Content is no longer king! Yes, I said it. Someone had to. Having a content strategy is King. B2B SaaS Content marketing has evolved over the last few years. In the early 2000s, all you had to do was write and let the internet do its thing. Remember Myspace? Content marketing was as easy as writing a few paragraphs and waiting for traffic as people discovered how to use the Internet.
Currently, the content marketing game has changed. For your business to rank on SERPs, you must adjust to the current content marketing trends. In this blog, I will share what B2B SaaS content marketing is and how to win in the age of AI.
Skale Money Key Takeaways:
- Content strategy, not just content alone, is crucial for successful B2B SaaS marketing in the current digital landscape.
- B2B SaaS content marketing involves selling software services to other businesses, requiring specialized strategies.
- Inbound marketing strategies like content creation, SEO, and thought leadership are essential for attracting and engaging potential customers.
- Outbound marketing techniques can complement inbound efforts, especially in building initial audience awareness.
- A well-structured marketing funnel (Awareness, Activation, Retention, Revenue, Post-sale) is critical for guiding potential customers through the buying process.
- While AI can assist in content creation, it should be used cautiously and in conjunction with human expertise to avoid potential pitfalls.
- Partnering with specialized B2B SaaS marketing agencies can provide valuable expertise and resources for effective content marketing.
Table of Contents
What is B2B SaaS Content Marketing
To understand B2B SaaS content marketing, we will look at what B2B and SaaS Marketing are.
- B2B marketing: Business-to-business marketing is where a business sells its products or services to other businesses. For example, Coca-Cola sells Coke to McDonald’s stores.
- SaaS marketing: Software as a Service is where a business sells its software to other businesses. For example, Mailchimp charges Nike for using its email marketing software.
As you can see, B2B SaaS content marketing is selling software to other businesses, not consumers.
B2B SaaS marketing strategies
To succeed in your content marketing, you must apply some strategies to help you get new leads and convert them to paying customers. Here are some strategies to apply:
B2B SaaS Inbound Marketing
When it comes to content creation, inbound marketing is king. It involves creating content that resonates with your audience. For a successful inbound marketing campaign, you need to understand your customers’ demographics. Where do they hang around, what is their age, what are their consumer spending habits, etc.? Examples of inbound marketing strategies include:
Content creation and distribution
In the age of AI content creation has become easy peasy. However, recent developments have emerged about how using AI content could do more harm than good. For instance, the New York Times sued Chat GPT for copyright infringement.
In another scenario, Air Canada received a court order to refund a customer after the chatbot provided incorrect information. AI is revolutionary, but it should be used with caution and with the guidance of a competent B2B SaaS copywriter. Here are some examples of content you can create:
- Blogs: Writing quality content is key. You can hire a B2B SaaS marketing agency or a freelance B2B SaaS copywriter who can work from home.
- Hosting webinars
- Social media marketing
- e-Newsletters
- Youtube videos and video series
- Infographics
- Podcasts
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
For other businesses to learn about your products and services, you need to appear on the first page of SERPs. This is called SEO, and you need to optimize all your content types. Some factors to consider when optimizing your content and website are:
- Publishing valuable content. Approach this cautiously; you don’t want to fall for the AI trap. Using AI can help you publish content fast. However, AI content can get penalized by SERPs such as Google because it is not authentic. Ensure your content demonstrates Google’s EEAT principles.
- Optimize the website: Ensure your website loads fast and use the right keywords in your meta description, headers and content.
- Acquire high-quality backlinks: You can partner with popular publishers in your niche and post a guest post on their website with links to your business.
Thought Leadership
To distinguish your content from poorly generated AI content, consider interviewing industry experts, getting customer reviews and quoting them in your content. You can do this by setting up a call with business owners and understanding their challenges.
This will help you to customize your software to cater to their needs. It will also demonstrate that you know your craft, provide value and build trust and credibility. To do this effectively, it is advisable to hire a freelance B2B SaaS copywriter with the expertise to interview industry experts and write informative blogs.
B2B SaaS Outbound Marketing
Also known as interruption marketing, outbound marketing involves promoting products and services through advertisements before establishing an interest in them. Think about traditional media advertisements such as TV ads, billboards, cold calling and cold emailing.
Outbound marketing is primarily used to build an audience in the initial stages. Examples of outbound marketing strategies you can apply:
- Direct email outreach
- In-person events
- Creating Youtube ads
- Social media challenges with your product or service
- Sponsoring YouTubers in their content to get a mention
- Offline advertising: billboards, radio ads, and TV ads
B2B SaaS Marketing Funnel
For other businesses to pay for your products and services, you need to describe your unique selling points in detail. Marketing funnels help you showcase and understand your customer journey from when they interact with your business to paying a subscription! Here are the stages of a successful B2B SaaS marketing funnel:
Awareness
At the top of the marketing funnel, the first stage is creating awareness of your business. During this stage, you need to provide high-quality content that solves your target audience’s pain points.
You can create awareness by publishing high-quality blogs, making discovery calls, sending cold emails, and advertising on social media and traditional media. The goal is to drive traffic to your business and position yourself as an expert.
Activation
Once you have the attention and traffic coming your way, it’s time to demonstrate to your potential customers. At this stage, you are in the middle of the funnel, and the goal is to get active users who become paid customers.
This is called the activation rate (AR). To ensure a great AR, provide your customers with failure-proof demos that solve their pain points.
Activation Rate = Number of Activated Users ÷ Number of New Users
Retention
As a business, you want to retain your new and existing customers. Did you know that having a 5% retention rate increases your profit margin by 25% to 95%? Maintaining your existing customers is a challenging feat. You need to keep optimizing your services to address emerging challenges and stay ahead of competitors.
Here are some factors you must be aware of to have a high retention rate:
- Bounce rate
- Customer return rate
- Churn rate
Having a good understanding of the above factors will help you retain your customers. The goal is to keep these numbers on the lower end. At this stage, you have entered part of the bottom of the funnel.
Revenue
This is every business dream. To have customers value your product and pay for it. This is also part of the bottom of the funnel and where the magic happens. The goal is to ensure that customers subscribe to your business and make the payment.
In this stage, ensure you outline the benefits of having a paid plan over the free demos and trials. To keep track of your revenue, stay updated on the following revenue metrics:
- Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
- Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
- Average contract value (ACV)
- Annual recurring revenue (ARR)
Post sale
After closing the sale, the journey is not over yet. Engage your customers and get feedback. Keep providing value and have a technical and customer service team on standby. During this stage, you can ask your customers to refer your business to others.
You can encourage them to do this by offering a commission once new customers pay using a referral code. To ensure you have a successful marketing funnel, feel free to contact me on my LinkedIn page. Remember to always keep improving!
Best SaaS B2B Marketing Agencies
As a freelance B2B SaaS writer, I have had the privilege to work with some of the best B2B SaaS agencies in the industry. From my experience, here are the top three agencies I have worked for:
SKALE
Based in London, this SaaS marketing agency focuses on creating ROI-focused SEO strategies tailored to the specific needs of your SaaS business. The company is well structured and has different professionals working hand in hand with each other to produce the best content.
I worked with SEO strategists, content managers, editors and outreach specialists. If you are looking for an agency to handle your content marketing perfectly, you can never go wrong with Skale. Here are some of their services:
- SaaS Link Building & Outreach
- SEO Growth Strategy (and Execution)
- SEO Website Migrations
- SEO Content Creation
According to Skale, pricing starts From $4,000 per month
Netrocket
If you are looking for an agency that will study your business and customers, Netrocket should be your agency of choice. This is a digital marketing agency with expertise in SEO and PPC.
Netrocket understands the SEO game and will have your business ranking in a few months. As a writer for Netrocket, I got well-detailed content briefs with targeted keywords and SEO guidelines. Here are some of their services:
- Search engine optimization of your website in Google (SEO)
- Advertising in Google: Search ads, Display media ads
- Video advertising on YouTube
- Advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn
- Local SEO and Local advertising
According to Netrocket, pricing can start from $3000 per month.
Seeders
This is the best agency, especially if you are a start-up looking for a way to build authority. Based in the Netherlands, Seeders has a team of remote workers globally. In the Gig Economy, you will likely interact with someone in your country who works for Seeders.
If you are sourcing for quality backlinks, Seeders has your back. Here are some of their core services:
- SEO Audit
- Technical SEO
- Link-building
- Content strategy
- Search generative experience
Conclusion
To have successful content, you need to have a well-planned content strategy. As you have seen, we still need human expertise in the era of AI. Combining the two can make your business reach new heights. AI speeds up the process, but it needs supervision, so don’t get rid of your B2B SaaS marketing budget yet!
FAQ:
What is B2B SaaS content marketing?
B2B SaaS content marketing involves creating and distributing content to sell software as a service to other businesses, not individual consumers.
How has AI impacted B2B SaaS content marketing?
AI has made content creation easier but comes with risks such as potential copyright issues and inaccuracies. It should be used cautiously and alongside human expertise.
What are some effective inbound marketing strategies for B2B SaaS?
Effective strategies include content creation (blogs, webinars, videos), SEO optimization, and thought leadership through expert interviews and customer reviews.
What stages are involved in a B2B SaaS marketing funnel?
The key stages are Awareness, Activation, Retention, Revenue, and Post-sale engagement.
Should B2B SaaS companies consider working with specialized marketing agencies?
Yes, consider specialized agencies like SKALE, Netrocket, or Seeders for their expertise in B2B SaaS marketing strategies and execution.
Author: Cosmas Mwirigi
Cosmas Mwirigi is an established freelance writer with over five years of experience and the founder of Skalemoney.com. His content has been published by multiple publishers, including PV-Magazine, Slidebean, Bridge Global, Casinos.com, Gambling.com, and Reverbico. Mwirigi is an expert writer in iGaming, B2B, SaaS, Finance, digital marketing and Solar renewable energy. To contact him for his services, connect with him on his LinkedIn.
