How Content Fuels Marketing Activities in B2B SaaS

Take any modern go-to-market strategy. It likely includes one or more of these components: blog posts, newsletters, podcasts, videos, webinars, case studies, and sales collateral. 

Now lump these efforts together. What do they have in common? They all require content. That’s because content fuels your marketing strategy. 

The problem is that when some B2B SaaS marketers think about content, they only think of SEO. 

But a solid content strategy needs to go beyond appeasing the search engines. Content gives you a solid foundation for connecting with your target audience — no matter what’s trending or what marketing challenges you face. 

The broader role of content in marketing: How should you view it?

SEO is important, but it’s not the only thing we’re after. B2B SaaS businesses can create a solid foundation of content that builds and strengthens their brand awareness beyond SEO. Sure, it’s important to meet your audience where they are; but the ideas your brand shares tend to be more important than the place you share them. 

Here’s how to think about content a little differently:

Diversifying content beyond blogs 

Once you turn an idea into a blog post, you might think that idea is spent.

Good news: It’s not.

If an idea is good enough for a blog post, it’s worth repurposing. For many people, content = blog posts. But an idea doesn’t end after one use. 

I’m a big fan of Emily’s Kramer’s idea that marketing channels and tactics are the engine and content is the fuel. To make the marketing engine run, you need content. It plays a role in practically every marketing channel and tactic. Reusing or repurposing your idea through other forms of content like social media helps spread your message. 

Integrating content into your comprehensive strategy 

As the foundation and fuel, content should hold the top spot in your B2B SaaS marketing strategy. When you express your unique brand voice, you connect with audiences in a way SEO-only content can’t. 

But there’s a significant gap in the market. In a B2B thought leadership impact study, 71% of decision-makers say less than half of the thought leadership they consume gives them valuable insights. But 53% of those surveyed also say it’s important for companies to produce thought leadership if they want buyers to consider working with them. 

When you blend your expertise and unique ideas, it’s much easier to create a comprehensive content strategy that feeds your marketing campaigns. 

Viewing content as the fuel for everything else 

Think of your most recent marketing initiative. Whether it’s a blog, landing page, paid ad, podcast, newsletter, case study or anything between, content is at the core. 

It doesn’t matter if it’s paid or organic content. Though paid content usually includes more copywriting than content, it still includes the same core ideas and brand messaging. This cohesiveness is important — B2B SaaS brands that maintain consistency in their content reach their target markets more effectively, even without SEO. 

There’s also the flywheel effect. Even small, lesser-known brands that create good content attract more admirers. With brand awareness as an accelerant, good content marketing can attract consumers like moths to a flame. 

Is starting with content really that beneficial? 

Yes! For many reasons, but one of the biggest is that content marketing gives you an evergreen library of resources. Even if your core strategy changes, you can still repurpose your content to hit those new goals.. 

Many marketers prefer paid marketing because they feel like it makes a more targeted impact. But there’s a catch: Paid marketing stops working when you stop paying for it. With content marketing, your impact grows over time — organically. 

Your content marketing efforts may give you a 0.25% boost in conversions month over month. But that's 0.25% better every month — just because you're helping people, you have more resources, and there are more ways they can find you. 

The immediate wins may not be as obvious as the ones you see with paid marketing, but content marketing compounds and keeps driving results long after the initial investment. 

Here’s why:

Content can supercharge your long-term ROI 

Brands that establish themselves as authorities in their areas can build trust with audiences more easily. By creating content that addresses consumers’ unique pain points, brands set themselves apart from competitors. They can also alleviate barriers that hold consumers back from purchasing their products. 

Companies that invest in content marketing give consumers more ways to learn about their brands. On average, consumers interact with 4.5 pieces of content before contacting a company. If they can’t find that content, they’ll probably move on to a competitor.

Content can have multi-channel impact

When you analyze direct traffic from one channel, the number may seem insignificant. But those impressions eventually add up. Apply that logic across multiple channels and you may see a major impact. 

Organic search is the tip of the iceberg. Brands that market across channels and use a variety of content formats have a more well-rounded approach: Not all formats perform the same on all channels. But when you repurpose your most effective content to work across multiple channels (versus reinventing the wheel between each one), you can create a snowball effect. 

Plus, sometimes a specific type of content just makes more sense — for example, if you have an engaged video audience, you might create a five-minute video instead of a 4,000-word blog post.  

Examples of brands that built that content foundation 

The old saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” applies to marketing. 

Brands that invest only in paid marketing eventually find themselves desperate for positive ROI when their space gets more competitive and ad rates rise. Even if they get off the paid marketing treadmill and tap into other channels, many brands still lack the cohesive strategy to generate results. 

When you add depth and consistency to your content, you create more baskets: social media, webinars, podcasts, and more. That means greater brand awareness and can also result in more backlinks, more paid ad conversions, and more referrals. 

Take a look at a few companies with successful content marketing strategies: 

• Help Scout takes pride in creating helpful and trustworthy content. The popular helpdesk tool is known for its educational articles and in-depth resources. 
• Sprout Social is another brand that creates helpful content for its fellow marketers. While some of this content is product-focused, most of Sprout’s content spans marketing disciplines and industries. Sprout regularly publishes benchmark data to keep a pulse on social media platforms and what that data means for brands. 
• Gong experimented with a variety of content marketing materials. The company positioned itself as a thought leader by addressing common pain points and industry trends. The result? Gong reached various segments of its audience faster. 

The two common challenges you could face when taking this approach 

Many B2B SaaS brands feel like they’re behind the 8-ball when they ramp up their content efforts. This is especially true when they’re starting from scratch. 

We often see two major hurdles that make the process significantly harder for brands. 

1. Lack of bandwidth 

Companies that don’t have the team members to focus on content often struggle to build momentum. Resource challenges create hiccups for content creation, strategy, and distribution. This is why many B2B SaaS brands often turn to outside partners like Ten Speed to take content tasks off their plates. We understand the time and energy that goes into content marketing. 

2. Lack of expertise 

Good content takes time to create. It also requires solid content expertise. When an in-house team lacks that expertise, companies rarely reap the long-term benefits of content marketing. 

Every touchpoint customers have with your brand is an experience. Say your brand creates content, but it’s AI-generated or programmatic. While the content may rank and drive traffic, it might annoy consumers and create a negative brand experience if it’s not useful. 

When you work with an experienced team of content, SEO, and growth experts, creating content strategies is painless. You don’t have to blindly produce and distribute content hoping something sticks. 

Here are the first steps to take if you’re ready to think about your content in a new way 

These steps are the training wheels for a successful content marketing strategy: 

Understand your audience and ICPs

Before you create content, know who you’re trying to reach and why. This way, you can reuse, repurpose, and distribute your content more effectively. When you understand your audience and ideal customer profile (ICP), you’ll know where to find them and why they care about your product or service. 

Maybe your audience is among the growing cohort of B2B buyers who use LinkedIn as a major source of trusted information. Knowing this, you might make LinkedIn a preferred channel in your content strategy. 

Develop a clear process for consistent work 

To create good content, you need clarity and consistency. You also need a process that focuses on creating content outside of the SEO lens. While many brands use SEO tools like Ahrefs and Semrush to develop their content topics, these tools can sometimes become a crutch. 

You can create better content by focusing on the problems you hope to solve. What’s your key message? What type of content is best for conveying that message? After you answer these questions, you can identify content opportunities that line up with search volume. 

Be clear on how you create and distribute content. You could produce the best content your brand’s ever created, but without a solid plan for distribution, it’ll never reach the people you want it to. 

This is part of why working with an established agency can be so valuable. They’ll have the experience needed to help you build consistent processes that make good use of your best ideas — and leverage your expertise. 

Know what you want to be known for 

How do you want to distinguish your brand from competitors in the market? Are you an authority in your industry? What can customers expect from you that they can’t get anywhere else? 

These questions are a great starting point for determining how brand and messaging will impact your content, including your key channels and formats. They give you some healthy distance from making SEO-driven decisions based on search and volume alone. You’ll also be able to better gauge the kinds of content your audience might see as disjointed or insincere. 

Need content support? Consider an experienced agency like Ten Speed

Content marketing is an ongoing part of your overall strategy that relies on getting a lot of things right. That can be overwhelming — especially for brands starting with little to no existing strategy. 

But having the right team on your side makes all the difference. 

Working with Ten Speed means having a partner who knows the right mix of content formats, timing, and measurement techniques. You can leverage our expertise in creating and implementing effective content strategies to custom-build a strategy that works for your brand. While SEO can be a consideration, it doesn’t have to be your main focus for measuring success. 

Our approach is based on more than a decade of in-house B2B SaaS marketing experience. We know how to call the shots when it comes to prioritizing content and getting the most impact from your traffic. 

Start building your B2B SaaS brand’s foundation on high-quality content 

Without content, there is no marketing. Brands that push themselves to create original content across multiple formats and channels capture the hearts and minds of their target audience. They have a solid foundation of resources to drive their other marketing efforts — no matter how consumer behavior evolves. 

Whether you need to repurpose new or existing content, Ten Speed can help you ensure your message resonates with the right audiences in the right spaces. 

Reach out and let’s chat about your company and your current marketing efforts!