Stage 4: Mature Content Marketing Strategies
Once you’ve established your content marketing strategy, the most critical metrics are revenue generated from content and customer retention costs.
- Revenue generated from content – How much revenue are you generating using your blog posts, ebooks, etc.?
- Customer retention costs – How much does it cost you to retain existing customers vs. acquire new ones?
These are just a few of the most important metrics to monitor, depending on your individual company’s needs and goals.
Key Takeaways
And there you have it! Our top 10 tips to make your B2B SaaS content compelling for potential customers. Remember that people come to you looking for answers to their pain points; not just another company that can provide them with a solution. Give your audience the information they want, and you’ll reap the benefits.
B2B SaaS companies are spending more money on content marketing than ever before because they know great content turns an unknown brand name into a household name. If there’s anything you’ve learned from reading this article is that doing things right takes time and effort, but the payoff can be massive.
Content writing is an art form. A good writer knows how to create quality work with the right tone and speaks with authority on their area of expertise. If you have a team of writers, make sure to give them solid guidelines so they know your voice and can create content that aligns with every other piece of content you create.
And now that you’ve seen all of our tips, it’s time to get started.
Check out our SaaS marketing blogs for more tips and insights on web design, content writing, and SaaS business management.
