The very nature of a SaaS business model means that you cannot really rely on traditional media like newspapers, radio or television to demonstrate your products. The audiences tuned into these channels need to see a product in action in order to be persuaded to make a purchase. This is why when the marketing of SaaS products is concerned, it is natural to employ digital marketing tactics. This is where your audience is most likely to actively engage with you and your product, and also where you can drive them to experience the product by directing them to your website.

Social media, of course, is the most popular channel of communication online, a fact well-known to every marketer. But blindly trying and testing to see what works (and what doesn’t) can prove to be immensely costly for your business.

We recommend incorporating the following techniques into your social media initiatives, which can help you up your marketing game.

Find the right platforms online

The temptation to be everything to everyone is too great and is what pushes us to create social accounts on every platform. The truth, however, is that there are simply too many platforms for any company to do justice to the audiences present on them. Setting up more accounts means devoting more resources to managing all the platforms, not to mention the time involved in customizing content in a way that leverages each platform’s advantage

Instead of focusing on vanity metrics, get a real sense of what you want to achieve. Is it to educate the audience and create a demand for a product category that is completely new to the market? Is it to acquire leads and prompt them to try out the product by downloading it from the App Store? Is it to resell to existing customers and ensure they renew their subscriptions? If you have clarity on the goals to be achieved, you can easily select 2-3 social channels to focus your attention completely. You can deliver highly personalized marketing messages and penetrate the audience more deeply.

Focus on visual content

Visual content has been proven to perform far better than written content. When information is paired with a visual, people are much more likely to remember it as compared to when the information is presented with just words. Visual content is also a lot more effective in arousing emotions in the audience and prompting them to take action. 80% of marketers use visual assets in their social media marketing.

Mix content formats like images, infographics, videos (including live videos) and even podcasts to generate greater engagement from your audience. You can also map content assets to specific social platforms to gather more traction. For instance, videos are best hosted on YouTube, while live videos can get more eyeballs on Instagram. Pinterest is a popular channel for uploading infographics.

Partner with influencers

Influencers have immense social proof. They have their own unique voice and usually attract a significant number of followers in their industry or niche. Partnering with them can be a highly effective way of winning the trust of your target audience.

Depending on your goals and budget, you can choose from mega (1 million+ followers), macro (100k - 1 million followers), and micro (<100k followers) influencers. Usually, influencers are bloggers, journalists, celebrities, thought leaders, or even just regular people who have gained a large online influence organically.

Engage with communities

Communities on social media including Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Reddit, can help you position yourself as an authority in your industry. You get to educate your target audience not just about the product you are selling but convey an actual need for it. You can demonstrate how the use of a tool or a platform like yours significantly improves lives.

What’s interesting about these social communities is that you learn as much as you teach. You can talk to leaders, ask questions and uncover opportunities for collaboration. Make sure to be a part of those communities that are aligned with your company’s purpose.

You can also create a social community of early adopters. They become supporters of your product and company, in turn enjoying exclusive benefits, like VIP access, discounts, or free lifetime use of any upgraded versions. These are your biggest advocates and also the first testers of the beta versions you launch. Their insights are invariably invaluable.

Work with an inbound marketing agency

You will need to set up a social media calendar to stay on track, post valuable content on your channels of choice and engage with audiences as soon as they react to your stories or content. A digital marketing agency that is an expert in executing inbound marketing initiatives can help you create, manage and monitor the effectiveness of your social media campaigns. This makes the task of targeting people both locally and globally more manageable.

An added advantage of hiring experts is that they are well-versed in the best industry practices and can tailor social media programs to suit your objectives. Also, the analytical tools they use to monitor the behavior of audiences online are very critical in making informed and smart decisions that drive not only future marketing programs but also shape business strategies.

Conclusion

The SaaS model is so popular because of the massive scalability it offers. This also means that the marketplace is highly competitive and distinguishing your value proposition can be quite daunting. SaaS companies rely on their websites or landing pages to secure new customers and getting the target audience to land on the website is the real challenge.

The benefits of having a strong social media presence for SaaS companies are immense. Publishing relevant content increases the inbound traffic organically, which is a lot more sustainable in the long term. Additionally, it helps to build trust and credibility through a highly engaged community of followers who act as brand advocates in turn.