Software as a service (SaaS) startups have become household names in today’s cloud-based economy. There are currently tens of thousands of different private and public SaaS companies bringing billions into the market. One of the main things that these companies have in common is that they leverage SaaS marketing.
Here are the main things to know about marketing your SaaS startup.
What is SaaS Marketing?
SaaS marketing is an umbrella term to describe a specific set of strategies, tactics, and activities that companies implement to position, advertise, and sell subscription-based software products to customers to create recurring revenue. It involves making sure that your SaaS product is relevant and provides what you need to address your target audience’s needs in a way that makes prospective customers want to learn more about how your product works and what it offers, trial it and eventually subscribe to it over what is offered by your competitors.
1. Content Marketing.
Customers will engage with around 11 pieces of content, usually preferring written content over ads, before converting. Content marketing is the use of high-quality content through a variety of different channels. It includes multiple content formats, including blog posts, videos, infographics, reports, and white papers. You can implement content marketing throughout several different channels including a company blog, YouTube channel, and more.
The content medium that you choose for your business will depend on several factors, including your target audience and the talent and budget that you have available. This might often mean compromising – for example, high-quality videos might be a hit with your audience but are not in your budget right now. A diverse range of content is often necessary to reach out to as much of your target audience as possible.
2. Social Media Marketing.
Many SaaS companies are gaining success through marketing on social media platforms using a varied approach of organic posts and paid ads. Social media marketing allows you to use a combination of organic posting and paid advertisements to build a following on one or more popular social media platforms such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Today, with over three billion social media users worldwide, it’s clear to see that this is one of the most scalable marketing channels to get started with. In addition, there are no platform costs to get started, and SaaS startups can easily set up social media profiles without investing a penny.
3. Email Marketing.
It is often easier and cheaper to communicate with and build relationships with people who are already interested in your product, compared to converting strangers to customers. As a result, email marketing through building lists of contacts that have already shown an interest in your service can have an extremely high ROI. It’s no surprise that almost 60% of B2B marketers list email marketing as the most effective channel that they use. The main aim of email marketing is to create a landing or signup page to collect leads using a newsletter or ‘lead magnet’ coupled with a strategy that you use to drive traffic to your signup or landing page. Do this through writing and sending emails that help to build trust with your readers and position your SaaS company as an expert in front of your subscribers. Many email marketing tools today allow you to easily send personalized, automated emails that are based on user interaction with your site and other online channels.
SaaS is becoming a bigger business than ever before, with growing competition. Keep these marketing tips in mind to help your SaaS startup grow.
