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Content marketing isn’t just for independent online businesses and affiliate marketers. This is a powerful strategy that is often overlooked by business owners in the SaaS space. While focusing on the software as a SaaS owner makes sense, ignoring the benefits of content marketing would be a major mistake!
3 Benefits of Content Marketing
Content marketing brings many benefits that SaaS business owners will certainly appreciate. While good software is priceless, many times the companies that need it most aren’t going to be as tech-savvy as the business developing the software.
The specs might not move the person in charge of buying. A good content strategy can help target customers understand cut through the tech-speak to realize which SaaS solutions are right for them.
1. Content Brings Visitors
The motto that Google’s search engine has followed since inception has been “Content is king”. Good content gets ranked by Google’s algorithm and those are the articles that get seen in the search results. That means good content gets visitors, bad content doesn’t.
While a good bullet point list of specs on any SaaS solution is important, especially for IT specialists who have to use and implement it, that’s not always the best way to get attention. Content focusing on the problems software solves, issues the software can smooth out, or ways it can offer better customer experiences will get a lot of attention.
These are the types of things many businesses are looking for. A SaaS company blog with great content explaining the benefits of their software will get visitors looking for the exact solution that they have to offer.
2. Content Shows Expertise and Authority
Many business owners know they need better software, but that’s not their field. It’s not a topic they are knowledgeable in or comfortable with. So they want to know they are talking to experts before buying or even consulting on a possible purchase.
Anyone can set up a basic company website that’s 5 or 10 pages long. However, a full blog with in-depth articles covering a variety of related topics shows a high degree of authority, knowledge, and expertise.
That’s not only good to get the attention of visitors who may become potential clients, but it is also great for building up solid trust & authority with Google. Which are both major parts of EAT for SEO.
3. Content Builds Trust With Visitors
Trust is extremely important not only for getting that first purchase but for building a long-term business relationship. Having excellent content that shows expertise on your product, why it’s better than the competition, how it can help out multiple businesses, and what value it adds for customers builds trust.
Visitors want more than a sales page and a list of features/specs. They want more in-depth information, guides that show what the software can do, or tutorials that show if they have problems, there’s an easy step-by-step solution to follow.
Building this type of trust is one of the biggest benefits of a good content marketing strategy.
BONUS: Your SaaS Valuation Will Increase
Content marketing done right will result in more traffic to your site which can result in more customers. All of this together results in a higher business valuation when and if you go to sell either to a private buyer or through various online brokerages out there.
Content is an asset to your business. It is as valuable, if not more, than the codebase your SaaS runs on.
3 Ways To Leverage Content Marketing
There are multiple strategies when it comes to getting the most impact out of new content. I always eye three specific tried and tested methods for leveraging the effects of my content marketing efforts.
SaaS-based business owners can benefit from these three strategies for leveraging the positive benefits of a good content marketing campaign.
1. Repurpose Documentation to Create Tutorial (How To) Articles
Technical documents and user manuals are there to cover every potential issue or situation that comes up in one place. Handy for an IT department, is not always the best solution for someone looking for a quick answer or step-by-step guide to a very specific, and often relatively straightforward, question.
These make amazing sources of information for how-to articles!
Use the documentation that already exists to create how-to articles and tutorials. Craft these articles keeping the reader in mind. What are their likely questions going to be? What are the trickier aspects of the software that others may need guidance for?
What questions do users of similar (or the competition’s) software often have?
These all are great questions to brainstorm ideas for fantastic tutorial articles.
2. Create Content Comparing and Contrasting Against Competitors
Potential visitors will want to know how your software compares against the competition. The furthest many SaaS companies go is with a comparative chart on the company website. If even that.
Writing in-depth articles comparing the SaaS business’s software to the competition is a great way to get visitors.
Not only that, but it shows the business as an authority not only in their own software but also in the other options available in the field.
That level of trust is a major benefit of writing these comparison articles. Not only that, but if the articles rank first in Google, then it’s your company’s comparisons that most people see and trust, not the competition’s!
3. Create Specialized Content (Industry Trends, Industry Glossary)
I know playing off my strengths is one of the best ways to create a content plan that is going to work. Any SaaS business should lean into its strengths. Who is going to understand industry trends, industry terms, or common insider practices better than the people in that industry?
Being able to take this specialized content and create great articles that educate visitors and help them out will make you stand out.
Especially compared to the competition that doesn’t do that, but relies on specs and insider jargon that that outside of the field isn’t going to understand.
That specialty content is a potentially powerful way to reach out and show potential customers that they really do need the software or service being offered.
Wrap Up
Content marketing is a powerful strategy for SaaS owners. Too often it’s ignored as something just for bloggers or affiliates, but a good content strategy is one of the best tools a SaaS company can use to get attention to their products.
Following the tips in this article will provide plenty of great ideas from existing knowledge and technical documents into helpful articles that will build trust, authority, and get the attention of visitors and Google both!
