Content marketing has been around for centuries. Benjamin Franklin began publishing the journal Poor Richard’s Almanack to promote his print business back in 1732, Michelin launched the Michelin Guide back in 1900, and Jell-O began offering free copies of the Jell-O Recipe Book back in 1901.
Those fore-founders of content marketing had the right idea. Offer engaging and useful content to your customers, and it will boost sales, grow your community and increase brand loyalty. Jell-O’s sought-after recipe book contributed to more than $1M in revenue in just two years, and the Michelin Guides — with its cherished Michelin stars — are still widely used by drivers, travelers and foodies to this day.
In the Internet age, the entry barriers fell away but the quality and reputation of content marketing dropped dramatically. Instead of offering real value to the reader, we’ve seen the rise of clickbait and self-promotional articles.
Over the last few years, however, we have witnessed a content marketing renaissance from B2B and SAAS providers. The biggest names in these markets are creating content machines that provide real value to the reader, without focusing on direct ROI for their brands.
I spoke to some industry leaders about why blogs are becoming the new secret weapons for SAAS companies.
Changing focus.
Before the internet made self-publishing, blogs and social media widely available, content marketing was limited to established brands. Larger companies had the resources and budget to create, publish and distribute print media, and also had large enough communities to make it worthwhile.
The internet, of course, made it possible for anyone to try their hand at content creation, but this was a double-edged sword. Quantity, not quality, became all-important. ‘Sexy’ brands in fashion, entertainment and tech created swathes of content linked directly to their products. Content marketing soon grew a reputation for spammy, lowbrow, clickbait blog posts. But thankfully change was on the horizon.
Services that executed more mundane functions — like SAAS and B2B companies –are a lot less sexy. Content creation opportunities for them were less obvious. So marketers working in these industries soon realized they needed to delve deeper into themes to really add value for their target consumers, regardless of whether the content directly ‘sells’ their product or brand.
Tobias Lütke, CEO of Shopify says, “Online retail is such a strange market, everyone knows how big it is but everyone overestimates how mature it is. There is no big trade publication, there is no one telling you how to advertise on Instagram. So we decided that content was going to be part of our business because it was the right thing to do.”
Leaders in the SAAS industry highlighted the problem that small-business owners need massive amounts of new skills to survive in the digital age. In lieu of leading publications providing this content, they created it themselves.
Value on both sides of the table.
SAAS companies generally target specific groups, be it enterprises, startups or small businesses. Each has specific needs, and different content will meet those needs. For example, if your product is an SAAS billing tool, prospective users will not simply send and receive payments all day. They will need to learn about sales, marketing, customer service and company culture to run their business more effectively.
In a recent article by