Are You Making These Mistakes With Your SaaS Content Marketing?
The SaaS world is an innovative one, with innovative ideas, innovative technologies, and innovative business models.
You’d think, then, that content marketing in the SaaS world would be innovative, exciting, and forward-thinking.
But, while that’s true for a lot of brands in the industry, there are still a fair few getting it oh so wrong. Luckily, they tend to be making the same mistakes — mistakes which, when you look at them head on, are easy enough to rectify.
Read on to find out if you’re making any major SaaS content marketing mistakes (and, if you are, find out how to fix them).
1. You Don’t Think SaaS Content Marketing is Important
I get it: you’ve made this awesome new product or tool and so much fancy code and preparation has gone into it.
You’ve spent an age working on it and it speaks for itself, right?
You might think you don’t need to invest heavily in content marketing because, well, you’re amazing product will sell itself.
Unfortunately, the average consumer needs a bit more convincing than that.
They don’t care how many 18-hour days you’ve put in to make this product. They don’t care that it uses the latest, flashiest technology.
All they care about is how it will help them — and this is where content marketing comes in.
Through content, you can educate prospects on why they need your product and make it an irresistible solution to their problems.
2. You Don’t Have a Strategy
Do you publish a blog post once every blue moon? Throw out a Tweet when you remember (usually when you’re bored on the train and have nothing better to do)?
Anything’s better than nothing, right?
Well, actually, wrong.
Consistency is the key to successful SaaS content marketing, particularly in an industry that’s constantly changing and has new faces popping up by the day. You want to be a familiar face amongst your prospects and, to do that, you need to show up regularly.
This means having a well thought-out content strategy.
It doesn’t mean you have to publish 17 blog posts a week and live on social media; the right strategy is one that’s right for you and your business.
Psst! — Find out more about creating a successful SaaS content marketing strategy here.
3. Your Brand Voice and Content Don’t Match Up
Remember earlier when I said that the SaaS industry is one of the most saturated? Yeah, it’s true.
Which means it’s vital that you have a unique brand voice that seeps into every piece of content you create. You want a prospect to land on a blog post of yours and immediately know that it belongs to you.
This is the power of successful content marketing, and it’s why the likes of Buffer and CoSchedule have a slew of raving, loyal fans who can’t wait to get their hands on the latest post.
4. You Target Too Many People
Ever heard that saying “try and please everyone and you’ll end up pleasing no one”?
This has never been truer when it comes to SaaS content marketing.
If you publish generic posts in an attempt to appeal to as many people as possible, you’re not going to resonate with the people who matter.
On the flipside, if you’re actively targeting SMEs or CEOs of finance companies, you know exactly who you’re speaking to, what language to use, and what their biggest pain points are.
As a result, you are able to create content that really, truly resonates with them.
5. You Assume You Know What Your Audience Want
Ah, we all think we know what our audience wants, right? That’s why we’ve made this super cool product that’s aimed directly at them.
But what if you’re wrong?
One of the biggest mistakes I see SaaS companies make is assuming they know their prospects’ biggest pain points and what solutions would make their lives easier.
But these guesses are often off the mark.
How do you know the biggest struggle your prospects have is finding the time to share social media posts?
The truth is, unless you’ve heard it straight from the horse’s mouth, you don’t know.
And, if you don’t know, you’re going to be creating and sharing the wrong kind of content. Instead, use activities like customer surveys, feedback forms, and reviews to determine exactly what your prospects want — and then create content around that.
Sounds so simple, but it’s so, so effective.
6. You Don’t Consider All Stages of the Sales Funnel
Someone who has just discovered your brand and is beginning to see they might need a product like yours is going to be attracted to different content than someone who knows about you and is ready to invest.
At the beginning stages of the funnel, your prospects need educating on the why behind your product — why they might need it, why it will help them, why it will change their lives.
At the end of the funnel, they need confirmation that your product is better than your competitors — this might mean incorporating previous customer reviews, testimonials, case studies, and use-case demos.
When you create just one type of content (e.g. just case studies or just educational blog posts), you’re not going to reach everyone who might eventually buy from you.
7. You Publish Content For the Sake of It
Churning out a rushed 500-word blog post every two-weeks is better than nothing, right?
Actually, no, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Publishing nothing would be far better than pushing out sub-par content that’s fluffy and gives absolutely no value to prospects. In the best case scenario it’ll turn customers off — in the worst, it might ruin your reputation entirely.
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times, but quality over quantity is the way to go.
Even if you’re only publishing one piece of content a month, but you’re spending ample time creating it, making it as valuable as it can be, and ensuring it aligns with your prospects’ needs, that’s going to be better than publishing flimsy posts with no substance every week.
8. You Give Up Quickly
Your SaaS content marketing isn’t going to bring in huge results overnight.
In fact, it takes time to establish a solid, consistent routine and to start publishing content that really resonates with your audience.
But, the more you post and the more content you create, the more you’ll know what’s working and what isn’t (and then you can make more of the stuff that’s working!).
If you give up too quickly, you’re not giving yourself a chance to thrive. For the most part, it takes between three and six months to start seeing serious results with your content, so practice a little patience and, most importantly, don’t give up.
Ready to take your SaaS content marketing to the next level? Get in touch to get started.
This post first appeared on LizzieDavey.com.
