7 Key Reasons Why Content Marketing Is
Important For SaaS Businesses
Did you know that 91% of B2B marketers use content marketing to reach their target audience?
Especially in the past several years, content marketing has been a staple in any SaaS company’s arsenal of digital marketing strategies.
And it has proven itself a truly potent tool not only in winning new customers. But also in retaining them for a long time.
In this article, we will talk about why content marketing is important, especially for SaaS businesses.
But first, let’s be on the same page when it comes to what content marketing means and what it looks like in the SaaS market.
What Is Content Marketing?
Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content. It has the goal of attracting and retaining a clearly-defined audience and ultimately driving profitable customer action.
Notice how the definition revolves around the words “valuable,” “relevant,” and “consistent.”
This is because content marketing isn’t about outright throwing sales pitches about your SaaS product.
It’s about providing helpful information that your potential customer will find useful. It’s about being there for them when they need you without being too pushy. It focuses on educating your target audience.
There are several forms of content marketing that you can use:
Blog posts: This is the most common content type.
Blog posts in the SaaS niche are usually long-form, which could range from 2000 to 4000 words long.
Since SaaS and its relevant topics are highly technical, you would need detailed explanations in order for it to be really educational and valuable to your potential customer.
Podcasts: With the popularity of podcasts, it’s no wonder why this form of content marketing has been on the rise in recent years.
Podcasts are a great way to repurpose your blog content and turn it into an audio format. It’s perfect for busy people who want to consume content while they’re commuting or doing other things.
Video Content: Video is also a popular content type, especially since social media platforms give preference to native videos over other types of content
Videos can be used in various ways, from educational explainers to customer testimonials and more.
Infographics: If you have data-heavy topics, then infographics are a great way to make your content more digestible and visually appealing.
Infographics are also shareable, so they have the potential to reach a wider audience.
Now that we know what content marketing is and what types of content you can create, let’s talk about why it’s important for SaaS businesses.
1) It Builds Brand Awareness
In order for your SaaS business to be successful, you need to build brand awareness and recognition.
Content marketing is one of the most effective ways to do this.
By creating valuable and relevant content, you will be able to reach more people and get them interested in your SaaS product.
Imagine that you have a SaaS startup or small business. Let’s say not a lot of people know about your product or brand yet.
But you have a lot of high-quality content on your website. You have blog posts, podcasts, or even a video series about important topics in your niche.
Then, because of your great content and search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, more and more people engage with your content assets.
They may not even have heard of your SaaS product yet. But they definitely know your brand as a reliable source of information in your niche.
Et voila. Brand awareness.
2) It Establishes Trust With Your Target Audience
As we’ve mentioned before, content marketing is about educating your target audience rather than aggressively selling your SaaS product to them.
Imagine a traditional salesperson were to show up unannounced at your door. They show themselves inside your house and start talking about why you need to buy their latest cooking products.
You would probably be turned off, right?
Now imagine that same salesperson showing up with a box of freshly-baked cookies. They strike up a conversation with you and teach you a bunch of recipes for some tasty dishes.
I would bet that you would be much more willing to listen to what they have to say.
The same principle applies to content marketing.
By providing reliable and relevant information to your target audience, you will be able to earn their trust.
They will see you as a credible source of information. That trust in your content can translate into trust in your SaaS product.
3) It Builds Your Authority In Your Niche
If you consistently create great content, people will start to see you as an expert in your field.
This is especially true if you write about topics that are related to your SaaS product.
For example, let’s say you have a SaaS startup that provides software for project management. If you write blog posts or create videos about project management tips, people will start to see you as an authority in the field.
If you do it right, it also sets you up to be a thought leader.
People will see you as someone who is not only knowledgeable but also innovative and forward-thinking. They will look to you for new ideas related to your niche.
4) It Is Useful In Every Stage Of The SaaS Sales Funnel
Another awesome thing about content marketing is that it can be useful in every stage of the SaaS sales funnel.
For example, let’s say someone is in the awareness stage and they don’t even know that your SaaS product exists.
Your goal at this stage is to educate them about the problem that your SaaS product solves. You can do this through purely educational blog posts, infographics, or video content.
If someone is in the consideration stage, they know about your SaaS product but are still undecided about whether or not to buy it.
Your goal at this stage is to show them why your SaaS product is the best solution to their problem.
You can do this through case studies, customer testimonials, or even more educational content like buyer’s guides and product comparisons.
Whichever part of the SaaS sales funnel you want to target, there is always a content strategy that works best for it.
5) It Helps You Generate High-Quality Leads
You can also use content marketing to generate leads for your SaaS business. This is because you can use your high-quality content to attract people who are already interested in what you have to offer.
For example, you can create blog posts or videos for potential customers who are ready to be introduced to your SaaS solution.
You can then include a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages them to sign up for your SaaS product. Or at least provide their contact information so that your sales team can reach out to them.
Boom. Your content viewers are captured as leads.
What’s more, they are high-quality leads, meaning they have a high likelihood of actually buying your product down the road.
Since they have engaged with your educational content already, chances are that they already trust your brand to some degree.
And that would make them more willing to talk to your sales team and eventually try your SaaS product.
6) It Works Well With Almost All Other Digital Marketing Strategies
Content marketing also works well with pretty much all other SaaS marketing strategies.
Let’s look at how it complements these other digital marketing initiatives:
Social Media Marketing
Content is the perfect fuel for your social media marketing strategy. You can share a blog post, infographic, or video as a social media post.
And since social media is all about engagement, great content can help you increase your reach and build relationships with potential customers on social media platforms.
Who knows? Sharing your content asset on social media may even be the extra nudge that would make it go viral.
Paid Advertising
You can use content to drive targeted traffic to your SaaS product’s website through paid ads.
For example, if you have a blog post that’s getting a lot of organic traffic, you can create a Google Ads campaign specifically for that blog post.
This way, you can get even more people to read it and learn about your SaaS product.
Email Marketing
As we mentioned earlier, content can help you generate leads for your SaaS business.
And once you have leads, you can then use email marketing to nurture them and turn them into paying customers.
For example, you can include links to your blog posts or videos in your email newsletters. You can also use educational content as lead magnets to encourage people to sign up for your email list.
SEO
Content marketing is also a great way to improve your website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEO works hand in hand with content marketing.
With the right SEO practices, you can get your content pages to the top of the SERPs, making them more visible and drawing more traffic to them. The more people engage with your content, the more you build your brand.
Now, as we mentioned earlier, if you produce reliable and engaging content, more people would trust you. Other content producers would quote you. And that could be a great source of backlinks.
This would greatly help with your link-building efforts and bring even more credibility to your website. And the more Google recognizes your website’s credibility and authority, the higher it will rank on the SERPs.
7) It Is More Cost-Effective Than Traditional Marketing Methods
Finally, content marketing is more cost-effective than traditional marketing methods like advertising.
This is because you can produce high-quality content without breaking the bank.
You don’t need to hire a professional production team or rent out a studio. In many cases, all you need is a laptop and an internet connection.
What’s more, once you’ve created your content, it can be used over and over again. You can repurpose it or even republish it on different channels.
This means that you’ll get more bang for your buck with content marketing.
Final Thoughts About Why Content Marketing Is Important
As you can see, content marketing is a powerful tool that can help you boost your SaaS business in many ways.
It’s an effective and affordable way to reach more people, build relationships, generate leads, and ultimately, boost sales.
Looking for more guides and tips that can help you grow your SaaS business? Visit our blog here.
