Meaningful and people-friendly SaaS content creation is one of the most efficient strategies for outgrowing your competitors.
B2B SaaS content marketing helps you reach prospects directly by searching for content or services related to your products or services.
A complete mapping of the SaaS content strategy is required to reach prospective clients across the TOFU, MOFU, and BOFU buyer journey funnels.
Let’s understand how early-stage startups and well-established SaaS enterprises can craft an MQL-driven B2B SaaS content strategy for higher MRR and ARR.
B2B SaaS Content Funnel
A strong SaaS marketing funnel consists of the following stages:
- Awareness
- Engagement
- Desire
- Conversion
- Retention
Awareness (top-of-the-funnel stage)
In the Awareness stage, you identify the best terms and keyphrases based on your ideal customer persona that could bring relevant traffic to your website.
This is also the ideal stage to prepare thought-leadership articles to position your brand as an absolute authority in your industry.
Here are the finest content types to create for the awareness stage:
- Blog Posts
- Social Media Posts
- Infographics
- Guest Posts
- Podcasts
- Press Releases
You should try to answer your users’ as many questions as possible to become an expert authority in your subject.
Engagement (middle-of-the-funnel stage)
Once your customers begin liking your content, they visit your blog more often, leading to an improvement in time on site, an increase in branded searches, an increase in the number of email subscribers, and a reduction in bounce rate.
Engagement is the stage where you should be very careful with the kind of content you prepare for your target audience because a wrong piece of content can undo all your hard work in the awareness stage.
To further increase engagement and to provide more value to your target cohort, you should create the following forms of content:
- Webinars
- Case Studies
- Industry Reports
- Email Campaigns
- Content Personalization
Desire (middle-of-the-funnel stage)
At this stage, you have effectively controlled your subscribers. They are ready to take the relationship one level up.
Hence, the desired stage in the B2B SaaS content strategy is the best phase to share demos and trials of your products with your audience.
Avoid the salesy and pushy approach when joining your subscribers for a free trial. Instead, make it happen naturally.
Conversion (bottom-of-the-funnel stage)
Pretty clear. Right? At this stage, you desire conversions.
When you have several people trying your free software trial, some of them will convert. But how? With the help of a conversion-oriented content strategy for this stage.
Some of the conversion-focused content types to crate for the conversion stage of our B2B SaaS content marketing funnel are:
- Comparison Guides
- Pricing Pages
- How-To Guides/Tutorials
Retention (bottom-of-the-funnel stage)
Content for the retention stage is crucial because it can directly impact your Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) and Annual recurring revenue (ARR).
At the retention stage, you should create the following guides:
- Onboarding Guides
- Testimonials
- Best Practices
- Customer Success Stories
- Webinars/Workshops
- Exclusive Content
Also See: Vertical SaaS Marketing Plan: 12 Strategies For Success
Top B2B SaaS Content Types For The ToFu Stage
The first stage of the B2B SaaS content funnel is Awareness.
People don’t know much about your software or services at this stage. Hence, your content should educate your potential prospects and move them to the next stage of the funnel.
Keyword-Focussed Blog Posts
Shortlist your top three competitors and reverse engineer their content marketing plan. Prepare a list of keywords on which their blogs rank on Google.
You can easily identify such blogs using SEO software like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SE rankings.
Input your competitor’s domain; the tool will show all the keywords bringing organic traffic to the site.
Remember to check the search volume and keyword difficulty score. Opt for keywords that are relevant to your ICP and have a moderate to low keyword difficulty score.
Apart from checking your competitor’s strategy and identifying the content gap, you can also perform comprehensive intent-based keyword research based on your key software products.
Merge both the keyword choices and sort them based on priority. Then, share the list with your content team to prepare these pieces based on a content calendar.
Create well-written and unique content using long-tail and question-based keywords to help potential customers understand the different concepts related to your software product.
For example, Keap has done an excellent job getting its content ranked for the keyword “What is a CRM?” This is a great awareness-stage keyword for CRM software companies.
Also, don’t just focus on producing text content. Instead, choose a variety of content types, such as videos and infographics.
Also See: SaaS Sales Acceleration: The Formula To Scale Your Business
Social Media Posts
SaaS social media posts should not always be promotional. Keep them user-focused and help your ideal customer personas get the maximum value from them.
Organic social media content marketing for SaaS should educate, engage, and support your customers to improve brand trust.
You can try a variety of social content formats like memes, stories, live streams, gifs, videos, photos, carousels, user-generated content, hashtags, and more.
For example, Salesforce published a mix of educational and promotional content to reach and engage their ICP.
Guest Blogging
Guest posting on top-rated SaaS websites and platforms is an excellent strategy for establishing your brand’s thought leadership.
You can have an outreach team reach out and publish guest blogs on behalf of your CEO. When prospective customers read your brand’s content on the world’s leading SaaS blogs, it will jumpstart your SaaS website’s authority.
High-quality guest blogging is also a great way to improve your website SEO. Natural links from authoritative and relevant domains will help your blog posts rank higher on organic SERPs.
You can also try a reverse guest blogging strategy where you invite leading SaaS influencers and other SaaS company CEOs (who are not your direct competitors) to write on your own. This will help you acquire direct traffic, and there are chances that these SaaS bloggers will share your website’s content on their social media profiles or blogs, leading to a further increase in your brand awareness.
Podcasts
A quick search on Google can provide references to thousands of B2B SaaS podcasts. If you check Google Trends, you will find that the number of people searching for B2B SaaS podcasts on Google is growing.
Hence, creating and publishing high-quality podcasts on platforms like Spotify is an excellent strategy for improving brand awareness.
Podcast content marketing strategy for software-as-a-service companies should be done in collaboration with CEOs, founders, CMOs, VPs, and growth managers. You can also partner with SaaS influencers, journalists, and entrepreneurs in the SaaS field.
Publishing high-growth SaaS podcasts is a great way to reach people seeking to increase their knowledge of your niche.
Press Release
If you are looking for a faster way to improve your branding, then PR marketing is one of the best B2B SaaS content marketing tactics to follow.
With the help of PR distribution services like Coinscribble, you can quickly expand your brand’s reach.
The service guarantees the distribution of your story in top publications, such as TechCrunch, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, Inc., Nasdaq, Entrepreneur, and others.
Also See: Top SaaS PR Agencies: Best Firms To Try In 2024
Top B2B SaaS Content Types For The MoFu Stage
In the SaaS middle-of-the-funnel stage, you should reach prospects who have started comparing your software and pricing packages with those of your competitors.
Here are the top content guides that SaaS services can prepare for the MoFu stage:
Product Guides & How-To Tutorials
Tutorials provide valuable information that helps leads understand how your SaaS solution works and how it can benefit them.
Tutorials highlight the value of your product by showing leads how it can solve their problems and improve their workflows.
Detailed tutorials can showcase your product’s unique features and capabilities, helping it stand out from competitors.
Comparison Guides
Comparison guides are a valuable content format for B2B SaaS companies.
They help prospective buyers make informed decisions by comparing products or services.
Here are some elements to include in a comparison guide:
- Introduction: Brief overview of the products/services being compared and the guide’s purpose.
- Criteria for Comparison: Key factors to be evaluated (e.g., features, pricing, usability, support).
- Product/Service Descriptions: Short descriptions of each product/service.
- Comparison Table: Side-by-side comparison of features, benefits, and other relevant metrics.
- Pros and Cons: List the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
- User Reviews and Testimonials: Real customer feedback and experiences.
- Pricing Information: Clear breakdown of costs and available plans.
- Use Cases: Specific scenarios where each product/service excels.
- Visuals and Charts: Graphs, charts, and images to illustrate comparisons.
- Conclusion: Summary of findings and recommendations based on different needs and preferences.
- Call to Action (CTA): Encourage readers to take the next step, such as signing up for a demo or downloading a free trial.
Email Content
Your email subscribers should receive a variety of content that persuades them to move to the next stage of the funnel, which is conversion.
MoFu emails should build trust, demonstrate value, and guide prospects closer to a buying decision.
Here are some effective MOFU email content types:
- Case Studies
- Webinar Invitations
- Product Comparison Guides
- Industry Insights and Reports
- Personalized Recommendations
- FAQ Emails
- How-To Guides and Tutorials
- Content Roundups
- Customer Testimonials
- Limited-Time Offers and Trials
- Product Feature Highlights
- Interactive Content
Pricing Pages
Create easy-to-understand product pricing pages with different tiers. Discuss the top features for each tier, mimicking the language your ISP uses.
Be upfront about your pricing. Avoid hidden fees or complex pricing structures that can confuse potential customers.
Include clear and prominent call-to-action buttons for each pricing tier. Use compelling language to encourage leads to take the next step.
Top B2B SaaS Content Types For The BoFu Stage
When customers are closer to purchasing, you should show them case studies and testimonials.
BoFu content should address the specific pain points of prospects who are ready to purchase.
Demo
SaaS products are complex. Hence, you need to give them product demos to enable users to get the actual feel of the product.
Create product demo content to onboard the users easily. You can create product text and video tutorials to explain the different features of your software.
For instance, Zoho offers a complete list of guided tutorials to make users master the key features of Zoho CRM.
Testimonials
Trust is crucial in B2B SaaS, and publishing customer testimonials is an excellent way to boost user trust and make them feel confident about your product.
Publish and share positive customer testimonials on your blog and social media to increase customer trust.
You can also share customer success stories and logos of clients you have worked with.
Webinars
High-converting B2B SaaS webinars help you in converting more customers.
These online seminars facilitate real-time interaction through platforms like Zoom, offering multimedia tools and interactive features.
Webinars help your B2B SaaS businesses by generating high-quality leads, converting viewers into buyers, and spreading awareness about your SaaS solutions.
They engage prospects by addressing industry trends and pain points, teach customers to optimize product usage, and provide valuable insights into customer needs.
Organizing a successful webinar involves careful planning, choosing the right format and tools, and promoting effectively. Following up with participants and repurposing webinar content can extend its impact and reach.
Also See: The Ultimate Guide To SaaS Pricing Models
Conclusion
A successful B2B SaaS content marketing plan should consist of the above content types for each stage of the B2B buyer journey.
Create people-first content and optimize them for search engines.
Engaging with your audience through various channels can effectively increase MQLs and drive growth for your B2B SaaS business.