If you’re struggling to get ahead with your inbound marketing strategy, you might be considering hiring a SaaS content marketing agency. After all, mastering the art of content marketing in a complex industry like “Software as a Service” can be difficult.
SaaS content marketing focuses heavily on not just entertaining audiences but also educating and informing customers, ensuring you can build long-term relationships with prospects. Business leaders need to explore a variety of different types of content, from videos to blog posts.
Plus, they need to tailor that content carefully to their target audience, considering every stage of the consumer journey and each type of “intent.” The process takes time and effort, but it does pay off.
Studies show that 98% of the top-performing SaaS brands have a blog, and their content production can generate an ROI of up to 488%. What’s more, while content marketing costs 62% less than other marketing strategies, it generates up to triple the leads.
If you’re thinking of working with a professional to unlock the benefits of content marketing for SaaS companies, here’s everything you need to know.
What is Content Marketing for SaaS Companies?
Content marketing is essentially the art of creating engaging content to attract, entertain, inform, and educate your audience throughout their buying journey. It’s one of the most valuable forms of inbound marketing, with 97% of businesses saying content is “essential” to their advertising strategy.
Content marketing strategies can include everything from video and podcast creation to writing articles and news posts or producing your own blog. Content doesn’t just give companies a great way to reach potential customers and improve brand awareness; it can also increase revenue.
The more customers you attract to your business with compelling content, the more leads you’ll generate. Notably, many industries have their own distinct challenges and nuances to consider when investing in content marketing. SaaS companies often use content as a long-term strategy to not only attract and convert customers but also retain their target audience.
Using a range of assets, SaaS brands can build stronger relationships with their customers, increasing customer lifetime value. This is crucial in an environment where ongoing subscriptions are crucial to success. SaaS brands use content to demonstrate thought leadership, improve their SEO rankings, and build consumer loyalty. However, content marketing for SaaS companies can be complex.
SaaS services require a higher level of commitment than most purchases, meaning brands need to work harder to establish a credible reputation and build trust. Additionally, in the B2B landscape, purchasing cycles often involve more decision-makers. This requires SaaS companies to produce a variety of different types of content for longer decision-making processes.
On top of that, SaaS platforms can be difficult to understand initially. This means SaaS businesses need to know how to convert complex topics into easy-to-understand formats.
Why is Content Marketing Important for SaaS?
Content marketing is a powerful tool for every industry. Content market leaders in every sector see 7.8 times higher unique site traffic than their competitors, meaning they get more leads. However, content can be particularly crucial for SaaS businesses.
Content marketing for SaaS companies plays a crucial role in forming the relationships B2B brands need to build with their audience. Content helps SaaS companies attract initial consumers by establishing businesses as thought leaders and authorities.
Blogs and articles give SaaS companies an opportunity to rank on the search engine result pages for the terms their consumers are searching for. Plus, content allows SaaS organizations to engage with their consumers across every stage of the purchasing journey.
Many SaaS and tech-focused companies are constantly looking for ways to educate themselves and improve the performance of their business. Around 48% of B2B SaaS buyers say they engage with at least 3-5 pieces of content before they consider making a purchase.
Producing content that helps your customers to improve their profits, efficiency, or productivity is key to building a loyal community. According to some studies, SaaS companies that invest in content marketing achieve 30% higher growth rates. More importantly, their retention rates are between 5-10% better than that of their competitors.
Content can demystify the complex nature of a SaaS solution while engaging and captivating potential customers. It paves the way for more sales, stronger relationships, and brand advocacy and gives you an opportunity to differentiate yourself in a competitive market.
How do You Choose a SaaS Content Marketing Provider?
The unique challenges of SaaS content marketing often convince business leaders to seek additional support with their strategy. Content marketing is often challenging and time-consuming, particularly as the rules and trends in the digital landscape continue to evolve.
Fortunately, there are plenty of different ways SaaS leaders can invest in upgrading their content marketing efforts. Outside of hiring an in-house professional to work consistently on content marketing campaigns, businesses can also collaborate with agencies and freelancers.
The biggest challenge is figuring out who exactly to work with.
Here are some of the most important steps involved in choosing the right content marketing provider.
Step 1: Assess Your Business Needs and Goals
Before you start working with any partner or collaborator on your marketing strategies, you need a clear goal of what you want to achieve. Although the over-arching aim of your content marketing efforts might be to increase your sales, it’s worth diving a little deeper.
Think about whether you need to develop brand awareness with top-of-funnel content and SEO or whether you’re looking to create comprehensive campaigns that cover all forms of intent. Choosing a couple of “priorities” for your content marketing efforts will help you identify which specialists you need to work with. Some of the key specialties you may need to look at include:
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Content production (writing content)
- Video or podcast production
- Social media marketing
- Email marketing
- Copywriting (for website content)
Step 2: Consider your Budget
Although content marketing is considered one of the most affordable forms of online promotion, it still incurs costs. The amount you spend on your service will vary depending on a number of factors, such as:
- The skillsets or specialist support you need
- The number of professionals you work with
- The scope of your content marketing project
- The length of time you choose to work with an agency or freelancer
- Requirements for additional services (such as keyword research)
Whether you choose to work with a SaaS content marketing agency or you access the services of a freelancer, it’s important to look for transparent pricing upfront. The right professional will make it easy to understand exactly how much you’re going to spend on your campaigns.
Many professionals will also be able to work with you to formulate a plan that suits your budget. Remember, it’s important to consider the ROI you’re going to get from your service. While paying extra for SEO support or assistance with video creation might seem daunting initially, it could lead to increased sales and opportunities for your business.
Step 3: Examine Their Content Skills
Once you’ve determined your goals (and your budget), the next step is to start looking at the skills and abilities a content expert can bring to your business. Most content specialists will list their services and capabilities on their website or profile page. Make sure they align with the goals you want to accomplish for your SaaS company.
It might also be worth examining whether the company or freelancer has any industry certifications or partnerships that demonstrate a higher level of expertise. For instance, they may have Google certifications or “Facebook Marketing Partner” status.
Other points to consider include:
- Whether the company can emulate the tone and voice chosen for your brand
- If they offer a wide range of services for different types of content
- Whether they demonstrate a deep understanding of your company or niche
Step 4: Evaluate Industry Experience
When choosing a SaaS content marketing professional to work with, it’s essential to ensure you’re focusing not just on their skills in the content marketing world. The right expert will also have a deep knowledge of the SaaS industry. After all, the more the company or freelancer knows about the SaaS landscape, the more they’ll be able to tailor your content to your target audience.
While not every freelancer or agency may advertise themselves as a “SaaS” expert, the right vendor should be able to show evidence of their experience in your sector. They might be able to share case studies or testimonials from previous companies they’ve worked with.
You could also consider checking out the company’s own website and blog page for insights into any articles they’ve worked on relating to the SaaS sector. Some companies may even have podcasts or YouTube channels that show a deeper knowledge of the SaaS space.
Step 5: Prioritize Excellent Communication and Reporting
A reliable SaaS content marketing agency or freelancer should communicate with you and your team consistently and transparently. This means not only connecting with you about their strategies and efforts but also sharing insights into their results and analytics.
When you first start speaking to the professional you want to support your brand, it’s worth sharing the KPIs and metrics you think will be most important to your business. Let them know your goals, and ask them how they’re going to prove their value in the months or years to come.
Reliable professionals will be able to use a variety of reporting and analytical tools to create comprehensive visual reports and presentations. They should be able to show you how your website traffic has increased over time or how your content efforts are affecting revenue.
What’s more, they should be committed to constantly evaluating your metrics over time so they can make changes to their strategy based on your results.
Do You Need a SaaS Content Marketing Agency?
Now you know what to look for in a professional offering content marketing support, it’s time to decide whether you really need a SaaS content marketing agency. As mentioned above, a content marketing agency is just one way of accessing support with B2B lead generation and content.
A SaaS content marketing agency consists of a collection of experts committed to helping businesses accelerate and improve the results of their content efforts online.
Although there are many benefits to working with an agency, there are some downsides, too.
Content Marketing Agency Pros
Depending on your business and specific needs, working with a SaaS content marketing agency could be extremely beneficial. Provided you choose the right service, you can access:
- Comprehensive services: Working with a content marketing agency means you don’t just get access to a single expert. You can leverage the support of multiple different professionals, each with their own skills. This could be excellent if you want help with everything from search engine optimization to PPC advertising, social media, and video production.
- Access to numerous resources: Content marketing agencies often have larger budgets and access to more resources to help you with your marketing campaigns. Working with these teams may allow you to unlock powerful keyword research and market analysis tools or generative AI apps and graphic design tools.
- Established processes: Most SaaS content marketing agencies work with a variety of clients. Over the years, they have developed tested and proven strategies to ensure they drive excellent results for their customers. With content marketing agencies, you should be able to take advantage of simple, straightforward processes without having to craft your own strategy from scratch.
- Brand consistency: Since content marketing agencies give you access to a variety of experts under one roof, it can be easier to preserve a consistent brand image and voice. You don’t have to explain your brand to multiple different experts and encourage them to collaborate on projects. Everyone in your team will already work together.
- Quality control: As established companies, most content marketing agencies will have quality assurance measures in place to ensure the consistency of their projects. Agencies have the resources to devote time and effort to editorial oversight, which means they always ensure your content is crafted to the highest possible standards.
Content Marketing Agency Cons
Of course, a SaaS content marketing agency won’t be the right option for every business. Perhaps the biggest downside of working with a comprehensive company is the cost. If your SaaS business has a limited budget, you might struggle to pay for the services of an agency. The major downsides you’ll need to consider include:
- Higher fees: Working with an agency is like hiring a variety of different freelancers at once. However, instead of paying for just the services you need, you pay for the support of the entire team, regardless of which services you use. This means you can end up spending a lot more on your content strategy without getting better results.
- Communication challenges: Content marketing agencies work with multiple different companies at the same time. Often, they’ll prioritize the companies with the biggest budgets, which can make it difficult for smaller organizations to access consistent care and support.
- Limited flexibility: Agencies are generally dedicated to following the same process or strategy for every business. While these processes can be extremely lucrative, they don’t offer a lot of opportunity for flexibility. If you want to have more control over your content marketing strategy, working with an agency might not be the best choice.
- Impersonal service: There’s a risk that you won’t get the same level of passionate support and dedicated service from an agency that you’d get from a freelancer. Many agencies offer one-size-fits-all experiences, which don’t appeal to every SaaS business. You may even find they create content that feels generic or boring.
- Inconsistencies: The larger the agency you work with is, the more likely it is your content work will be distributed among a range of different professionals. Although these professionals may regularly collaborate, there may still be some inconsistencies in the type of content they produce for your business.
Do You Need a SaaS Content Marketing Freelancer?
So, what if a SaaS content marketing agency isn’t the right solution for your company? If you don’t have the budget required to hire an agency, or you want a more personalized and unique service, then you have a couple of other options. As mentioned above, you could consider building your own content team in-house, but this comes with its own complications.
If you hire content marketers full-time, you’ll be responsible for managing them, paying their salary, and providing consistent training. The easier option is to consider using a freelancer who specializes in content marketing for SaaS companies.
SaaS content marketing freelancers provide access to all of the support and expertise you would generally get from a content marketing agency, with a few additional benefits. Freelancers allow you to maintain more control and flexibility without breaking your budget.
Choosing a SaaS content marketing freelancer gives you advantages like:
- Cost savings: Even if you hire multiple content marketing freelancers to work on different campaigns, the price will usually be a lot lower than hiring an agency or in-house expert. Freelancers can provide transparent insight into their pricing from day one and work with you to create a strategy that aligns with your budget.
- Flexibility: With content marketing freelancers, you’re not tied into any long-term contracts. You can choose exactly how long you want to work with each professional and determine the scope of your project. You can also scale your content marketing team up and down according to your needs at any time.
- Personalized support: A freelance SaaS content marketer is reliant on strong relationships with clients to make a consistent income. They only earn money if they also earn your loyalty. As such, most freelancers are dedicated to delivering a bespoke, personalized service specific to your company’s needs.
- Expertise: Freelancers in the SaaS content marketing landscape ensure they can remain competitive by constantly improving their skills and learning more about the industry. They’re committed to staying up to date with content marketing industry trends and know how to use all the latest tools and software effectively.
- Speed: Freelance content writers don’t have the same level of administrative tasks often imposed on agencies. This usually means they can adapt their turnaround times to your specific needs and requirements. If you have tight deadlines or want to make sure certain campaigns are published on time, freelancers can help you achieve your goals.
- Quality: Freelance SaaS content marketers are driven by passion. They’re invested in their craft and take pride in producing exceptional content on a consistent basis. They’ll work with you to ensure you get the quality you want, often including revisions and edits in their pricing structure. Freelancers often go above and beyond your expectations.
Getting Support with SaaS Content Marketing
Ultimately, every business should have a content marketing strategy. However, for SaaS companies, investing in the creation and promotion of exceptional content is pivotal to success. If you want to capture leads, improve your relationship with your target audience, and ensure loyalty, amazing content marketing is a must.
If you don’t have the skilled professionals you need in-house to create a compelling content marketing strategy, the best option may be to seek out the help of a professional. While a SaaS content marketing agency can deliver excellent support, these companies are rarely the best choice for those who want flexible, customized service.
If you want to upgrade your content marketing efforts while ensuring you can preserve your budget, a freelance content marketing expert with experience in the SaaS space may be the best choice. Reach out to Growth Collective today to be matched to your ideal content marketing expert.
