B2B Startup Paid Advertising vs Organic Marketing

B2B Branding Introduction

If you run a B2B startup, you are familiar with the challenges that come with it from what decision to make to what action to take. It is not easy to be decisive, but that is what is required as a startup founder, CEO, investor, CMO, or marketing manager. You get paid to make the tough decisions, including whether or not to pay for advertising or marketing campaigns.

B2B companies sell products or services to other businesses (and sometimes to consumers, too). Paid marketing at a B2B startup can be more tricky than a B2C startup given end users are usually buying on behalf of the organization. And it gets even more confusing if we are talking branding, marketing, and advertising for a B2B2C organization.

Meaningful Marketing Metrics

B2Bs use a lot of metrics that analyze their target audience before pitching and selling a product to them. B2Bs can attract both inbound (when the customer comes to you) and outbound (when you contact the potential customer lead) by: 

• Defining its target customer 

• Using the appropriate communication channels 

• Maintaining communication  

B2Bs (business to business companies) first consider the size of their audience before they start marketing and pitching them. They filter by SMB / SME small and medium businesses (0-100 employees), mid-market businesses (100-1000 employees), to enterprise businesses (1,000 employees and above). 

Effective business-to-business marketing depends on the size of the audience as marketing is not a one-size fits all process;  it is not possible to design a strategy that works for every size audience. Without understanding your target audience, marketing strategies will be ineffective. 

All You Need To Know About B2B Marketing 

To make the most of any B2B marketing strategy, it is important to consider the goal you wish to achieve. Is the strategy designed to just create visibility? Is it to drive partnerships and collaborations with other businesses? Or is it just simply to maximize profits? 

B2B startups unlike B2Cs (business to consumer models) focus on strategies that help them to pitch their products and services to businesses that need them. The end goal of doing this is so that they can gain visibility and make profits. 

The primary goal of every business is to maximize revenue and profits. Marketing strategies are used to reach your target market and drive awareness of your brand, product, and service. Strategies used differ from one business to another and are dependent on some basic factors. 

Factors that cause marketing strategies to differ include goals, purchase motivation, purchase purpose, purchase process, content, and the people involved in the purchase. 

Factors Impacting B2B Marketing

1. Marketing Goal

The marketing goal of B2Bs is to acquire and retain (high-value customers) which are other companies. Customers will typically be focused on understanding the business case of using your product, the ROI, efficiency, and expertise. Ensure that your marketing strategies communicate these values to your prospective customers. You will need industry benchmarks and KPI as well to help you reach your marketing goals, even if you run a top crypto forex MLM company. 

2. Purchase Motivation

Customers are not primarily influenced by emotion in B2B marketing. Instead, they are affected by reason, costs, and ROI - i.e. how companies can make more (financial) gains through their products and services. 

3. Purchase Purpose 

B2Bs tend to retain customers longer than B2Cs. Most times, the engagement with their customers is often long-term because of purchase purpose. Once customers have found what they are looking for, they won’t leave unless they are enticed by a better deal or better value elsewhere. In addition, switching costs in B2B solutions are usually higher than B2C solutions. Constant contact, feedback, and service with your customers is important to ensure client loyalty. 

4. Purchase Process 

Unlike B2Cs, purchases are not made directly. Specific employees in the company may be buyers for different types of B2B products. For instance, a Procurement Manager may negotiate deals for enterprise-wide software whereas a Design Manager may buy design software for their specific team. This way, relationships are enhanced and intensified between both parties. 

5. Content

Creating quality content (that informs and convinces) for B2B marketing is very important. Like direct consumers, the customers also need to be educated about new products and solve their problems. 

6. People Involved

B2B customers are not the sole decision-makers. They are often representatives taking instructions from the decision-makers. Make sure you understand the buying process and the key influencers and decision makers in the process to drive effective marketing and sales. 

Free Forms Of Marketing 

There are many B2B startups on a budget out there as well looking for free advertising avenues. Some top free forms of marketing with potentially no direct costs include: 

• Word of mouth and other referral channels that spread of your brand, products, or services. This is especially important for businesses like restaurants and video games. 

• Content marketing that leads to organic rank on Google (while “free” this does entail spending time and/or money on building and promoting content. 

• Barter based partnerships with other brands where instead of paying money, you barter on other things like cross-promotions. 

But a lot of these free marketing and advertising options still take time, energy, employees, and maintenance. Remember that time is money, even when it comes to ads and branding.

If you don’t already have such channels set up and working for you, you’ll need to resort to paid marketing to start feeding your top of the sales funnel. 

When B2B Startups Should Resort To Paid Marketing - Pay To Play

There are several strategies that B2B startups can engage to drive sales. While some of these strategies can be free, there will come a time when the need for paid marketing will be very important. Sometime you have to pay to play, and you have to spend money to make money. Some paid marketing strategies that you can engage for your startup include: 

4 Top Paid B2B Marketing Strategies

• Email Marketing:  It was reported by Content Marketing Institute in 2023 that 81% of B2B marketers consider email newsletters as their most used form of content marketing. This means they are tapping into the 3.9 billion daily email users. Email marketing isn't new or glamorous, but it is one of the most dependable channels for scaling and ROI.

• Digital Marketing (SEM):  This is about having a digital presence. Without one, people will wonder what your business is since everyone is present online. Don't be that business that is still stuck in 1999 saying that they don't need a website or online presence in 2023. Get a website and ensure it is SEO-optimized. Search engine optimization is one of the best organic marketing tactics you can use for your business website and brands on Google, Bing, Yahoo, Baidu, Yandex, YouTube, and DuckDuckGo. Define your audience and run PPC campaigns if you want to take the paid advertising route. You may want to bid on high volume, high purchase intent keywords that will help your potential users become aware of your service when they are searching for a solution. 

• Social Media Marketing (SMM):  This form of marketing is not quite emphatic for B2Bs as it is for B2Cs. Yet, social media is a powerful tool for creating brand awareness and management. The followers you have might be the key to connecting you with businesses in need of your services. You can focus your paid ad spend on channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, Tiktok, Pinterest, Snapchat, and of course Facebook to some extent with expert digital marketing guidance from Appetite Creative. 

• Content Marketing:  Content available to B2Bs includes blogging, podcasting, newsletters, and even vlogging. Content marketing can drive traffic and convert leads when backed up by analytics. Once you have content ready, promote the content through sponsored channels such as Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Medium, Blogger, WordPress, Soundcloud, Mailchimp, and Google. Leverage social media for further business content growth in 2024.

Paid Marketing Potential

You could also pay freelancers to carry out these duties or to use their own digital cache to promote your company online. That is a separate or supplemental option of paid marketing and advertising for B2B startups.

Paid marketing is essential for you if speed to market matters to you and leaving things to organic or word-of-mouth growth may drive things too slowly for you to realize the potential of your business. Also, if you have a short timeline of products and services with specific goals and benefits a big paid push may be necessary to maximize exposure to consumers. 

To Pay Or Not To Pay? That Is The Question For B2B Startup Businesses

But before you dive into paid marketing methods, you need to be familiar with your customers' interests and previous interactions. While paid marketing would allow you to target new customers, the old ones might be as new as gold. Again, communication with your clients is key to success. Also ensure that your applications are working correctly for paid and unpaid marketing.

Relying on paid marketing as your sole channel can be dangerous and give you a false sense of achieving product-market fit. Ultimately, you need to track your conversions from these paid channels and ensure that the customers you acquire give you an ROI that more than crosses your cost of acquisition. You also want customers that are a good fit and advocate your brand. 

With paid marketing, you should be concerned about customer retention as much as customer acquisition for your B2B startup business. The right marketing strategies will keep your customers well informed of their needs that your company can meet and profit from. 

B2B Paid Marketing For Startups Conclusion 

Marketing is fundamental to all businesses, be it small or large. Visibility and productivity are largely determined by the quality of marketing strategy that is engaged. B2Bs can make use of paid marketing strategies like email and content marketing to be sure they are reaching their target audience. Keep these tips in mind to determine whether your specific B2B business situation calls for paid marketing or organic marketing strategies. And make sure to read more B2B startup insights right here on Marketing Masterminds!

4 Often Overlooked Marketing Tactics That Deliver

Businesses sometimes concentrate their marketing efforts on the most visible channels—social media advertisements, email campaigns, SEO, and influencer partnerships—in the packed digital terrain of today. Although these approaches have their place and may be quite successful, certain less-used techniques contain a world of unrealized promise. These under-the-radar approaches provide shockingly good outcomes by cutting through the noise. These four sometimes disregarded marketing strategies demand greater focus, and their reasons are explained below. 

1. Leveraging the Power of Text Messaging Services 

Although email is still the pillar of business communication, as inboxes become increasingly congested, open rates are gradually falling. Text messaging still provides unmatched instantaneous access and interaction, though. This is an old-fashioned strategy with modern influence. Especially when speed and urgency are crucial, a well-run text messaging service may be among the most direct approaches to interacting with customers. 

Consider a service that employs automated text messages for business needs—such as event announcements, limited-time specials, or reminders of appointments. Most receivers of these communications read them in minutes, with open rates above 90%. One cannot easily replace that level of engagement. Furthermore, since communication is so instantaneous, it is ideal for time-sensitive offers, flash promotions, and more intimate client connection building. 

Still, many businesses avoid using text as they find it invasive. Permission-based marketing, then, is the secret. Customers who opt in are asking you to personally interact with them. Text messaging may significantly raise conversion rates and strengthen client loyalty if done correctly with value and frequency in mind. 

2. Hosting Educational Webinars And Workshops 

Though they have been around for some time, webinars are sometimes underused outside of IT and academic environments. Used creatively, they may be efficient brand-building weapons across numerous industries. A webinar is wonderful in two ways: you are building authority and trust in your field even as you are providing something actually helpful to your audience. 

A landscaping company may arrange a class on winter yard preparation, for instance, while a financial advisor might lead attendees through fundamental retirement planning techniques. These sessions not only help to establish credibility but also draw a very involved audience eager for what you have to give. 

Beyond the classroom, webinars enable real-time engagement that strengthens relationships and confidence. You are a genuine person providing actual answers, not only a logo or sales page. Participants may ask questions, have conversations, and get heard. That degree of participation is marketing gold, particularly at a time when customers yearn for authenticity more than ever. 

3. Reviving The Handwritten Note 

Handwritten notes might seem like a lovely artifact from the past in the fast-paced digital environment of today. But exactly, for this reason, they work. Especially in the context of brand communication, getting a handwritten message has something quite personal and unforgettable quality. Whether it is a thank-you card after a purchase, a personalized birthday greeting, or a brief "thinking of you" letter for regular customers, this tiny gesture may have an outsized impact. Because they require time and effort, handwritten messages stand out. They demonstrate how your business treats customers as people rather than only as business transactions. 

In sectors where rivals mostly rely on automation, this is particularly important. A meaningful note may create a moment of joy, produce positive word-of-mouth, and increase brand loyalty in a manner that no email ever could. Although every interaction is unique, including this strategy in important turning points of the customer journey—such as onboarding, renewals, or major milestones—can result in lifelong bonds and repeat business. 

4. Collaborating With Micro-Influencers 

Although influencer marketing is becoming a pillar of digital strategy, businesses target the most well- known personalities with the biggest following. While micro-influencers frequently provide something even more valuable—trust and authenticity—celebrity influencers may bring broad attention. Usually speaking, micro-influencers have a smaller but more involved audience. Their followers view them as peers rather than far-off superstars; hence, their recommendations are more valuable. 

Moreover, micro-influencers are usually more reasonably priced and eager to cooperate on creative initiatives. The secret is alignment here. Search for micro-influencers whose audience demographics, values, and looks fit your brand. This form of collaboration seems more natural and appeals more to customers who are growing suspicious of traditional ads. Whether it is a local fashionista, a parenting blogger, or a specialty fitness instructor, these bloggers can provide real-world content that inspires actual outcomes. 

Conclusion 

Effective marketing doesn't necessarily have to be fancy or costly. Often, the strategies lurking in plain sight have the most impact. From the immediacy text messaging services provide to the personal touch of handwritten notes, these techniques provide businesses with innovative approaches to connect, convert, and build connections. If your present marketing seems a little boring, it may be time to look into some often disregarded yet rather successful strategies.

Marketing Industry Trends To Anticipate in 2026

Change is inevitable in the marketing industry, especially if there is a global pandemic spearheading it. So many recent events took us all by surprise, significantly impacting working conditions, spaces, and opportunities, reduced budgets, and the utmost importance of operating businesses primarily online. The recent health crisis may have accelerated the shift to digital commerce and mobile technology by 5-10 years due to lockdowns and restrictions.

The harsh effects on the marketing industry are finally less severe as the world regains momentum and reopens. However, there remains a Cautiousness among business owners and marketing firms. Now more than ever, predictions and trends are crucial in the world of advertising and branding. Below are some top marketing trends to anticipate for 2026. 

Top 5 Marketing Industry Trends In 2026

1. AI is Slowly Taking Over Digital Marketing 

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now prevalent in most if not all business industries. The marketing sector is also embracing the use of AI to tremendous success. Matters such as search engine optimization and automatic recording of website traffic are made easier for marketers because of AI. 

In addition, marketers are also using AI and machine learning as a tool to get to learn more about their markets and consumers. Companies can predict customer purchase habits based on their histories, find the best platforms to reach them, and automate personalized messages for these consumers. All these marketing activities are also done with no need for marketing professionals, cutting hiring costs for marketing agencies in 2025. 

2. Hiring Remote Employees 

The pandemic impacted employment negatively, with pay cuts, employee layoffs, and employee health some of the main concerns. Another stand-out theme for employees was working from home, an aspect that benefitted some companies. Remote working ensured safety and cut office and support expenses for business owners and employees. Furthermore, it also gives both parties independence, crucial to boosting productivity amidst the pandemic. 

As the world reopens and companies open their doors to new employees, remote working is set to continue. Apart from increased productivity, companies also see it as a chance to access a wider pool of skillful employees with no location restrictions. As a result, a growing number of marketing agencies are utilizing an employer of record to assist with hiring global employees. 

The remote employee theme well suits the marketing industry. Digital marketing activities hardly require the need to be in an office. A remote employee only needs access to a well-functional computer or phone and reliable internet service. 

One important consideration while investing in remote employees is having a stable support system in place. The support systems should feature an effective official communication line and a way to monitor the employees' work. 

3. The Age For Hybrid Events 

One of the aspects the world missed the most was outdoor events and social gatherings. The pandemic meant social distancing, and the lockdown was the norm that we had to deal with. In-home concerts, zoom meetings, and online openings were the theme as businesses sought to adapt. 

On the business front, customer engagement and networking events took the virtual path too. Marketing agencies put their efforts toward making social media impressions and buzz to maximize virtual event attendance. 

As a shift to normalcy begins, customers and marketers are uncertain whether to quench the desire for in-person events or retain the comfort of virtual events. With hybrid events, both preferences are met. Hybrid events allow in-person events while offering immersive options for event-goers at the comfort of their home. 

4. Investing In Programmatic Advertising 

Ads are essential to the marketing efforts of a business. Programmatic advertising uses AI to enable ad-buying automatically. The process is triggered by a web publisher putting up the ad for sale, where the highest-bidding advertiser earns the right to display the ad. 

Afterward, the advertisers display the ad where they earn for every customer click that is converted into a sale. According to Statista, 61% of programmatic advertising spending worldwide is by US companies. This number expected to increase in the coming year. 

5. Attaining More Ownership 

Marketing companies are striving for more security which is no longer just achievable by helping drive sales. The agencies want more power over the products they market, as their successful efforts almost always increase the client's company value. 

Having ownership also inspires the marketing agencies to implement more impressive strategies to increase sales. Marketing agencies can get more ownership by having performance metrics that allow part ownership when goals are met. 

Conclusion

The marketplace is livening up again, and as such, adapting fast and being innovative may as well set your marketing company apart from the rest. By implementing the above guideline, you set yourself up to stay ahead of the marketing game in 2025.

How Content Marketing Changed From Recent Events

If I had to use one word to describe the situation with content publishers and ad revenue as of late, it would be “tumultuous”. The ad revenue game was already facing some serious headwinds before The Great Upheaval. Google was looking to kill the third-party cookie, brand safety concerns ran rampant, and the sheer amount of technology and middlemen literally left a third of digital ad spend unaccounted for. With that as the backdrop, along came the health crisis, which created a situation where unprecedented traffic numbers were going unmonetized due to keyword blocks and a dramatic slash in marketing budgets across the board. Add to that the civil unrest of the last month, which pushed brands to temporarily go dark out of respect and solidarity. 

To say that the environment is less than ideal would be the understatement of the century. With all that being said, when looking at the big picture, there is, surprisingly, a recovery happening. Let’s dive in. The Show Must Go On after all. Some real talk: Somewhere over the last month or two a choice has been made to reopen at all costs. Globally, there seems to be a consensus building that the world can no longer afford to keep the economy shuttered. It’s not my place to argue for or against this trend. This is just what’s happening. Health impact aside, this “show must go on” mentality is most definitely starting to be felt when it comes to ad revenue. People are trying to return to some semblance of normalcy and stability. That return includes getting out of the house, eating at restaurants, shopping outside more, and so on. In our particular case, this means that marketing decisions are no longer made minute-by-minute. 

There is a collective push to return to business-as-usual for businesses, even if the usual is currently unusual. This means that companies have come back to planning. Brands are figuring out how to adjust their strategy for the new normal, and are starting to spend again. This also means that publishers optimizing for ad revenue have also started planning, evaluating, and restarting their spend. 

A Semblance of Normalcy Once the advertising landscape cratered in March, we saw that a lot of the norms we were used to weren’t happening anymore. For example, in normal times, we could generally expect CPCs to be low at the beginning of the month, and then slowly go up toward the end of the month. In parallel to CPCs going up gradually, the on-site revenue (RPM) would also go up. This didn’t happen in March, April, or May. Here are May’s stats for reference: However, this seems to be changing in June, and things are starting to look much better. Here’s what’s been happening in June so far: All indications are that CPC and RPM are finally starting to behave predictably again. And even better news - RPMs are ramping up quicker than CPCs, thereby increasing profitability. A lot of content marketing lessons have been learned during this pandemic.

User habits are returning to normal again as well. For example, mobile browsing is back on the rise, after slumping in March and April. Looking Ahead We’re hearing positive signals across the board from content publishers and advertisers in the age of Covid-19. They’re expecting July to hold steady and ad revenue to increase over August and September. The consensus is that brands have been holding on to budget from Q2 and plan on spending it in Q3 and Q4. Other trends of note: Video CPMs seem to be relatively high-yield over the last month or so. 

Health-related content is doing incredibly well, which isn’t surprising. The publishers who are generating the most consistent profit currently are those with direct-sold inventory. Beefing up sales teams to create these deals seems to be paying off for them. So is ad revenue making a comeback? 

Probably, and publishers should examine what they can do to make the most of it. That being said, there is really only one way to crisis-proof publishers, and that is diversification. Relying on one source of revenue is just not tenable. If you haven’t yet looked at new revenue channels, this stability is the perfect opportunity to do so. So let’s get to work. What’s going on in your neck of the woods? I would love to hear about how you’re approaching ad revenue and overall diversification. It’s also worth noting that being back to normal patterns means that July CPCs will be starting low, with a huge opportunity to scale, so it’s a good time to invest in paid traffic. If you want to learn a bit more about what Marketing Masterminds can do to help you improve your paid distribution strategy, make sure to visit our Contact Us page.

This week, I’ve been reading about how publishers are responding to (and monetizing) the uptick in time spent on mobile devices and social platforms. Kiplinger, for example, recently revamped its website with a new mobile-first design in response to a shift in reader habits. Condé Nast, on the other hand, announced seven new podcasts, including “The Pitchfork Review,” “Get Wired,” and “In Vogue,” all of which will be part of the new Condé Nast Podcast Network. 

It’s no secret that the events of this year have caused an overall surge in social media marketing usage, and the latest projections show that we can expect this trend to continue through the end of this year and into 2025. Translation: now is a particularly good time for publishers to leverage paid social to drive affiliate dollars and ad revenue.

As publishers continue to adapt by pivoting from in-person events to virtual ones or developing new ways to reduce their reliance on cookies, they’ve also been doubling down on a channel with a tried-and-true history of driving engagement: email. 

TIME, for example, recently launched Camp TFK, a new weekday newsletter designed to help parents who are working from home this summer. Curated by TIME for Kids editors, the new program offers free, kid-friendly activities that require minimal adult supervision. Newsletter-first publishers are also expanding their email efforts — the popular Morning Brew newsletter recently debuted its latest product geared toward marketing professionals, aptly dubbed Marketing Brew. 

And speaking of newsletter-first publishers, Digiday recently reported that some of the format’s major players are having success growing the lifetime value of their subscriber bases through referral programs. According to Adam Ryan, President of The Hustle, not only is the lifetime value of a referral program participant multiple times higher than the company’s typical subscriber, but the open rate for referred subscribers is double that of the average subscriber as well.

Content marketing is changing during Covid-19, and you need to keep adapting!

How To Make Your SEO Audit Report Stand Out From The Crowd

Your website's performance in search engines directly influences its success, traffic, and income potential. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) ensures that websites appear on the first page of search engine results. Therefore, it is crucial for increasing traffic. 

An SEO audit report that helps clients see how you have progressed toward your goals is a great way to keep your agency on track.

The key is making your report as readable as possible without wasting time copying and pasting tables and charts from other platforms. Here are 4 tips to help you create a perfect SEO audit report for your clients every time.

1. Keywords

SEO audit reports are essential to educating your clients, documenting the impact of your efforts, and building trust. Therefore, these reports should be concise, quick to create, and easy to understand. It is where a free SEO report template can be a big help. 

A critical aspect of an effective report is clearly defining goals and KPIs. It lets you clearly show how well your strategies work and set priorities for the next month.

The other aspect of an effective report is checking progress and identifying issues that need to be fixed. It helps your clients avoid losing momentum.

While keyword rankings are imperfect, a high click-through rate and engagement can signal that your page has gotten Google's attention. However, keep in mind that search engine rankings can change quickly.

2. Traffic

One of the best ways to impress clients with your SEO work is to create reports that show progress in key metrics. It helps you demonstrate how your strategies have helped your client meet their goals, and you can then start planning future campaigns accordingly to deliver more long-term wins.

Your clients are also likely to want to see how their website is performing regarding bounce rate, and you will need to include this data as well. It can help them understand why certain parts of their website convert slower than they would like.

3. Backlinks

Backlinks are links from one website to a page on another website (sometimes known as "inbound links," "incoming links," or "one-way connections"). Google and other major search engines regard backlinks as "votes" for a given website. Sites with many backlinks typically score well in organic search engine results. Backlinks are a huge part of SEO and significantly impact search rankings. Therefore, having a lot of high-quality links is essential for increasing your ranking.

The first step to do is to assess your current backlinks. You can do this with the help of a backlink analysis tool.

It can give you a clear view of your total backlinks and unique domains. It can also help you identify the best domains to link to and improve your backlink profile.

Next, you should look at the anchor texts used to link to your page. It can indicate the site's authority and whether they use the right keywords or phrases to link to your page.

4. Conversions

One of the effective ways to illustrate your skills as an SEO wizard is by tracking and reporting on the conversions that matter. It might be as simple as counting the number of customers or leads generated by your optimized website. Still, it can also mean measuring ad revenues, e-book downloads, or subscription revenue. Ideally, these numbers will be directly tied to your client's business and their marketing budget. The goal is to make your SEO audit report stand out and sway the important marketing budget in your favor.

An excellent way to do that is by making a custom Google Analytics (GA) report with the most pertinent data points. For example, a custom GA report should include your client's unique visitors and visitor behavior by segment; what content is generating the most conversions (or at least attracting the most eyeballs); and, of course, the best way to display all that information in an easy-to-read report.

Smart SEO Audits

When it comes to an SEO audit, you can't settle for average. Keep these above top tips in mind when creating search engine optimization audits for business websites and blogs to ensure they go over and above the average reports. 

5 Content Marketing Tips For B2B SaaS Businesses

If you are in the B2B SaaS industry, you know how challenging it can be for marketers. It is getting to be a much more competitive and congested global market so you need to stand out if you want a shot at surviving and thriving. Competing companies are popping up everywhere in the modern digital economy. And if you have not started getting serious about your content marketing strategy, you are in the right place here on Marketing Masterminds. Why is it so important to step up your game in the B2B SaaS business? 

It is crucial to level up due to nearly three quarters of organizations recently surveyed saying that by 2024 at least 88% of their software programs will be SaaS (software-as-a-service), which is of course only expected to grow each year. When it comes to B2B (business to business) SaaS, a lot of the cloud products can appear complex, or require some degree of explanation, tutorial, or how-to guide. In this way, content marketing and the B2B SaaS industries are a match made in heaven, since content marketing has exploded alongside the development and popularity of SaaS. 

One marketer we used to work with said it best: “The only way to win at content marketing is for the reader to say: This was written specifically for me.” 

So what exactly is a Content Marketing Strategy? It is first helpful to define terms when we mention a “content marketing strategy” for software marketers with KPI concerns.

What Is A Content Marketing Strategy?

We're flooded daily with the word "content", and it’s hard to differentiate what is helpful, what converts potential prospects into customers, and what is just noise. Let’s take it straight from the source - the Content Marketing Institute (who would seem like they know what they are talking about) says that a content marketing strategy is a “strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.” 

At Marketing Masterminds Media, we're extremely familiar with a content marketing strategy (CMS) not only because we develop and publish our own, but we also implement them for our customers. It’s definitely our thing. Because of that, we’re going to share with you, the B2B SaaS marketing crowd, exactly the steps you can take to develop your own SaaS marketing strategy and ultimately, turn your content into customers. Here's how to amp up your software-as-a-service business 2 business marketing:

5 Top Tips For B2B SaaS Content Marketers

1. Research What Audiences Want 

Although it could be argued that this should be the first step for any type of strategy, it’s of the utmost importance for creating one for the ubiquitous B2B SaaS industry. 

Since your brand is making the content for your audience, you need to be sure it’s what they need, want, care about, or will even look at. This could also be called gaining customer insights, and it’s these insights that will shape the direction, look, and feel of your CMS. There are seemingly endless, and relatively easy, ways to conduct this research: you can take a look at already existing content of yours to see which performs the best, you can take a look at competitors’ content to see what people are engaging with, and you can use keywords tools like Neil Patel's UberSuggest or the SEO software platform Ahrefs. 

Let’s say you’re a social media scheduling and analytics company that provides tools for businesses to plan, share, and schedule all of their content in one place. If you were to search “how do I schedule social media posts in advance?” you also have the option of taking a look at the “people also ask” function on Google. This provides insight into similar queries people are searching for, but it can also serve as great inspiration for the content you should create - because, clearly people are looking for it. In this instance, as seen below, you could add a blog or video (we will get into content types in just a bit) into your CMS that answers the sought after question of “what should I look for in a social media management tool?” Another obvious but often overlooked approach is ASK! Ask your customers what they need an how you can solve their problems or provide value. 

Ask what they want to see, what pain points they have in understanding your app or software, and what types of content they love to consume. Use your social media channels as a market research tool, as if it gives you one-to-one contact with the people you’re creating the strategy for. It will allow you to learn the language of your audience, and also build brand sentiment as you are saying to your customers or followers “ask and you shall receive.” If you don’t have this one to one with your audience just yet, talk with your sales dept to ensure that what you’re delivering is actually being requested. 

2. Understand Your Target Audience's Perspective  

The whole point of a content marketing strategy is to guide your potential customer through the content marketing funnel; from unaware, uninformed, internet stranger, to educated, loyal, brand ambassador. This means you need to understand the buyer’s journey. You have to put yourself in their shoes, and walk yourself through what it takes to go from first click, to credit card swipe. Map out what type of understanding your customer would have at the Top of the Funnel (TOFU), Middle of the Funnel (MOFU) and Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU.) This includes thinking about what questions they’d have, and what they’d need to move on to the next -FU. After you’ve done your research and started to get ideas, look at where your content fits within the B2B marketing funnel. 

You’re probably not going to provide case studies to someone who doesn’t even know what your product does. You can’t expect your potential customers to jump straight from question to conversion - you need to provide value first. Let’s say you’re a project management software company, this means that you most likely have both personal and professional users, and users who have varying models i.e. free vs. premium. You need to address pain points that each of these groups may have. 

This may look like a FAQ blog for initial buyers, who are just getting familiar, and a “Project Management: The Definitive Guide” for your enterprise clients who’ve been around the block. A stellar content strategy would also simultaneously create content that leads that free user to a paying customer; perhaps a video tutorial that shows the awesome features from the paid version. Our Content Marketing & The Marketing Funnel Guide breaks down exactly what types of content perform the best at each stage, and how you can guide your audience from top to bottom - the only time you’d want your customers at the bottom. 

3. Create Content Supporting Company Goals

The research aspect of your CMS is crucial, and understanding your audience is imperative, but you are, after all, a business. This means that the content you are creating needs to support the goals of your B2B SaaS marketing business, and not just provide value for your customers only. In the beginning stages of strategizing, nail down some defined, measurable results that you want to see. This would be the fourth stage of the flowchart below. Depending on where you’re at in the evolution of your company, this may vary. Your focus could be lead generation, audience education, or customer retention - or, all of the above. Without setting relevant and achievable goals that align with the overall marketing strategy, your content will be in vain. The focus of your goal then, should influence which metrics you measure and how you analyze your analytics. For example, if you’re an HR management software company with the goal of lead generation, a metric to measure this success could be #’s of free trial downloads. 

You then can craft and create content that will deliver this objective. You could create a gifographic (yes, that’s a real thing) that highlights the benefits of your product, or some impressive performance stats, with a CTA to download a free trial. You set your goal, you choose your KPI, and then you create the content that will get those results. Likewise, if you want to increase customer retention, your content strategy could be a loyalty program, or members-only newsletter. 

4. Tell Your Audience Who You Are 

Almost 90 percent of consumers who were asked said that authenticity is a key factor in deciding what brands to like and support. This means that consumers can easily distinguish when a brand is being transparent vs. saving face. Although a major step in the content marketing process, it can also be quite a bit of fun, if done correctly. You set the tone of how you want your content to be received, communicated through your brand voice. It’s important to differentiate between the two: your brand voice is the personality of your brand, and the tone can change based on the medium or the message - but it should always be apparent that it’s yours. Buffer, a social media software company hits the nail on the head when it comes to showcasing brand identity. They achieve the goal of fusing their product with their personality, and, in addition to promoting their tool, showcase content that highlights their brand’s willingness to learn and grow. Sure, you want to create content to grow your engagement and increase visibility, but you also want people to enjoy the content of yours that they consume, or else they won’t be returning. 

Most B2B SaaS brands fall into one of the below categories, and deciding who your brand is before you start releasing content makes the strategizing process much easier. Think of your brand as a person - what kind of personality would they have? How would they act in a group of people? List adjectives that describe this personality and weave that tone of voice, approach, and attitude through every piece of content you create. Yes, every. It should be apparent in every Instagram caption, blog title, and paragraph on your website. Then - go nuts; create surveys, infographics, podcasts. Take testimonials from clients or case studies and present them in an interesting way. Look at what other companies are doing and then create the things you wish to see but don’t. And remember, a little humor goes a long way. 

5. Distribute And Amplify As Much As Possible

This step may be the most overlooked but also the one that returns the most rewards. Nothing is worse than spending time and resources researching and creating content, only to hit “post” once, and then leave it to die in the content graveyard. Especially considering the fact that over half of B2B SaaS marketers create at least one piece of content a day, it’s no longer a viable strategy to simply create, share, and hope for the best with this "spray and pray" tactic. This is where cross-platform publishing is huge; it’s essentially an ongoing focus group. You get to see what types of content perform the best on which platforms, which audiences respond most positively to what you’re creating, and can help guide you into editing and tweaking your CMS based on real-time insights. 

For example, if your company, a finance management tool for enterprise, has written a blog about “The Top 5 Financial Applications in 2021,” you’d post it on your blog, and then adapt its contents to better suit your identified target platforms. This may be sharing long-form excerpts from the blog on Reddit, infographics on Facebook, or discussion points regarding the blog on LinkedIn. Then, follow up with commenting and engaging with those who like, comment, and share on these posts. Other tactics to make sure your content gets the spotlight it deserves is investing in SEO expertise, paid ads, or an email marketing list. It should also be noted that the workflow for how you distribute your content should be integral to your CMS, not something that’s done in a random way once you go to share it with the world. 

Company Content Conclusion

After all this is done, analyze the performance of your content frequently so you can always refine your marketing strategy to maximize effectiveness. It comes as no surprise that nearly three quarters of B2B marketers said they have a content marketing strategy documented, up from only a third of marketers two years ago. For B2B SaaS, it’s not so much a case of “if” but “when.” Using this marketer guide as your blueprint, you’ll learn how to create a content marketing strategy that can catapult your brand in front of the eyes of the businesses and people who need your product the most. Now get out there and boost your B2B business big time!

How To Create Webinars On Demand For Evergreen Content

The way people, especially businesses, put up seminars and events as they invite attendees has changed drastically over the past few years. More so, in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person events are out and live webinars, even on demand webinar content, are in. A webinar, defined, pertains to the online event hosted by an organization or company and broadcast to a pre-determined group of individuals through their devices and computers via the Internet. 

Attending a webinar event for the attendee is promising. But what about those who like to participate in a webinar scheduled but don't have the time to do so? This is when the on demand webinar promotion, as opposed to a live webinar, gets in. In this post, we will give you a quick guide to making webinars on demand. 

But first, what does it mean by "on demand webinar"? 

On Demand Webinar: What This Is About 

You may be familiar with live webinars but not too much about on demand webinars. Or, maybe you are since we are talking about "on demand", which you happen to come across when you are binge-watching your favorite shows on Netflix, for instance. 

An on-demand webinar refers to a webinar that is pre-recorded and a webinar that viewers can watch at their own time. To review, a webinar is an online seminar connecting the audience to a webinar host. It plays on the words "web" and "seminar" hence the combined word "webinar" that has been mainstream for many years now. 

People are usually time-bound, and even if they want to attend or watch a webinar, if it doesn't match their free time, they can't. But not anymore with on demand webinars. 

With this on demand webinar program, you can attend the webinars on your own time and anywhere. On demand webinars, also known as always-on webinars, allow attendees to consume the webinar content at their own time. These webinars are easy to create for evergreen content that generates leads or revenue. 

A webinar on demand or always-on webinars are critical elements in any webinar program. As a matter of fact, the ON24 Webinar Benchmarks Report says over a third of all attendees are on demand attendees. This must be a clear signal for demand generation marketers that the always-on webinars should be in order. 

Moreover, these webinars demand a distinctive approach than their live counterparts. How can you create an on demand webinar? Read on to learn more about creating successful evergreen webinars on-demand. 

How To Create Webinars On Demand 

1. Prepare A Post-Webinar Plan 

Every successful webinar has a plan. It consists of speakers, promotional strategies, and talking points. Does this apply to on demand webinars? 

It is very important to take note of your current webinar process as precisely as you can, right up to when the event presents. Then, write down how you would implement a post-live event strategy, from promotions to updated polls, plus more. 

With the basics of the on demand webinar strategies in place, you can quickly change and iterate on your webinar process until the on demand aspect moves naturally in your webinar workflow. 

2. Centralize The Webinar Content 

On demand webinars should be easy to spot and navigate. Often, this means you must have an on demand content hub. These hubs provide your webinars with a central location so your audience can binge on your webinars at their own time and place, and for as long as they want. 

Remember, though, that various audiences need to search for content relevant to them. There are times having a targeted or personalized page can help them expedite their search, boost your webinar content, and improve your engagements with your webinar. 

3. Regularly Analyze On Demand Outcomes 

Here is the fun part: analysis. Know that on demand webinars can offer you a wealth of information that can refine your program, boost your webinar content, and create more engagement opportunities. Invest time going through your results to see where your viewers are engaging and why. 

Bonus Content: The Advantages Of On Demand Webinars 

According to the WorkCast website, 73 percent of B2B marketers agree webinars are great and effective ways to generate high-quality leads. With this being said, on demand webinars are the best ways to attract more attendees and generate more of such high-quality leads. 

Usually, the website added, only 30 to 40 percent of individuals who register for webinars will attend the event live. This may be because of time zone differences, scheduling conflicts, emergencies, and more. 

Your attendees cannot always be ready for your live event. Thus, there is the on demand webinar. 

The remaining 70 percent who cannot attend the webinar can instead attend the on demand versions of your webinar. 

When you host your webinar content on demand, you can lengthen its shelf life since it is not limiting your audience only to those available on the schedule. Attendees can partake in your webinar anytime and anywhere. 

Creating On Demand Webinar Content: The Conclusion 

If you think you need to work so hard to set up these webinars, you actually don't. There are several platforms today that will allow you to easily and effortlessly create these webinars from square one until the end. They will also facilitate on demand recording registration, and guide you on how to get more leads, create your webinar room, have your recording registration page, produce webinar videos, utilize paid search advertising, connect with your live attendees, go through your on demand settings, get ideas from your previous webinar and webinar channel, and more. 

When you follow the tips you have learned about above, you will also be able to understand the people interacting with your on demand program, providing you with the data you need so you can refine and re-target your webinar content as needed. 

The webinar's end isn't the end of your webinar. It's time to build your on demand webinar strategy starting right now to reap the rewards.

How To Incorporate Customer Reviews In Your Marketing Strategy

Of all the marketing strategies available today, word of mouth and the opinion of others still reign supreme. There’s something about hearing someone give their stamp of approval on a product or service that encourages you to make a purchase. Getting feedback from existing customers also enables brands to enhance their products and services for better results. That’s why companies go to great lengths to obtain reviews. 

If you’re interested in using customer reviews, here are some creative ways to incorporate them into your marketing campaign. 

Place Them On Your Website 

One of the most common ways to display customer reviews is on your company website or eCommerce platform. As visitors check out what you have to offer, they can quickly evaluate the experiences of others. You can create a customer review tab or attach them to products with star ratings and a comment section. 

Add Them To Print Materials 

Does your company use print materials like flyers, postcards, and brochures to advertise its products and services? If so, you can include a few of your top customer reviews on your print materials for an increased chance to convert your audience to sales. 

Create A Promotional Video 

Videos are becoming an increasingly popular way to view and share content. While you may not have the funds to make a commercial, a short video review can serve the same purpose for a lot less. Getting a few customers to talk about their experience and even give demonstrations on how your products work is simple and effective. You can upload the videos on your website, social media pages or send them out in an email blast. 

Share On Social Media 

Social media has become an increasingly popular platform for businesses and consumers to connect. Use your social media pages to highlight customer reviews. Your followers can review, add, or share these reviews with others to improve your brand’s reputation and credibility. 

How To Get Positive Customer Reviews 

While there are review sites where customers can give their opinion on various brands, it’s best to source your own. Here are a few methods to get the reviews you need for your marketing campaign. 

Provide Quality Services 

You can’t very well expect to get positive customer reviews if you’re not providing the best products and services. Talk to existing customers to find out what they like and dislike about your products. Use this information to enhance your services. Whether that means changing the prices or outsourcing your pick pack and ship needs to an eCommerce fulfillment center, the more satisfied your customers are, the easier it is to get high ratings. 

Just Ask 

One of the first options won’t cost you anything. All you have to do is ask. Some people love giving their opinion and won’t mind helping out a business they support. You can ask in person, send out emails, add a link for reviews on receipts and print materials, create a post on social media, or ask at the end of your blog posts. 

Another option is to create widgets and place them on your website and social media platforms. When your customers click on the widget, it will route them to an app to complete a form providing feedback on a recent purchase. 

Offer Discounts 

Some customers are aware of the power in their opinion and would like to be compensated for their services. If that’s the case, you can consider offering discounts on your products or services. Getting a few bucks off something they need can be all the motivation you need to get a decent review. 

Customer Reviews Conclusion

The world of marketing has expanded as technology, and consumer trends continue to evolve. Although it’s in your best interest to consider multiple concepts when marketing your products and services, don’t overlook traditional mediums like the opinion of others. Customer reviews are easy to incorporate into your marketing campaign and can help spread the word about your brand.

4 Tips For Improving Your Online Marketing

Since online marketing uses the internet to reach a global audience every day of the week, it has the potential to be more profitable than a traditional approach. However, regardless of how well you’re currently using this digital marketing, you may still be missing out on some highly effective online promotional techniques to sell your products or services. 

If you’d like to create a better long-term plan for success, here are some handy tips to generate more traffic and convert more visitors into customers: 

1. Deploy An Industry Specific Automated Marketing Strategy 

Professionals can manage their business more effectively with the help of an automated marketing platform. It will not only help them reach more potential clients but also deliver higher quality work. However, since every industry serves different clientele, businesses need industry-specific platforms. For example, since the accounting industry deals with highly-sensitive data, an accounting business needs reliable, comprehensive, and intelligent cloud-based accounting website software that will meet the confidentiality needs of their clients. 

2. Outsource Your Marketing To A Digital Marketing Agency 

Outsourcing marketing to a digital marketing agency is a superb way to manage cost and time constraints. Marketing professionals with the right skills and software resources to manage your marketing campaigns will help you promote your products or services more effectively. You won’t need to build a marketing team. You also won’t need to spend precious hours trying to figure online marketing out for yourself. 

3. Develop A Powerful Content Marketing Strategy 

Since every business has unique goals based on industry and economic trends, determine what your company’s goals are and develop a content marketing strategy that will help you achieve them. Every marketing plan should include a content strategy to build authority in your niche. After deciding what type of content you want to produce, create a publishing calendar and decide on the best media to use to get your message in front of your audience. For some companies, the right media might be blogging. For others, it might be better to launch a YouTube channel. 

4. Develop A Comprehensive Digital Marketing Campaign 

In a digital marketing campaign, messages are developed, content generated, and advertising created to generate leads. 

Here are five essential software tools to help you run more effective campaigns: 

Graphic Design Software: 

A digital marketing promotion requires graphic design software because you’ll need to create graphics for various platforms, such as websites, blogs, and social media. 

Video Editing Software 

Investing in video editing software will allow you to edit videos and compile them into shorter versions to promote your business on your favorite social media platforms. 

Social Media Management 

You can monitor your brand on various social media channels using social media management tools. These can help you spot any issues or opportunities and engage with customers quickly. 

Analytics Software Tools 

You can use analytics software tools to evaluate and interpret data and extract insights for strategic decision making. Because these SaaS tools provide real-time, accurate data, they offer you a 360-degree view of your business, a comprehensive overview that would not otherwise be possible. 

Content Management Systems:

You can use CMSs to organize, create, and share content across different platforms, including social media. They allow you to manage all your content in one place and make it easier to run an online newsletter, blog, and special promotional events. 

Don't Forget About Email Marketing, SEO, And PPC 

Besides these suggestions, also consider the different types of online advertising available to promote a product or service. Email ads, banner ads, search engine optimization (SEO), YouTube video ads, social media advertisements, and text-based display ads are some powerful ways to extend your marketing reach. All of these are essential digital marketing tools that should be added to your marketer arsenal.

If The Pandemic Has Forced You To Start A Blog, Here’s What To Do Next

The pandemic has forced a lot of people to become entrepreneurs. It is not that those people didn’t have a business idea in the back of their mind. It is just that life has been ticking along just fine until the last couple of years for a lot of people. No one wants to make a big change when things are going well enough. We have an aversion to rocking the boat. Or to put it another way, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. 

But of course, it is broken. And no good fix is in the works. We didn’t cause the problem. But we have to become the solution. The problem is that most of those businesses you were noodling cost a lot of money to get started. Right now, no one has a lot of money. And banks are not in the mood to lend it. 

Thank goodness for blogging. Maybe you weren’t the best student in school. But you always did well in grammar. You developed an appreciation for literature. And you had a knack for creative writing. Blogging can take advantage of all that. But you need a little more than a way with words and a gift for gab. If you want to beat the pandemic by blogging, here’s what you need: 

A Good Desk 

When you are purchasing a desk chair, it is useful to know the average desk height. It is even more useful not to have to worry about it. You are not the average person going into the average career under average circumstances. Since you will be writing several hours a day, you are going to want to be able to get out of that chair several times a day, preferably, without having to take time away from work. 

A sit/stand desk can do all that with the press of a button. One moment, you are sitting. Realizing how unhealthy sitting for long periods of time can be, you press the button to raise the desk. The next moment, you’re standing. But at no moment did you have to break the flow of your work to do it. The powered desks can usually be programmed to accommodate different heights in the event more than one person uses the desk. It also provides flexibility if you decide to get a chair that sits a little higher or a little lower, your desk will be able to accommodate you. If you are looking to go into the word-making business, you are going to need a desk that works with you. 

Play To Your Strengths 

If you are an introvert, business-minded kind of person, then become an introverted business blogger. Don’t think of your aversion to social situations as a weakness. Embrace it as a strength. Love who you are and write what you know. If you know all the ins and outs about skateboarding, you can build a totally rad blog with a highly engaged niche following. 

If you like to keep things light and funny, use your wit to make serious things more digestible. If you are a pop culture expert, sprinkle your writings with pop culture references. There is almost no topic that doesn’t have a natural audience. You don’t have to worry about a topic being oversaturated. With over 7 billion people on the planet, you can find a couple hundred who really like your style. Develop an audience and advertisers will follow. Just be yourself and play to your strengths. 

Get A Laptop 

If you only have a desktop computer, get a laptop. The best laptops include Macs and PC’s for a broad spectrum of budgets. As a blog writer, you don’t need a high-end machine. You just need something that you can take with you every time you leave the house. The worst thing you can do as a blogging writer is to be without your tools when inspiration strikes. 

Conclusion

It is possible to supplement your income with blogging. But you have to have the right mindset and tools to make it happen as a blogger. Get the kind of desk that keeps you healthy while you work on your blog. Use your natural abilities and strengths and don’t try to be someone you aren’t. Authenticity is key online. And get a mobile device you can use for writing on the go because inspiration waits for no one.