Why Is Content Marketing Effective For SaaS Businesses?

According to a content marketing statistics report by HubSpot, around 90% of content marketers intend to retain their content marketing budget for 2022.

The same report also states that 66% plan to increase their content marketing budgets.

So, clearly, content marketing is an effective strategy that works and businesses are willing to invest in it.

So why is this the case?

In this blog post, we will talk about why content marketing is effective, especially for SaaS businesses.

1) It Is Inbound Marketing, Not Outbound

Probably one of the biggest reasons why content marketing works is that it is more inbound marketing than outbound.

Outbound marketing is the kind of marketing where you go out and try to reach your target market through interruptive methods like cold-calling or pop-up ads.

It is called outbound because you are going out of your way to proactively find potential customers. And from the customer’s perspective, they did not ask for the ad, the cold call, or the cold email.

And that can leave a bad impression.

In contrast, inbound marketing is when you attract customers to come to you through helpful and informative content.

With inbound marketing, potential customers are already interested in what you have to offer and are looking for more information about it.

All you have to do is provide them with the content they need for whatever pain point they may have at the moment.

This is why content marketing is so effective. It is non-intrusive and it allows customers to come to you on their own terms.

2) Potential Customers Are Looking For High-Quality Content

In today’s day and age, potential customers are looking for high-quality content that is relevant to their needs.

Businessmen and professionals usually read blogs or listen to podcasts to learn more about their industries.

But it’s not just the business-to-business (B2B) market that is actively consuming content online. Even business-to-consumer (B2C) customers also look to online content for a lot of their needs.

For example, imagine a teenager who wants to teach himself how to play the guitar. Guess where they learn it from — most probably YouTube, right?

Whether you’re targeting a B2B or B2C audience, they do not want to be bombarded with low-quality content or ads masquerading as content.

This is where a lot of businesses go wrong with their content marketing strategy. They try to take shortcuts and end up creating subpar content that does not provide any value to the reader.

The key to creating effective content is to focus on quality over quantity.

It is better to have a few pieces of really great content than a bunch of mediocre ones.

And when you create high-quality content, potential customers will take notice and be more likely to engage with your brand.

3) It Builds Brand Awareness & Drives Organic Traffic

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing leaders gain 7.8 times more website traffic than non-leaders.

This just goes to show how content marketing can be a great way to build brand awareness and drive organic traffic to your website.

Organic traffic is the term used for the kind of traffic that comes to your website without you having to pay for it.

This is in contrast to paid traffic, which is when you use methods like Google Ads or Facebook Ads to drive people to your website.

Paid traffic can be effective, but it is not sustainable in the long run. Once you stop paying for the ads, the traffic will stop coming in.

On the other hand, organic traffic is more sustainable because it does not require you to keep paying for it.

And one of the best ways to generate organic traffic is through content marketing.

When you create high-quality content, people will start to notice your brand. And if they like what they see, they are more likely to visit your website organically (that is, without you having to pay for it).

And the more traffic you can drive to your website, the better chance you have of converting them into customers.

4) It Establishes Your Topical Authority & Thought Leadership

Topical authority is when people see you as an expert in a certain subject or topic.

For example, let’s say you are a SaaS company that specializes in project management software. When people think of project management, you would want your brand to be the first thing on their minds.

One of the best ways to do this is by creating helpful and engaging content on the topic.

By producing high-quality content, you will be able to position yourself as an expert in the eyes of your target audience.

This is valuable because it makes potential customers more likely to trust your brand and do business with you.

5) It Builds Trust & A Rapport With Your Target Audience

One of the best reasons why content marketing is effective is that it builds trust with your audience.

Ads and other types of traditional marketing are mostly about hype and flashy ways of selling. But with content marketing, it’s about providing value and helping people.

When you provide helpful and reliable content to your target audience, they will start to see your brand as a trusted source of information.

Moreover, you are showing them that you understand their needs and that you are there to help them.

And if you play your cards right, that trust in your brand will translate into trust in your SaaS product.

6) It Helps You Stand Out From The Competition

In today’s day and age, businesses need to do whatever they can to stand out from the competition.

Many businesses are selling similar products or services, so it can be tough to differentiate yourself from them.

Content marketing can help you stand out from the crowd by providing unique and valuable content.

For example, if you are a SaaS company that specializes in project management software, you could create blog posts or articles that discuss different project management techniques.

But what if everyone is already doing it? What if your target audience already has a huge pool of project management blogs to choose from?

In that case, you need to make sure your content is better than the rest. It needs to be more helpful, more informative, and more engaging.

What’s more, you could try out emerging content types. Video and interactive content are now making headway in the world of content marketing.

Are there opportunities to leverage these new content types in your niche?

By being one of the first companies to experiment with these new types of content, you could give your brand a major competitive advantage.

7) It Can Target All Stages Of The SaaS Sales Funnel

One of the awesome things about content marketing is that you can use it to target every stage of the SaaS sales funnel.

Awareness Stage

As we mentioned earlier, content marketing can be a powerful tool to build brand awareness.

For example, you could use content to generate awareness for your brand among potential customers who have never heard of your SaaS product before.

You can do this mainly through informative content like guides, strategies, and how-to articles.

Evaluation Stage

Your leads in the middle stages of the funnel may be deciding between your SaaS product and your competitors.

You could use content marketing to nurture these leads and let them know why your SaaS product is better than others in the market.

Content like product comparisons, buyer’s guides, and case studies may prove useful for this particular purpose.

Retention Stage

And since the SaaS sales funnel doesn’t end after the purchase, you can also target your content to your existing users and improve your customer retention.

This type of content could include things like tutorials, exclusive webinars, and more educational pieces.

By creating content for all stages of the SaaS sales funnel, you can ensure that your content marketing efforts are always working to generate leads and drive sales.

8) It Synergizes With Other Digital Marketing Strategies

Content marketing can also be used in conjunction with other digital marketing strategies to create a well-rounded and effective marketing mix.

Let’s take a look at some of them:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Content marketing and SEO go hand-in-hand. After all, what’s the point of creating great content if no one is going to see it?

That’s where SEO comes in.

By optimizing your content for the search engines, you can ensure that your target audience will easily be able to find it.

But content marketing isn’t the only one that benefits from this synergy. In fact, SEO can also benefit from content pieces that are performing well.

It’s a win-win relationship between these two.

There are a lot of ways that content marketing improves SEO. But the most direct one is bringing in backlinks.

Backlinks are external links from other websites that link back to your website. They are one of the most important ranking factors for SEO.

The more high-quality backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

And content marketing is a great way to get them.

If you produce great content, other websites will start using it as references for their own content pieces. And when they do, they’ll also link back to your website.

This is a great way to build up your backlink profile and improve your SEO.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is another digital marketing strategy that works great with content marketing.

As we mentioned earlier, one of the main goals of content marketing is to generate awareness for your brand.

And nowadays, there’s almost no better way to do that than through social media.

When you share your content on social media, you can reach a large audience very quickly. And if your content is good, a lot of social media users will share it.

Who knows? It could even go viral.

This creates a snowball effect that can quickly raise awareness for your brand and help you reach more potential customers.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is another digital marketing strategy that you can use in conjunction with content marketing.

One way to do this is to use your content to build up a list of email subscribers.

You can do this by including a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of your articles or video content that encourages people to sign up for your email list.

You can also leverage content upgrades or gated content in exchange for their contact information.

Once you have a list of email subscribers, you can send them regular updates about your latest content, as well as other news and information about your business.

This is a great way to keep your audience engaged and ensure that they always have access to your latest content.

9) It Drives Higher Conversion Rates

You can also use content to drive higher conversion rates.

This is because relevant content already attracts people who are more likely to buy your SaaS product.

Even at the early stages of the buyer’s journey, the people who read your blogs or watch your video content are those who have specific pain points related to your niche.

And as they consume more of your content, they will become more familiar with your brand and product.

As we discussed earlier, middle-of-the-funnel (MOFU) content presents your SaaS product in comparison to your competitors. Or it can show how your SaaS solution works in action.

These types of content help them have a clearer view of how your SaaS product can help them with their own problems. This, in turn, will make them more likely to buy from you when they’re finally ready to make a purchase.

Still, the key here is to provide value without pushing too hard for a sale.

Remember that content marketing, even for later stages of the SaaS sales funnel, is still about building trust. If your message is too aggressive in getting them to buy your product, you might break that trust.

10) It Has A High Return-On-Investment (ROI)

According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing but generates 3 times as many leads.

Not only is content marketing more cost-effective than other marketing strategies, but it also generates a higher ROI.

This is because once you’ve created a piece of content, you can continue to use it for years to come. If it performs well.

This is especially true for evergreen content.

You can keep promoting it on social media, through email marketing, and in your ad campaigns. And it will continue to generate leads as long as readers find it reliable, relevant, and engaging.

This means that the return on your investment in content marketing will continue to grow over time. The longer you do it, the more benefits you’ll see.

Why Is Content Marketing Effective: Final Thoughts

Content marketing is an essential part of any digital marketing strategy.

It’s a great way to generate awareness for your brand, build trust with your audience, and drive higher conversion rates.

And best of all, it has a high ROI that will continue to grow over time.

But content marketing takes a lot of strategy and patience. It’s not a quick fix.

If you’re serious about using content marketing to grow your SaaS business, you need to be prepared to plan it right and commit for the long haul.

You’ll need a content creation workflow, a solid distribution plan, and a system for measuring your results.

But if you’re willing to put in the work, it’s a powerful strategy that can help you achieve your SaaS business goals.

Want to learn more ways to grow your SaaS business? Visit our blog here.