Developing a SaaS Content Marketing Strategy: Organic Growth & Funnels
By Sebastian Volkis on December 13, 2023
Many SaaS founders explore how to leverage social media platforms and organic content to grow their user base. If you're wondering why your app isn't getting users, developing a solid plan is key. This article covers the basics of an effective SaaS content marketing strategy, focusing on marketing funnels and how they can drive traffic to your application.
Introduction to Tailored Marketing Strategies
When launching a software company, a common goal is to minimize advertising spend, especially in the early stages. Experience across various marketing disciplines, from organic growth on platforms like YouTube and Instagram to paid advertising for e-commerce, teaches that while different strategies can be effective, they must be tailored to your current situation and business model. For many SaaS businesses, particularly B2B SaaS, focusing on organic marketing for SaaS can yield significant long-term benefits.
Understanding Marketing Funnels for SaaS
Directly advertising a software's landing page, especially when starting out, is often an inefficient way to acquire users or increase Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR). Paid advertising typically requires substantial testing and a considerable budget to find an effective ad creative and achieve positive results. It's possible to spend a significant amount of money with little return if the groundwork isn't laid.
Top of the Funnel Strategy
Consider social media platforms like Twitter. Each post can be seen as an experiment to understand what resonates with the platform's algorithm and achieves the most reach. By posting frequently and consistently, you can research your audience, identify potential bottom-of-funnel users, and reach a broader audience organically. This approach is central to building effective marketing funnels for SaaS.
The objective is to create a funnel that starts drawing attention from your social media presence. Posts with high reach attract new followers and visitors to your website and brand. These individuals may not convert into paying customers immediately. However, over time, as they engage with your content, they gain a deeper understanding of your product's value and build trust with your brand. For more on initial user acquisition, see our guide on getting your first app users organically.
Mid and Bottom of the Funnel
Once you've captured attention, the next step is to nurture these leads. This involves providing valuable content that addresses their pain points and showcases your expertise. Some of this content will be educational and helpful (mid-funnel), while other pieces will be more focused on how your product specifically solves their problems (bottom-of-funnel). It's important to balance promotional content with value-driven content. A good rule of thumb is that only 10-20% of your content should be directly promotional. By consistently growing your social media presence by targeting a top-of-funnel audience, you're indirectly building your potential customer base for future conversions. Understanding this balance is key, much like the insights discussed in SaaS Marketing: Achieving Reach Without a Large Following.
Common Pitfalls in SaaS Content Marketing
A frequent mistake is creating content that exclusively advertises the product. It's crucial to understand that your business is more than just your application; it encompasses your customers, users, and followers. The more value you provide freely, the more likely your audience is to reciprocate when they are ready to make a purchasing decision. This is a core tenet of successful social media for SaaS growth.
Identifying and Reaching Your Audience
To effectively grow your social media presence and, consequently, your SaaS user base, start by identifying your most niche bottom-of-funnel (BOF) audience. These are your ideal customers. Then, work your way up the funnel by understanding what other interests your BOF users have. This helps you identify a broader, top-of-funnel audience.
These broader audience segments might not be the primary target for all your posts, but understanding them helps create content that achieves greater reach. Within this larger audience, you will invariably find more of your ideal BOF users.
For example, if your ideal customer is someone aspiring to start an online business, you could target a broader audience like students or individuals interested in side hustles. This audience is typically larger than established entrepreneurs, making it easier to create content that gains visibility. A customer-centric approach, as detailed in our article on Building the Right SaaS, can help refine this targeting.
Understanding these dynamics is key to building a sustainable SaaS content marketing strategy.
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