Marketing for a SaaS startup is a tough nut to crack. Online software is quite ubiquitous, and you're likely feeling the pain lately of trying to stand out within the herd. Yet you know you have software features that stand out from your competition, even if those differences are slight. How you convey this can make for a great way to communicate your software's abilities.
If you haven't used inbound marketing yet in your SaaS business, it's basically a concept of creating content attracting customers to you rather than you seeking them. The only way to make this work well in the SaaS industry is by proving that your software helps solve buyer problems better than any other source.
In other words, your content needs to prove absolute value before a buyer commits to anything. By using specific functions on your website and through your content, you set up a perfect inbound marketing plan to bring out the best in your software.
Success Stories in Your Content
Creating original content is a must when you start an inbound marketing campaign. Part of this comes in storytelling for your website content. Whether you choose to post this content on your homepage, blog, or social media, creating something original with a compelling narrative with which your software users can identify is the true heart of inbound marketing.
It pays to focus on a story about a problem (real or one based on statistics) and how your software did or would solve the issue. You can tell those stories in numerous ways through blogs, a video, or infographic form. Whatever way you choose, it's worth looking at various problems your software can solve for businesses. This becomes your true inspiration for content you can even repurpose in various ways on your site.
Creating Premium Content
Once you create something original, you shouldn't necessarily have all of it readily accessible without giving incentives to sign up for exclusive content. You can generate more leads this way by asking visitors to fill out a form on a landing page.
This works symbiotically because you're providing them content they couldn't find anywhere else about solving their problems with your software. At the same time, you're reaping the benefits of knowing people have interest in your software with an established trust.
Remember to never charge a fee for your content, because it just gets designated as spam.
Using Advocates To Post Your Content On Social Media
If you have a customer base that's used your software before, don't hesitate to use them as advocates in your inbound marketing. You can use them for customer testimonials in other content, although having them become content influencers on social media helps you get your content to a wider audience.
In social media advocate campaigns, having prior customers post about how you solved their problems also brings a level of inbound content without you having to do anything.
Content Sent During Free Software Trials
Free trials are the best way to get people interested in the merits of your software. However, sending them exclusive content in emails about how to get the best out of your software during the trial run is a terrific way to generate a conversion.
Sending those emails on a periodic basis (using targeted approaches) can help a user go step-by-step through a business process. Then you can promise so much more once they license your software.
SaaS startups face a large number of challenges when they’re just starting to get their name out there in the world. With inbound marketing, many large obstacles of getting lost in the crowd can be overcome, often at a lower cost than traditional, aggressive outbound advertising. And over the long term, you’ll be creating a level of trust and authority with your audience that simply cannot be overlooked.
