Is Content material Advertising Nonetheless Important for Rising Your B2B SaaS?

In almost each trade, there’s one observe that’s so broadly accepted that it feels just like the default. In SaaS, we will say it’s content material advertising and marketing.

Whereas its prevalence stems from its outcomes, it’s vital to know if it’s the suitable match for what you are promoting with out leaping on the prepare as a result of “everybody else is doing it.”

To reply the query that makes up the title, I spoke with specialists and went down the rabbit gap. The insights from my quest make up the majority of this text.

Let’s get proper to it!

Progress in Context

Simply so we’re on the identical web page, let’s make clear what development means on this context.

For SaaS startups, particularly within the early to mid-stages, development means a constant enhance in certified signups, activations, and income. It’s not about vainness metrics like pageviews or social media followers. Whereas these metrics can sign early model traction, they don’t essentially assure the actual traction that retains what you are promoting afloat.

That mentioned, let’s begin from the bottom up.

What’s Content material Advertising in SaaS?

Software program-as-a-Service (SaaS) content material advertising and marketing is the observe of making useful, related, and constant content material that pulls potential prospects, educates them about their ache factors, and positions your cloud-based answer as the best repair, with out being overly promotional.

Content material takes many kinds: weblog posts, YouTube movies, podcasts, product tutorials, e-mail sequence, whitepapers, eBooks, and lots of extra. The bottom line is serving to prospects clear up actual issues whereas naturally guiding them in direction of your product as the suitable answer.

Why Most SaaS Startups Select Content material Advertising

Earlier on, I famous that content material advertising and marketing is prevalent as a result of it delivers outcomes, which means it’ll hardly be adopted if it doesn’t transfer the needle.

Listed here are a couple of explanation why it’s largely used within the trade:

Builds Model Consciousness

Content material places you in entrance of prospects once they’re actively trying to find options. For instance, you may be seen when an individual inside your splendid buyer profile (ICP) searches for details about an answer you provide. So, content material advertising and marketing is usually a technique to join your answer to them for the primary time.

Establishes Thought Management

High quality content material positions your organization as an professional in your trade. When performed proper, you change into a trusted voice that prospects flip to for steering, supplying you with an edge over rivals.

Extra Value-Efficient

This isn’t to say content material advertising and marketing is reasonable—it’s not. It’s solely comparatively extra inexpensive than paid promoting channels. This makes it a better guess for startups that want predictable and sustainable development methods.

Builds Belief

Content material serves as a belief lever for entrepreneurs. With 75% of customers saying they don’t belief promoting, content material is a technique to bridge that hole. In reality, creating content material that gives real worth and addresses prospects’ issues makes it simpler to construct belief.

These advantages—consciousness, cost-effectiveness, authority, and belief—clarify why content material advertising and marketing has change into the go-to technique for a lot of SaaS firms.

What Are the Options to Content material Advertising?

Previously few years, content material advertising and marketing has dominated most SaaS advertising and marketing discussions, however it’s removed from the one path to development. Listed here are confirmed alternate options which may be higher suited to what you are promoting:

Progress Loops

Not like conventional advertising and marketing funnels, development loops construct virality straight into your product. Right here, every consumer serves as a suggestions loop for buying extra customers, making a self-sustaining development cycle.

Slack is an ideal instance. When somebody indicators up, they’re naturally inspired to ask different teammates. Every new workforce member then invitations others, thus creating compounding development with out ongoing advertising and marketing spend.

This type of advertising and marketing focuses on constructing an area for buyer help, the place prospects can work together with manufacturers and different prospects. Suppose webinars, unique Slack communities, or newsletters that nurture prospects and regularly clear up viewers issues.

Gong does this properly. They’ve totally different skilled/social communities the place their customers get worth from peer connections.

Pay-Per-Click on Promoting

Because the title implies, PPC requires paying a certain quantity to advertise your model or product to a broader viewers. Google Adverts, Fb Adverts, and LinkedIn Adverts are generally used channels in B2B.

Aspect Notice: For startups searching for long-term development, PPC alone is infrequently sufficient. This technique calls for steady funding to maintain efficiency. Except you may have a vault of funds to maintain ongoing advert spend, then you’ll be able to go for it.

Influencer Advertising

Though it’s comparatively unusual in B2B in comparison with B2C, influencer advertising and marketing is usually a highly effective addition to your advertising and marketing arsenal.

This strategy entails partnering with trade specialists and thought leaders who’ve constructed belief and credibility to advertise merchandise to their established viewers.

Notably, the important thing distinction between B2B and B2C influencer advertising and marketing is subtlety. As a substitute of apparent endorsements, these partnerships usually present up as natural mentions, case research, or thought management content material that naturally mentions the model.

instance of my level is Sara Stella Lattanzio’s LinkedIn put up about SEMrush. Whereas from the skin it might look like an informal skilled perception put up, for these aware of influencer advertising and marketing dynamics, it’s what it’s—strategic model promotion.

Affiliate Advertising

This type of advertising and marketing primarily depends on word-of-mouth. It entails leveraging networks of individuals to promote your software program to your target market for a fee.

Case Research of Dropbox: Skipped Content material (And Nonetheless Grew)

Whereas some firms leaned in direction of content material advertising and marketing as their core development engine, others didn’t. Regardless of almost everybody in SaaS leaning towards content material, they defied the percentages and nonetheless managed to develop.

In 2007, Dropbox was based.

Dropbox entered the scene as a cloud-storage platform at a time when individuals couldn’t grasp the thought of saving information ‘within the air’—exterior of FTP or native file servers they knew.

You’ll be able to think about what the advertising and marketing brainstorming session should’ve seemed like inside Dropbox’s workforce again then. How do you promote one thing individuals have by no means skilled?

However we all know how the story goes: reasonably than educating the market by in depth content material, they leaned into referral and product-led development. This strategy as soon as drove 3900% consumer development in 15 months.

Right this moment, they’ve change into the poster little one for that technique.

Nonetheless, Dropbox launched a weblog on December 18, 2007, but they by no means made content material their major development engine.

A evaluation of their early content material reveals posts centered primarily on product updates reasonably than conventional content material advertising and marketing. To this point, their referral program stays their core technique and continues to drive development.

Their referral program continues to be very energetic. up to now.

Nonetheless, whereas this may increasingly appear promising, Dropbox is a singular case. Their product-market match, simplicity, and B2B/B2C hybrid mannequin offered them with levers that many startups lack. So, whereas they grew with out a lot content material, that playbook received’t work for each SaaS product.

So…is Content material Advertising a Should?

Properly, the brief reply is not any. The lengthy reply is trickier, as with most issues in advertising and marketing: it relies upon.

So, what does it rely upon, precisely?

Let’s discover out.

When Ought to a SaaS Startup Use Content material Advertising?

Earlier than you begin mapping out your advertising and marketing technique or executing something, try to be positive it aligns with a couple of issues, that are:

• Your purchaser persona
• Your mannequin
• Your objectives
• Your assets
• Your product
• Your rivals

Let’s have a look at how every of them issues in your advertising and marketing selections, lets?

Who’re your patrons?

So simple as my little query sounds, most companies nonetheless miss the mark. In case you’re taking the time to resolve an issue, it’s best to no less than promote it the place your splendid prospects are most receptive.

The science behind that is understanding how potential patrons uncover and make buying selections. Understanding it will assist you to nail your advertising and marketing methods, and influencing them turns into simpler.

The way you do that is by asking questions like:

You’ll be able to conduct surveys and interviews together with your current prospects to realize a deeper understanding of what works greatest for them. Use analytics instruments to observe their habits. You by no means know the way a lot this analysis will reveal in comparison with wild guesses and instinct.

All of it comes all the way down to understanding your viewers, which supplies you readability earlier than investing in content material advertising and marketing.

I really like how Jasmine Charbonier, a content material advertising and marketing strategist, places it: “Understanding your patrons isn’t nearly creating personas—it’s about survival.” The load of her assertion hits arduous when she cites examples of how firms burn {dollars} in advertising and marketing spend as a result of they put money into a type of advertising and marketing with out setting the muse, understanding their viewers’s wants.

It’s so simple as it sounds. Know your viewers, and also you’re ten occasions nearer to creating an knowledgeable resolution.

How do you become profitable?

The mannequin what you are promoting makes use of to make income is essential. Your advertising and marketing selections range for every mannequin.

That’s as a result of every mannequin targets several types of patrons and follows a special gross sales cycle.

• Are you a freemium SaaS product?
• Is your product subscription-based?
• Are you extra of an enterprise “ebook a demo” kind?

Answering this enterprise mannequin query will assist you to decide which advertising and marketing technique is one of the best match.

Take Zapier for example; you need to use their product with out having to fill out the dreaded bank card type.

Most firms primarily based on freemium or free trial fashions may have to forged a wider internet (inside their ICPs, in fact) to advertise free entry and hook customers. Hypothetically talking, they work on the belief that customers will improve to unlock premium performance.

For these companies, paid promoting, influencer advertising and marketing, and affiliate packages may be the best way to go. Technically, customers have restricted monetary dedication, so it is sensible. Since they’re extra centered on scale, their advertising and marketing aim is to draw as many certified customers as potential.

Alternatively, firms with larger ACVs usually want much less content material. Closing offers turns into extra about constructing relationships than casting large nets.

For enterprise SaaS, the main focus shifts to constructing private relationships—suppose “ebook a demo” pages, gross sales calls, account-based advertising and marketing, or content material advertising and marketing. Earlier than prospects can decide to a serious monetary funding, they should belief the corporate and its answer.

ServiceNow is an instance.

Since we’re specializing in startups, these with an enterprise mannequin may discover it simpler to start with direct outreaches, strategic relationship constructing, and gross sales efforts if the aim is to transform speedy gross sales.

Put merely, it varies throughout SaaS fashions. Whereas an organization like Zapier may profit from aggressive promoting to drive elevated consciousness, that broad-reach strategy is probably not splendid for an enterprise-focused platform like ServiceNow.

What assets do you may have?

I ask once more, what assets do you may have?

Whatever the technique you go for, the reality is that advertising and marketing isn’t low-cost. Your assets, right here, may be in three classes: capital, capability, and time. Capital is your advertising and marketing finances. Capability is your workforce’s experience and bandwidth. Time represents your runway.

Let’s have a look at every.

Capital

As a rule, SaaS startups function with restricted funds. On this case, prioritising lower-cost channels like content material advertising and marketing, web optimization, or development loops turns into important. Nonetheless, “decrease value” doesn’t imply “no value”—these methods nonetheless require substantial funding.

VC-backed SaaS startups usually worth speedy development over gradual advertising and marketing methods. Right here, it is sensible to put money into paid acquisition, aggressive hiring, and even working a number of advertising and marketing experiments concurrently.

Capability

I received’t dwell too lengthy right here—your finances largely determines your workforce’s capabilities. However at each development stage, it’s important to ask:

“Do we have now the suitable individuals for the place we’re headed?”

If the reply is not any, you may have three choices: upskill current workforce members, outsource specialised capabilities, or rent new expertise.

Time

In enterprise, time equals runway.

Your accessible timeframe can affect which advertising and marketing methods you’ll be able to realistically pursue:

• When you’ve got an extended runway, you’ll be able to put money into slower-growth methods like web optimization and e-mail nurturing, amongst others.
• A shorter runway usually means the stress is excessive. In that case, faster-impact channels like paid promoting, outbound gross sales, influencer partnerships, or different techniques that generate speedy traction are good choices.

Answering these questions is a good step in the suitable course.

What are your objectives?

Having outlined development in context firstly of this text, I have to word that the time period is commonly relative. For instance, some founders might prioritise constructing consciousness or thought management versus changing speedy gross sales.

In such instances—and contemplating all the opposite components mentioned on this article—content material advertising and marketing is a brilliant selection.

Conversely, in case your major goal aligns with our preliminary definition, content material advertising and marketing is probably not a should.

Finally, your present enterprise objectives ought to information your advertising and marketing selections simply as a lot as some other issue.

Product Nature

Figuring out whether or not content material advertising and marketing needs to be your place to begin additionally is determined by your product’s complexity.

For easy merchandise, friction is comparatively low. Consider instruments with seamless onboarding, intuitive consumer experiences (UX), and minimal setup. These are usually self-serve and require little to no consumer training.

Merchandise like Slack, Dropbox, and Calendly illustrate this properly. For SaaS merchandise constructed like them, content material may be a second thought in your development story.

On the flip aspect, in case you have a extra advanced or technical product with a steep studying curve, treating content material as an afterthought can damage your development.

On this situation, content material advertising and marketing is your pal. Every little thing from academic content material, like in-depth guides, webinars, and product tutorials.

Opponents

It’d do properly to make clear first that this isn’t about copying your rivals and calling it a day—no.

You’re merely gathering data to help your personal advertising and marketing selections. In keeping with Oluwasegun Oyebode, CMO at Beagital, you’re discovering solutions to those questions:

• Which channels do they use probably the most, and which of them aren’t totally energetic on? This data might assist you determine the place your organization needs to be to get a share of the market.
• Which channel appears to be providing them probably the most ROI?

To drive house this level, let’s have a look at Ahrefs and SEMrush.

Each firms provide web optimization instruments for digital entrepreneurs and companies. They’re direct rivals with related merchandise and goal audiences.

Granted, these two manufacturers are trade giants of their respective options, however I’m onto one thing right here.

We see that each manufacturers leverage content material advertising and marketing extensively—sustaining strong blogs, YouTube channels, and academic academies to nurture and convert customers.

They provide free instruments as lead magnets and host branded occasions: Ahrefs’ Evolve and SEMrush’s Highlight. Their social media presence is one other battleground the place each manufacturers are closely energetic.

Regardless of these similarities, their paths cut up in some key areas.

As an example, SEMrush runs an associates program (as of the time of penning this—Might 2025), whereas Ahrefs discontinued theirs roughly two years in the past. Right here’s an article by Tim Soulo, the CMO at Ahrefs, explaining why.

To avoid wasting you the difficulty, one of many issues he talked about was that 90% of their affiliate leads got here from simply 3% of associates. This prompted them to discontinue this system and work straight with top-performing companions.

In the meantime, SEMrush’s associates program has confirmed profitable—with a 400% enhance in new partnership signups in 2025 alone.

Whereas it’s nonetheless arduous to pinpoint the precise efficiency knowledge of their total buyer acquisition, the truth that SEMrush has saved this system working since 2009 and continues to advertise and put money into the channel alerts that it drives substantial outcomes. Companies don’t preserve doubling down on a channel for over 15 years simply because it’s good—it clearly works for them.

The broader level is that when rivals persistently execute particular advertising and marketing techniques efficiently, it usually alerts market validation for these approaches. As Oyebode places it, “It places you within the place to compete correctly with out getting left behind.”

Nonetheless, as our case examine exhibits, wholesale copycatting received’t lower it. The aim is strategic adaptation—understanding what works for you and aligning with different components mentioned on this article. This turns into particularly crucial for startups with disruptive options, the place sticking too intently to established playbooks can restrict your differentiation.

Placing It All Collectively By the Lens of HubSpot

Tying every little thing collectively might sound overly simplistic, however stroll with me right here.

One SaaS model exemplifies content material advertising and marketing performed proper—HubSpot.

Since their founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, wrote a ebook titled “Inbound Advertising”, HubSpot has dominated the content material advertising and marketing world. Their development engine is primarily constructed on a content-first technique.

However how did they arrive to attain this? They’re an ideal instance of aligning with this six-factor framework.

HubSpot’s core viewers is SMBs trying to scale their CRM, gross sales, and advertising and marketing efforts. Ideally, these patrons don’t depend on RFPs or gross sales reps. As a substitute, they actively self-educate to resolve their enterprise issues.

When it comes to enterprise mannequin match, HubSpot thrives on retention. Their survival doesn’t hinge on one-off purchases, however on long-term buyer relationships. Content material is without doubt one of the some ways to go about that.

Firstly, HubSpot didn’t chase prompt revenue. As a substitute, they staked their declare on first turning into a trusted trade authority. And, contemplating they had been championing a brand new technique to market, they needed to concentrate on doing simply that.

How do I do know all this? Properly, under is a 2012 article from HubSpot that completely captures their mindset and mission on the time. And sure, I perceive that manufacturers usually inform tales to stretch past the “we would like your cash” narrative.

Nonetheless, there’s solely a lot a model can faux. HubSpot has persistently stayed dedicated to reaching its mission. This, too, explains why they’ve caught to content material (inbound advertising and marketing)—and as we speak, it’s working for them.

On assets, I’m tempted to say HubSpot had all of it. Not like most startups, they loved enterprise capital backing. So, to be honest, you may not need to place your self on par with them, however this doesn’t imply you want outrageous funding to make content material advertising and marketing work. Your good is sweet sufficient.

The distinction is the main focus. Whereas HubSpot might put money into complete academies and trade studies, resource-constrained startups want to choose one academic format and execute it exceptionally properly.

Though their instrument is much less advanced, they nonetheless wanted content material to cut back or take away any type of friction customers might face.

Lastly, I like that they captured my earlier level: for those who’re bringing one thing disruptive, counting on a competitor’s playbook solely limits you. Whereas HubSpot launched years after their direct competitor—Salesforce—they didn’t mimic Salesforce’s methods. They caught with what they believed would work for them, and it did. That was content material advertising and marketing.

How is it Working for Them?

When it comes to income, HubSpot is doing impressively properly. Their whole income in 2024 was valued at $2.63 billion. Their income report for Q1 2025 was over $700 million, which is 14% larger than Q1’24.

Past monetary metrics, their model mentions, thought management place and neighborhood engagement present how properly content material advertising and marketing can yield outcomes. You’ll be able to’t scroll by advertising and marketing Twitter or LinkedIn with out seeing HubSpot content material, citations, or discussions.

On the finish of the day, HubSpot isn’t only a case examine of profitable content material advertising and marketing. They’re a case examine in strategic alignment between content material, product, purchaser behaviour, and every little thing in between.

Fast Resolution Matrix

You need to use this scoring system to guage if content material advertising and marketing is correct to your startup:

Issue	Excessive Content material Advertising Match (3 factors)	Medium Match (2 factors)	Low Match (1 level)	Your Rating
Purchaser Persona	Self-educating, research-heavy patrons	Combined shopping for habits	Relationship-driven, sales-led patrons	___/3
Enterprise Mannequin	Freemium, low-touch SaaS	Mid-market subscription	Enterprise, high-touch	___/3
Main Objectives	Model consciousness, thought management	Balanced development strategy	Speedy income focus	___/3
Sources	Lengthy runway, restricted finances	Reasonable assets	Brief runway, excessive finances	___/3
Product Complexity	Complicated, wants training	Reasonable complexity	Easy, intuitive	___/3
Aggressive Panorama	Content material-heavy competitors	Combined methods	Relationship-focused competitors	___/3

Scoring information

·         15-18 factors: Content material advertising and marketing is crucial to your development

·         10-14 factors: Content material advertising and marketing needs to be a part of your combine, however not essentially major

·         6-9 factors: Think about alternate options first, content material as a secondary technique

Alternatively, be at liberty to make use of the picture model for reference.

Last Ideas

All issues thought-about, we will agree that advertising and marketing is hardly a one-size-fits-all recreation.

As a lot as I’d like to say that considered one of these components needs to be your high precedence, I can’t. The majority of the work is discovering the candy spot the place all of those align, then doubling down and develop. It’s your name.

It’s additionally value noting that for those who discover your candy spot in content material advertising and marketing, you have to be prepared to be devoted. As Ryan Legislation and Jimmy Daly at Animalz put it, “Content material isn’t a advertising and marketing tactic you’ll be able to simply activate and off.” Half-hearted content material advertising and marketing is commonly worse than no content material advertising and marketing in any respect.

Godspeed!

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This text was initially revealed by Oluwagbemiga Makinde on HackerNoon.